The following is a list of Characters from the 2008 DreamWorks animated film media franchise Kung Fu Panda.
Contents |
Po
| Kung Fu Panda character | |
| Po | |
|---|---|
| Species: | Giant Panda |
| Combat style: | Improvised |
| Voiced by: | Jack Black |
Po is the protagonist of Kung Fu Panda. His early life is largely unrevealed, although he was evidently under the guardianship of his goose father, Mr. Ping, for as long as he can remember. Although unenthusiastic about the restaurant trade, he was evidently a studious apprentice considering the praised quality of his cooking. Po was reluctant to disappoint his father by revealing his true interests in kung fu. Though mild and friendly, he also has severely low self-esteem since he thinks he is a failure for both being obese and of a species not known for a warrior tradition. When upset, he usually gorges on food to dull the pain.
His main interest lies in the martial arts, of which he has developed an encyclopedic knowledge. He is able to recall the lore of warriors, famous combat moves, dates and historic artifacts. Apparently by accident, he is dubbed the Dragon Warrior by Master Oogway (who proclaims that "there are no accidents"), and while Master Shifu and the Furious Five make no secret of their disdain for him, he endures their abuse in the hope of changing into someone he himself can respect. This tenacity, in turn, begins to earn their respect.
Eventually, Shifu discovers that Po can perform considerable physical feats when motivated by food and uses this to train him with a custom regime. At the end of the training, during a chopstick-sparring match over dumplings, Po demonstrates not only considerable skill in combat, but also some emotional maturity that allows him to somewhat reduce his emotional dependence on food.
In a climatic battle, Po manages to defeat Tai Lung with an improvised combat style that takes advantage of his body fat not only to shield his nerves from ch'i strikes but also to utilize his belly for deflecting attacks.[1]
Since the events of the first film, the end credit graphics indicate that Po divides his time between practice, working at his father's noodle shop and teaching children martial arts, a task in which he proves to be exceptionally skilled. Po has also improved his physical health, as demonstrated in Secrets of the Furious Five when he runs alongside Shifu at an amazing pace and, upon stopping, needs much less time than before to catch his breath.
Masters of the Jade Palace
The following are the martial experts of the Jade Palace, who have dedicated their lives to Kung Fu, and the defense of the Valley of Peace.
Master Shifu
| Kung Fu Panda character | |
| Master Shifu | |
|---|---|
| Species: | Red Panda |
| Combat style: | Unspecified |
| Voiced by: | Dustin Hoffman |
Master Shifu is the student of Oogway and the (at first) extremely militaristic trainer of the Furious Five. He is at first very unwilling to train Po, not believing he has what it takes to defeat Tai Lung; he therefore tries to make the training unbearable to force Po to give up. As such, Shifu is greatly annoyed at how Po embraces and endures all his attempts. At first, Shifu voices his contempt of Po by referring to him as "Panda" rather than his name. After much convincing from Oogway as well as his new responsibility as the guardian of the Valley of Peace after Oogway's ascension into the Heavens, Shifu trains Po until he is ready to face Tai Lung.
Shifu once loved Tai Lung like a son after he was abandoned at his doorstep as a very young cub. He tried to subdue him after Tai Lung attacked the Valley and made a bid to take the Dragon Scroll by force, but froze, unable to destroy what he created through love, and failed. In Secrets of the Furious Five, it is revealed that he is Tigress' adoptive father as well. He taught her how to control her own fury by playing a game of dominoes with her and later adopted her as his own daughter from an orphanage despite all the other adults' fear of adopting her. His experience with Tai Lung otherwise stiffened him, unfortunately, causing him to train Tigress and the Furious Five in a harsher and more critical manner than he used with Tai Lung or uses with Po. When Tai Lung returns to the Valley to enact his revenge, Shifu is nearly killed in the battle that ensues until Po arrives to save him. (Shifu admits to Tai Lung that his pride and love for him turned into complacency and Tai Lung angrily rants that Shifu drove him to training until his bones cracked, implying that Shifu had always been strict.) Po's defeat of Tai Lung fulfills Master Oogway's prophecy, bringing him inner peace and forever breaking down the barriers over his heart.
His sense of humor is also shown returning during the end credits when he is seen laughing at Tigress, who has apparently tried some of Po's noodles, with one hanging above her lips in the same comical fashion as Po's earlier in the film. He enjoys playing his bamboo flute and is also able to use it as a striking and throwing weapon.
Despite his age and limping on his left leg, which Tai Lung broke in their first battle, Shifu can move faster than any opponent. He is so strong and powerful that one or even all of the Furious Five combined cannot make him break a sweat.[2]
Master Oogway
| Kung Fu Panda character | |
| Master Oogway | |
|---|---|
| Species: | Giant Tortoise |
| Combat style: | Unspecified |
| Voiced by: | Randall Duk Kim |
Master Oogway is an aged tortoise and the senior master of the Jade Palace.[3] He is extremely wise and possesses considerable physical skill - to defeat Tai Lung, Oogway instantly subdued him with a series of lightning fast nerve strikes. Also, he proved skillful in his battle with Monkey, and encouraged him to use compassion towards others after deducing why Monkey played tricks on everyone. His selection of Po as the Dragon Warrior is strongly doubted by all, especially Po himself, but he stands by his decision, which proves to be the correct one. After convincing Shifu to train Po, Oogway ascends to the Heavens in the midst of dozens of peach blossom petals floating away in the cold night breeze. Among all the proverbs he recites, his most recurring is "There are no accidents."
The Furious Five
The Furious Five are, with the exception of Oogway, Shifu, Po and Tai Lung, the most skilled warriors in China. Given that Shifu referred to Po by his species name while and before training him, it is hinted that each member of the Furious Five have or had their own individual names before training to become kung fu warriors. The Five were all trained by Shifu, each of them attaining the rank of master. The Furious Five are homages to the Crane, Snake, Monkey, Praying Mantis, and Tiger styles of Chinese martial arts.[4]
Master Tigress
| Kung Fu Panda character | |
| Master Tigress | |
|---|---|
| Species: | South China Tiger |
| Combat style: | Tiger Kung Fu |
| Voiced by: | Angelina Jolie Tara Strong (young) |
Master Tigress is the strongest and boldest of the Furious Five. She is friendly but the least sociable of the five. In many scenes in which the other four of the Furious Five and/or Po were joking or having fun, Tigress would often remain quiet and withdrawn. It was strongly believed, by Shifu and herself, that Oogway was about to choose her as the Dragon Warrior before Po's entrance, despite Oogway's statements. Tigress bitterly resents Po for thwarting her dream, and is the most vocal of the Five in her contempt for the panda and his perceived lack of respect for kung fu, even while her comrades grow to respect him, perhaps still believing she was the true Dragon Warrior.
Upon hearing Po protesting to Master Shifu that he will never be able to defeat Tai Lung even if Shifu changed him, Master Tigress, feeling that she could defeat Tai Lung instead of Po, took it upon herself to intercept the incoming villain along with the rest of the Five, who came with her. However, they were all defeated by Tai Lung's superior martial skill and nerve attack. When Po defeats Tai Lung, Tigress is deeply impressed, and she is the first to acknowledge Po as the true Dragon Warrior, and as a master of kung fu, giving him a sweet smile as she does so.
In Secrets of the Furious Five, Tigress was revealed to be an orphan living in the Bao Gu Orphanage where she was greatly feared by the other children and the matron due to her destructively lacking control of her great temper, strength, fangs, and claws. Left alone and isolated in her room for the safety of the other children, she soon began to see herself as a monster, as everyone else did. Then Shifu, at the request of the orphanage, came to render some assistance. Shifu taught her to control herself by playing dominoes, which requires not only discipline, grace, and precision but a delicacy of the hand and a steady heart that Tigress struggled to gain at first. Eventually, after months of training, she learned to control both her anger and her movements and became friends with the other orphans. Although she was still feared by all potential parents who visited the orphanage to adopt the other children, Shifu soon adopted her and he took her in as his foster daughter, giving a small but genuinely sweet smile to her as they walked towards Tigress' new home. However, Shifu still carried the emotional scars of previous events, and thus was somewhat more strict and distant in her upbringing. The older Tigress in the main film explains to Po that Shifu loved Tai Lung like no other person before or since, including her.
According to the filmmakers' commentary on the DVD, Tigress is Po's favorite of the Furious Five despite the fact that Tigress shows considerable disrespect and disgust at him throughout most of the main film.[5]
Master Monkey
| Kung Fu Panda character | |
| Master Monkey | |
|---|---|
| Species: | Golden Langur |
| Combat style: | Monkey Kung Fu |
| Voiced by: | Jackie Chan Jaycee Chan (young) |
Master Monkey is the friendliest and most approachable of The Five. Monkey was the first of the five to recognize Po's determination and is the only member of the Furious Five who refers to Po by name. He also seems to harbor the strongest sense of humor within the Five as well, responding most strongly to Po's sense of comedy. Unlike the others, Master Monkey uses a weapon to help him fight. He uses a staff, a traditional weapon used in Kung Fu and other martial arts.
Before he became a kung fu warrior, it is known in the Secrets of the Furious Five that Monkey was the village trickster when he was a teenager, often making people slip on banana peels (from bananas that he would eat) and/or pantsing them in revenge for an incident in his youth that resulted in becoming the laughingstock of a few other children in the town. The townspeople sent many powerful warriors, including rhinoceros guards from Chorh-Gom Prison, to force him out of town dead or alive, but Monkey humiliated each and every one of them. Monkey was finally subdued by Master Oogway, who, aside from wearing no pants, also used his shell to hide from Monkey's attacks. Oogway taught Monkey compassion by saving him from a falling beam, which led Monkey to develop into the warrior he is today.[6] Monkey is also the only character to be voiced by both Jackie Chan and his son Jaycee Chan.
Master Mantis
| Kung Fu Panda character | |
| Master Mantis | |
|---|---|
| Species: | Chinese Mantis |
| Combat style: | Northern Praying Mantis |
| Voiced by: | Seth Rogen Max Koch (young) |
Master Mantis is the smallest of the Five, but he is obviously the strongest proportional to his size. He can perform such feats as throwing Po and single-handedly holding up a severed rope bridge burdened by most of his comrades and Tai Lung and still have the strength to snap the bridge when needed. He is also a skilled acupuncturist, although his success does depend on the type of body he is working with; a body like that of Po or Viper can sometimes give him problems until he familiarizes himself with the particular anatomy. Pragmatic and open minded with a dry sense of humor, Mantis was the first of the five to develop acceptance and liking of Po as a person, alongside the factor of Po's girth, declaring size did little to define a warrior and could actually be used as an advantage no matter what style one practices.
When he was a few years younger (in Secrets of the Furious Five), Mantis was extremely impatient, feeling that the world was too slow for him and he was too fast for the world. On a mission to retrieve wool coats back from a gang of crocodile bandits, he was captured due to his overconfidence and lack of listening skills when one of the villagers tried to warn him of the bandits' traps. Mantis was locked in a cage for days and forced to sit and wait for something to happen, and he entered a trance that allowed him to survey the world moving faster than he did. This allowed him to overcome his impatience and devise a plan to escape by playing dead to trick the crocodiles into opening his cage and defeat them.[7]
Master Viper
| Kung Fu Panda character | |
| Master Viper | |
|---|---|
| Species: | Green Tree Viper |
| Combat style: | Snake Kung Fu |
| Voiced by: | Lucy Liu Jessica DiCicco (young) |
Master Viper is a green snake with two small lotus flowers on top of her head. Although she has a serious birth defect for her species, being born with barely visible venomous fangs, she compensates with her strength, her sinuous nature, her beauty, and her precision. In defiance of the villainous stereotype of snakes, Viper is the most charming, kind, compassionate and sweetest of the Five as demonstrated with her quickly developing empathy for Po as his indomitable tenacity became obvious.
In Secrets of the Furious Five, Viper was born the loved daughter of Great Master Viper, protector of the village where she lived who relied on his venomous fangs to fell his enemies (referred to by him as the awe-inspiring awesomeness of his "Poison Fang Technique"), and his beautiful wife. The Great Master hoped she would carry on his legacy once she was born, but she was without fangs and never developed them as she grew up, much to the dismay of her father. To make her father feel better, Viper took up ribbon dancing at age six, blossoming into the best dancer in the village. During one Autumn Moon Festival, Viper was too timid to attend the festival and stayed home with her mother. But when her father fought against a gorilla bandit who attacked the village and used venom-proof armor to shatter the Great Master's poison fangs, Viper, seeing him in trouble, mustered the courage she needed to defeat the gorilla by confusing him with her dancing skills and tying him up with her ribbon. Thus her father's legacy was secure with his daughter becoming a mighty warrior on her own terms.[8]
Master Crane
| Kung Fu Panda character | |
| Master Crane | |
|---|---|
| Species: | Red-crowned Crane |
| Combat style: | Fujian White Crane |
| Voiced by: | David Cross |
Master Crane is the most patient of the Five and one of the most sarcastic, and considered to be the "mother hen" of the group despite being male. He may well be the oldest of the Five; using Secrets of the Furious Five places him, at least, somewhere in his mid-late thirties by the time of the main film. He will always try to avoid and defuse conflicts between his comrades, whose differing personalities often conflict. He was the first of The Five to hold a conversation with Po, albeit it being quite awkward. Nonetheless, touched by Po's dedication and admiration of The Five led Crane to have some respect for Po.
Two decades prior to the events of the main film (on Secrets of the Furious Five), Crane was the slave-like janitor at the Lee Da Kung Fu Academy, where everybody looked down upon him, even the strict teacher of the academy, due to his particularly skinny build. However the top student, named Mei Ling, saw the skills which Crane used to tidy up the place every night, and convinced Crane to try out for the school. Though his nerve faltered at first, Crane accidentally wandered into the obstacle course and quickly found a way to surpass it, and passed with flying colors.[9]
Others
Tai Lung
| Kung Fu Panda character | |
| Tai Lung | |
|---|---|
| Species: | Snow Leopard |
| Combat style: | Leopard Kung Fu |
| Voiced by: | Ian McShane Riley Osbourne (young) |
Tai Lung is the main villain of the film. He was the adoptive son and (first) devoted pupil of Master Shifu, and showed more skill in Kung Fu than any other of his students: he himself remarks Shifu taught him skills in kung fu he never shared with even the Furious Five. Everyone believed that he was destined to become the Dragon Warrior, but Oogway saw darkness in his heart despite the love that Shifu gave him, and refused him the title. Tai Lung's bitterness and anger were only intensified by the fact Master Shifu said and did nothing to defend his adoptive son when Master Oogway denied him the title. Disappointed and outraged, Tai Lung rampaged throughout the valley and fought his way to the Jade Palace, seeking to take the Dragon Scroll by force: Shifu tried and failed to stop him (unable to destroy the snow leopard, who he loved more than anything, Shifu couldn't bring himself to harm Tai Lung, who had no such compunction and smashed his adoptive father aside without mercy) and ultimately Oogway was forced to defeat him. Following his defeat, Tai Lung was sent to Chorh-Gom Prison, a maximum-security institution, until his escape two decades later.
After his escape, Tai Lung finally returned to the Valley of Peace for the Dragon Scroll, which was said to grant its wielder limitless power, as well as the challenge of facing the Dragon Warrior, whom he had rumors about his spectacular entrance and his unique nature. He headed straight for the Valley, stopping briefly to engage and defeat the Furious Five as proof of his superiority and the inability of any to stop him. At the temple, Master Shifu battled him while Po was supposedly evacuating with the rest of the villagers and the Furious Five. Tai Lung unleashed all his rage and hate during their battle and gravely wounded Shifu, blaming his adoptive father for his incarceration and failure to become the Dragon Warrior, furiously demanding to know if Shifu was satisfied with turning Tai Lung into the monster he had become. Even when Shifu apologized, though Tai Lung showed some concern for him, he was still only interested in gaining the Dragon Scroll. When he finally saw that it was missing, he nearly killed Shifu until Po came in and stopped him.
Although Tai Lung scoffed that this obese panda could possibly be the Dragon Warrior, and believed that all Po could do to him was sit on him (which in fact Po does eventually do during their fight), Po proved an unexpectedly formidable opponent with considerable cunning, skill and strength that Tai Lung concluded could only have been possible through the Dragon Scroll. After a protracted battle throughout the village, Tai Lung finally managed to obtain the Dragon Scroll, but his impatience caused him to not understand its symbolism: the scroll is actually a blank reflective foil, meaning the power has always been within the person. Po, on the other hand, did understand, and used it to overpower him. Tai Lung was ultimately defeated when Po utilized the Wuxi Finger Hold, vanquishing him in a brilliant, rippling flash.[10]
He also has a special nerve attack taught to him by Shifu which completely paralyzes the victim. However, Po, being too fat for the strikes to reach the correct points, seems to be resistant to the technique, finding it very ticklish when it was used.
Mr. Ping
| Kung Fu Panda character | |
| Mr. Ping | |
|---|---|
| Species: | Goose[11] |
| Voiced by: | James Hong |
Mr. Ping is Po's father, who runs the most popular noodle shop in the Valley. He considers his work deeply fulfilling, and hopes that his son will continue to operate the shop, wishing to share with him the family's secret recipe to great noodles (which was passed down to him from his father who took it from Mr. Ping's grandfather, who took it from a friend in a game of mahjong). When he believes his son is ready, he informs him that there is actually no secret ingredient, and that things are special if someone believes them to be. This piece of advice leads Po to understand the cryptic message of the Dragon Scroll, which makes him the Dragon Warrior and allows him to fulfill his destiny.
It is not explained how he came to be Po's father, since they are both of an entirely different species; Ping's father and grandfather are shown to have been geese too. Despite this fact, father and son share a deep mutual love and respect. This shows in how Po cannot bear to disappoint his father about his differing ambitions while Mr. Ping respects his son's decisions enough to neither protest nor interfere after the panda is dubbed the Dragon Warrior. At Po's triumph over Tai Lung, all of Mr. Ping's doubts of his son's destiny vanish as he proclaims his pride in Po to the world as they embrace. Furthermore, the end credit graphics indicate that Po keeps closely in touch with his father to the point of temporarily assuming the restaurant's cooking on occasion while Ping establishes a friendship with the panda's other father figure and master, Shifu. He is extremely skilled at Chinese chess as shown when he outwits Shifu in a match.
Zeng
| Kung Fu Panda character | |
| Zeng | |
|---|---|
| Species: | Goose[12] |
| Voiced by: | Dan Fogler |
Zeng is a palace goose who acts in the first movie as Shifu's messenger and is specifically given the mission to try to double the amount of guards at Chorh-Gom Prison[12] where Tai Lung is held captive, under the orders of Shifu, based on Oogway's vision that Tai Lung will escape. The irony is that, while visiting the prison, one of Zeng's feathers falls near Tai Lung, who uses it to pick the lock on his restraints and escape, echoing one of Oogway's statements that "one often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it." In the resulting carnage, Zeng is spared and forced to return to the valley and herald Tai Lung's escape. He is extremely nervous and pessimistic, but is nonetheless willing to fulfill the assignment given to him. During the credits, a picture shows Zeng gluing the Urn of Whispering Warriors, which Po had broken earlier, back together.
Commander Vachir
| Kung Fu Panda character | |
| Commander Vachir | |
|---|---|
| Species: | Javan Rhinoceros |
| Voiced by: | Michael Clarke Duncan |
Commander Vachir is the chief of security at Chorh-Gom Prison[12], and the leader of the Anvil of Heaven, a one thousand-strong army of elite battle rhinos. Before Tai Lung's incarceration, the Anvil of Heaven opposed tyranny and injustice throughout China, and were notorious for their fearlessness and terrifying fighting skills. Vachir was charged with the construction of Chorh-Gom Prison, and he oversaw Tai Lung's imprisonment for twenty years. Overconfident of the prison's security, Vachir greatly underestimated Tai Lung's potential and failed in stopping him from escaping.[13] Vachir has a golden horn-shaped cap in place of his nose horn, as a decorative prosthetic.
Mei Ling
| Kung Fu Panda character | |
| Mei Ling | |
|---|---|
| Species: | Chinese Mountain Cat |
| Combat style: | Unspecified |
| Voiced by: | Stephanie Lemelin |
Mei Ling is the most significant named original character in Secrets of the Furious Five, the star student at the Lee Da Kung Fu Academy where Crane worked as a janitor. Upon seeing Crane's graceful movement, she urged him to attempt to enroll into the school as a student. Inspired by her faith in him, Crane agreed to make the attempt and she made sure his application was recognized at the induction challenge. Although Mei Ling felt she unnecessarily exposed Crane to public humiliation when his attempt is mocked, Crane accidentally found himself in the necessary obstacle course challenge to test eligibility.
References
- ^ "Kung Fu Panda Official Site - Po". http://www.kungfupanda.com/. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
- ^ "Kung Fu Panda Official Site - Shifu". http://www.kungfupanda.com/. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
- ^ "Kung Fu Panda Official Site - Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom". http://www.kungfupanda.com/. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
- ^ "Kung Fu Panda Official Site - Production - Five Fighting Warriors". http://www.kungfupanda.com/. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
- ^ "Kung Fu Panda Official Site - Master Tigress". http://www.kungfupanda.com/. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
- ^ "Kung Fu Panda Official Site - Master Monkey". http://www.kungfupanda.com/. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
- ^ "Kung Fu Panda Official Site - Master Mantis". http://www.kungfupanda.com/. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
- ^ "Kung Fu Panda Official Site - Master Viper". http://www.kungfupanda.com/. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
- ^ "Kung Fu Panda Official Site - Master Crane". http://www.kungfupanda.com/. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
- ^ "Kung Fu Panda Official Site - Tai Lung". http://www.kungfupanda.com/. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
- ^ Stevenson, John and Mark Osborne (directors). (2008). Kung Fu Panda. [DVD]. Event occurs at 3.55. "...Po's father is a goose. And he is a goose, he's not a duck..."
- ^ a b c Aibel, Jonathan & Berger, Glenn. Kung Fu Panda script, final draft. 3 June 2008.
- ^ "Kung Fu Panda Official Site - Chor Ghom Prison". http://www.kungfupanda.com/. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
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