116. Kung Fu Panda

Title: Kung Fu Panda
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure
Year: 2008, 2011

Summary:

Kung Fu Panda (2008): The story is set in the Valley of Peace, a fictional land in ancient China inhabited by anthropomorphic animals. Po, a panda, is a kung fu fanatic who idolizes the Furious Five—Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Viper, and Crane—a quintet of kung fu masters trained by the red panda Master Shifu to protect the valley. Because he works in his goose father Mr. Ping's noodle restaurant, Po has been unable to achieve his dream of becoming a kung fu master himself.

One day, Shifu's mentor, the old tortoise Oogway, has a vision that the evil snow leopard Tai Lung, will escape from prison and return to the Valley of Peace to take revenge for being denied the Dragon Scroll, which is said to hold the secret to limitless power. Shifu is greatly alarmed, and sends his messenger, Zeng, to prevent Tai Lung's escape. He then holds a kung fu tournament for the Furious Five so that Oogway may identify the legendary Dragon Warrior, the one kung fu master worthy of receiving the Dragon Scroll and capable of defeating Tai Lung. Forced to take a cumbersome noodle cart to the tournament, Po arrives after the doors to the arena close and is unable to enter. Desperate to see the Dragon Warrior be chosen, Po straps himself to a set of fireworks and rockets into the sky. Po crashes into the middle of the arena at the moment when Oogway is to point out the Dragon Warrior. To the surprise of everyone present, Oogway chooses Po.

Unwilling to believe that a "big, fat panda" could be the Dragon Warrior, Shifu tries to dispatch Po by ridiculing him into quitting his training with the Furious Five, who similarly despise and mock Po for his lack of skill in kung fu. However, after receiving helpful advice from Oogway, Po endures his grueling training and slowly begins to endear himself to the Five with his tenacity, culinary skill, and good humor. It is only then that Po discovers who Tai Lung really is. He is Shifu's adopted son, who Shifu loved very dearly. However, after Oogway refused him the Dragon Scroll he turned on the valley and his masters, and Shifu was left extremely embittered and now treats The Five, including Tigress, his foster daughter, distantly and harshly so that history won't repeat itself.

Meanwhile, Tai Lung escapes from prison as foreseen by Oogway, ironically picking his locks with a feather from Zeng. Shifu learns of Tai Lung's escape and informs Oogway, who extracts a promise from Shifu to train Po and then ascends to heaven in a cloud of peach blossoms. Still unable to grasp the basics of kung fu and confessing a crippling self-loathing, Po despairs that he has no chance of defeating Tai Lung. Shifu, however, discovers that Po is capable of impressive physical feats when motivated by food, as proved when he somehow ascends ten feet to a high shelf to retrieve some almond cookies. Using food as positive reinforcement, Shifu successfully trains Po to incorporate these feats into a makeshift yet effective kung fu style, which also improves the giant panda's strength of spirit.

At the same time, the Furious Five set out to stop Tai Lung themselves, only to be overwhelmed and defeated by Tai Lung's nerve strikes. Shifu decides that Po is ready to receive the Dragon Scroll, but the scroll reveals nothing but a blank, reflective surface. In despair, Shifu orders Po and the Five to evacuate the valley while he delays Tai Lung as long as possible in a fight to the death. Distraught, The Five and Po follow Shifu's direction, even though they know he won't come out alive.

Po finds his father who, in an attempt to console him, reveals that the long-withheld secret ingredient to his famous "secret ingredient soup" is nothing, explaining that things become special if people believe them to be. Realizing that this concept is the entire point of the Dragon Scroll, Po returns to confront Tai Lung, who has reached the palace and gravely injured Shifu, very nearly killing him. Po proves to be a formidable challenge for Tai Lung as he tries to protect the Dragon Scroll, especially as Po's fat renders Tai Lung's nerve strikes useless, and Po's unorthodox style is deeply confusing to his traditionally-trained enemy. Though the Dragon Scroll eventually falls into Tai Lung's hands, he is unable to understand or accept its symbolic meaning, and Po ultimately defeats him using the secret Wuxi Finger Hold.

Po is praised by the Valley of Peace and earns the respect of the Furious Five, who fully acknowledge him as a true kung fu master. Po finds a half dead Shifu, who finally expresses his belief in him, and finally attains inner peace, knowing that his mistake has been corrected and that the valley is safe once more.

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011): Years before the events of the first film, Lord Shen, the son of the peacock clan that ruled Gongmen City in ancient China, sought to harness fireworks as a weapon. After discovering from the court's goat soothsayer that "a warrior of black-and-white" would defeat him, Shen then led an army to exterminate the panda population to avert the prophecy. Shen's parents, horrified at this atrocity, exiled a vengeful Shen from the city.

Thirty years later, Po is living his dream as the Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, the Furious Five. Master Shifu tells him, however, he has yet to achieve inner peace. While helping defend a village from wolf bandits who have been stealing refined metal for Lord Shen, Po is distracted by a symbol on the head wolf's (Danny McBride) armor, which causes Po to have a flashback of his mother, and allows the wolves to escape. Po asks his goose father, Mr. Ping, of his origins, but all Ping can say is that he found Po as an infant in a radish crate, and adopted him.

Shifu receives word that Shen has killed Master Thundering Rhino , the leader of the kung fu council protecting Gongmen City, with a newly developed weapon, a cannon, with which he intends to destroy kung fu tradition and conquer China. He sends Po and the Furious Five to stop Shen, who reach Gongmen City to find it under occupation by Shen's forces. The heroes find two imprisoned council members, Masters Storming Ox and Croc, and ask for help to liberate the city, but both masters cite their helplessness against Shen's weapon and refuse. The wolf leader discovers Po and the Five and they give chase, only to be captured in front of Shen's tower.

Upon being brought before Shen in his tower, Po and the Five free themselves and destroy Shen's cannon. However, Po is again distracted by a flashback upon seeing the same symbol as before on Shen's plumage, allowing Shen to escape and destroy the tower with an arsenal of cannons. After Po and the Five escape, Tigress confronts Po over his distraction. Po reluctantly explains that he remembers Shen's presence on the night he was separated from his parents, and wants answers from Shen about his past. Though surprisingly empathetic, Tigress tells Po to stay behind for his own safety. Po nonetheless breaks into Shen's cannon factory to confront him, inadvertently foiling the Five's plan to destroy the factory. Shen falsely claims that Po's parents never loved him before he blasts a distraught Po out of the factory into a river while capturing the Five.

Po is rescued by Shen's soothsayer, who has been exiled by Shen to the deserted village where Po was born. Guided by the soothsayer to embrace his past, Po remembers that when he was young, his parents had sacrificed themselves to save him from Shen's army, his mother hiding him in a radish crate and luring Shen's forces away from him. Po thus attains inner peace, realizing that he had lived a happy and fulfilling life despite this early tragedy.

Po returns to Gongmen City to save the captive Five and prevent Shen's conquest of China. During the ensuing battle (in which Ox and Croc participate after being persuaded by Shifu, who also helps out), Po uses his inner peace to enable a kung fu technique that allows him to redirect Shen's cannon fire against his own armada, destroying it (Master Shifu showed Po this technique earlier in the movie.) Po urges Shen to let go of his own past, but Shen attacks Po until he inadvertently slashes the ropes holding up a cannon which falls and crushes him to death. Victorious, Po returns to the Valley of Peace and reunites with Mr. Ping, lovingly declaring him to be his father. At the same time, Po's aging biological father is shown to be living in a far-off, hidden village inhabited by surviving pandas, and suddenly senses that his son is alive.