The Wolf and the Chameleon

Introduction (Review/Discussion)

Major spoilers for KFP4 ahead as I discuss/review the movie and float around ideas for a fanfic novel.

Hey y'all! Long time no read! Guess who just watched Kung Fu Panda 4 and immediately rushed home to write this! This girl!

First Impressions/thoughts: I liked it! The nostalgia in me wants Po to stay the Dragon Warrior forever and I wasn't too thrilled about the idea of him having to choose a successor. Although I suppose Po can't stay the Dragon Warrior forever.

I was not happy about the unclear passage of time between KFP3 and 4. A lot has happened between then and this movie, but none of the characters visibly aged or any passage of time was mentioned. I also hated how the Furious Five was completely absent from the movie (save for a few minutes at the end). I love their dynamics with each other and Po; the movie felt incomplete without them.

I loved the Chameleon. Her voice/voice acting, character design, and overall vibe was just mwah, deliciously evil! She reminds me of Shen: graceful, poised, yet down to murder someone at the drop of a hat.

I felt kinda meh about Zhen, the fox that essentially replaced the Furious Five. She and Po have a good dynamic, and their banter made me laugh. She and Po worked surprisingly well together when you keep in mind they'd just met. Her betrayal shocked me (In hindsight, I should've seen it coming- but in my defense, I was very invested), but I can't be mad considering she was conditioned that way since childhood. But Po putting his faith in her to defeat the Chameleon cemented why he is the Spiritual Leader the Valley/China in general needs, and her meeting his expectations with flying colors shows that she is a good choice for the next Dragon Warrior.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie from a fan's perspective! It's not terrible, but it's not outstanding. I'd give it a 6/10.

From a fanfiction author's perspective, I don't like it as much. Not only does the movie take place in a completely foreign city, with completely new characters, but many of the characters I'm familiar with writing (like The Furious Five) are almost absent from the film. The world(s), theories, characters, character arcs, etc. that I've built are different from this movie.

That leads me to consider the first of many tough questions. Should I keep Leo Lung in this next novel?

My decision is going to be no. Hear me out, I have a good reason: for several years (before KFP4 was even announced), I've been floating the idea of giving Leo Lung his own standalone story, called The Lion and His Pride. This movie has given me the perfect opportunity/timeline for Leo's standalone story, albeit at the cost of him being in this one. As stated by the rabid bunnies in the movie, 'Less now means more later.'

I also need to consider what to do with Tai Lung, Huo, Klara, etc., especially since Tai Lung played a larger role in this movie as an antagonist (until the end, where he got something of a redemption arc?).

Huo will play a big role in this story (hence the title, The Wolf and the Chameleon). Tai Lung and Klara will possibly come along, but I need more time to plan. I'll also have this story set 12 years after the events of Kung Fu Panda 3. Huo will be 16, and Klara will be 18. This will give me room to develop their personalities and fighting styles that aren't restricted by age/physical capabilities- but they are still young enough to need the experience to justify going with Po on the trip.

I'm now going to start planning the story and chapters. I can't give you guys any rock-solid dates, since- although I've graduated college (yay!)- I have a job now so I'm still busy. By mid/late May I want to have everything hashed out to where I feel confident starting the story. At that point, the movie might be out on some streaming service/YouTube so I can go back and watch.

So that's my movie review/game plan for the future. If you guys have any questions, comments, concerns, suggestions, etc. please comment! I love hearing from y'all! I will be updating the story here so if you want to be the first to know when the new chapters come out, follow the story! I'm also working on some cover art for the story, so stay tuned!

See y'all later, and happy Kung Fu Fighting!

Miss Honeybee

Update 1 - March 29, 2024: Prologue, Ch.1, and Ch.2 planning are complete. Cover art completed and uploaded (if possible). My instagram art account (HappyHarpArt) will have the cover art as well as character profiles uploaded upon completion :)

Update 2 - April 13, 2024: Ch. 3., 4., 5. planning complete! Huo's portrait was uploaded to my Instagram art account.

Update 3 - May 24, 2024: Ch.  6. and 7. planning complete. Klara and Tai Lung's portraits were uploaded to my Instagram art account, HappyHarpArt

Update 4 - June 15, 2024: Ch. 8, 9, and 10 planning complete!

Update 5 - June 17, 2024: Ch. 11, 12, 13 planning complete

Update 6 - July 29, 2024: ALL PLANNING COMPLETE!! All of my major plot points have been completed! On Thursday, July 1, I will begin writing the prologue. I have big plans for this story, and I can't wait to share them all with you! I also have more news: I'm starting graduate school this August! I'm super excited, and I can't wait to start. Obviously, I won't have too much time to write, but hopefully, it won't be terribly bad, considering I have all of my major plot points written out. My next update will be posting the prologue!