The Big Picture
Viola Davis shines as the wicked villain, The Chameleon, in
Kung Fu Panda 4
with her authoritative voice.
Director Mike Mitchell allows Davis to flex her vocal muscles, bringing comedic moments and venomous barbs to the shape-shifting character.
Kung Fu Panda 4
is now available on Blu-ray and DVD. See an exclusive behind-the-scenes sneak peek above.
After skadooshing its way to over half a billion at the box office and proving that Jack Black’s battling black and white bear is as unstoppable as ever, Kung Fu Panda 4 has retired to the Valley of 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray. Po’s latest adventure was one of transition, as he gave up the title of Dragon Warrior and stepped back to become the Valley of Peace’s spiritual leader like Master Oogway before him. Before he could settle down for good, though, he joined forces with the crafty corsac fox Zhen (Awkwafina) for one final battle against his most dangerous foe yet — The Chameleon. For those who have yet to see the film, Collider is excited to share a special sneak peek at Viola Davis’s wicked villain and the gravitas the Oscar winner brings.
Titled “Meet the Chameleon,” the featurette lets Davis illustrate her role and why she wanted to be a villain in her own words. Playing “the lizard of lies with the glowing teal eyes,” she was reveling in lending her booming, authoritative voice to an insidious foe that is as despicable and power-hungry as she is small. Director Mike Mitchell and co-director Stephanie Ma Stine gave her the freedom to really flex her vocal muscles for the role to make the shapeshifter stand out with comedic moments to balance out her darkest actions and most venomous barbs. Both directors and her archrival Black were in awe of the wicked authority she exuded. If there’s one reason to watch the video though, it’s to hear Viola’s intimidatingly deep “skadoosh” that shows the power she wields in the recording booth.
Davis is known for the power she brings in some of her best roles, from her gutwrenching Academy Award-winning role in Fences to her turn as Suicide Squad handler Amanda Waller and her acclaimed 2022 performance as General Nanisca in The Woman King. It helps to have some talented scene partners too, and Kung Fu Panda 4 provides plenty. In addition to Black, Davis, and Awkwafina, Dustin Hoffman, James Hong, Bryan Cranston, and Ian McShane reprise their roles from the previous films while Ke Huy Quan, Ronny Chieng, Lori Tan Chinn, and Harry Shum Jr. make up the other key newcomers.
Viola Davis’s Villain Shaped ‘Kung Fu Panda 4’
The Chameleon’s ambition in Kung Fu Panda 4 is to conquer the world by stealing the Staff of Wisdom and absorbing the kung fu abilities of every master in China, including Poe’s previous enemies Tai Lung, Lord Shen, and General Kai. Her shapeshifting abilities especially gave writers Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger, and Darren Lemke and directors Mitchell and Stine room to get creative with the character’s transformations. Mitchell previously told Collider’s Steve Weintraub the Chameleon represents what the Kung Fu Panda franchise does best while also drawing comparisons to another classic animated shapeshifter.
“It seems like the biggest thing was just building upon our villain, for the most part. I think this is one of the best franchises ever in any animated film, and I think the reason it’s so great, one, is Jack Black, clearly, but two, are the villains. I think this franchise has created the most interesting, the best designed, the best voiced villains I’ve ever seen in any animated film. So when it came along with this, and we found the voice, and we had the design of the Chameleon, and she could shapeshift and all these things, this is something early on where, for the end, we’re like, ‘Okay, she can shift into anything. Is she gonna shift into a whole bunch of animals that Po fights,’ which should be fascinating? We always compared it to
The Sword in the Stone
.”
While Kung Fu Panda 4 marks the end of a chapter in the franchise’s story, Mitchell has assured there is still more to write about Po even after his time as the Dragon Warrior has come to an end. Overwhelming box office success all but guaranteed that a fifth film will be made along with potentially even more sequels and the director has ideas. He’s previously said that the scale will only grow with future stories, as there’s so much that didn’t make it into the fourth installment. Most notably, the Furious Five are on his mind after they sat out for nearly all of Po’s latest adventure. The future could see more massive battles involving the kung fu masters, Po, and Zhen while continuing to raise the stakes for the franchise.
Kung Fu Panda 4 is now available for purchase on digital platforms, Blu-ray, and DVD. Check out our exclusive sneak peek at The Chameleon above.
Kung Fu Panda 4
After Po is tapped to become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace, he needs to find and train a new Dragon Warrior, while a wicked sorceress plans to re-summon all the master villains whom Po has vanquished to the spirit realm.
Release Date March 8, 2024
Runtime 94 minutes
Watch on Prime Video