'Kung Fu Panda 3' trailer aims for perfection

DreamWorks Animation took quite a financial beating these past two years or so, but next year they're hoping to kick things back into high gear. Kung Fu Panda 3 finds the material arts franchise back in the public spotlight, and to tease what's to come the studio released the first official trailer.

This animated sequel follows Po (voiced by Jack Black) continuing his Dragon Warrior lifestyle only to reunite with his long-lost father Li (voiced by Bryan Cranston), even if they don't immediately recognize their obvious family heritage. Based on the last film's cliffhanger, this is really the only place the new movie could go, and thankfully the movie looks like it'll pack the same action and emotional punch the last two films brought so elegantly. Also returning to provide voice-work are Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Dustin Hoffman, James Hong, Lucy Liu, David Cross, as well as Rebel Wilson on board for the first time.

The journey to bring Kung Fu Panda 3 to the screen wasn't without some snags and hassles. Once set for release later this year, the release date was delayed thanks to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and the production also brought in a second director, Alessandro Carloni, to help returning Kung Fu Panda 2 filmmaker Jennifer Yuh get the production ready to market. But with the release date moved once again from March to its current release date, January 29th, hopefully this is a sign of confidence rather than 20th Century Fox dumping it into the trenches.

Either way, the animation studio really needs this one to be a hit after their $57 million write-down for last year, and based on what's on display here they may not have a problem doing so. Then again, their last film, Home, seemed to be at least a moderate hit. So this may not be the be-all, end-all we made it seem.

Either way, check out the trailer for the new movie below:

Image courtesy of Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images