Tag: shifu

Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024) Movie Review- Not Enough Skadoosh

Adam1 Comment

If there’s one thing that stuck with me throughout my viewing of Kung Fu Panda 4, it’s how the movie kept reminding me why the initial idea of Kung Fu Panda was mocked to begin with. That premise alone gives the indication that a panda voiced by Jack Black learning kung fu would basically play out as just being a typical slapstick comedy with dumbed down humor made for the littlest of kids, paint-by-numbers storytelling, and the most predictable reveals and morals imaginable. However, the greatest thing about the Kung Fu Panda movies up to this point is how it takes those “judging a book by it’s cover” expectations and cleverly subverted it into something better, smarter, and greater than it had any right to be. While I’m sure there were intentions of that for this latest installment with the Skaddoshinator (I promise that is the only time I will say that!), Kung Fu Panda 4 is basically the exact kind of movie we thought we were getting from this series from the very beginning.

The idea of a Kung Panda 4 was certainly not one that felt necessary but there were plenty of ways that another entry could work. While Kung Fu Panda 3 did bring a satisfying conclusion to Po arc’s in becoming the Dragon Warrior that he had always dreamed of, there was never a feeling throughout the third movie that it was the absolute endgame for the series. A third movie could be a fine stopping point but there was definitely another train coming along the way if anyone wanted to take it. And DreamWorks decided to take that train with Kung Fu Panda 4. I only wish they found an actual reason to want to hop aboard it.

Premise: Time has passed since Kung Fu Panda 3 and Po (Jack Black) finds himself on his last remaining days as The Dragon Warrior. Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) is ready to promote his panda apprentice to being the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace, the highest ranking of all kung fu mastery. Before he does that, Po must choose a worthy successor to take the mantle of The Dragon Warrior.

However, a new deadly foe has emerged with a new shapeshifting sorceress known as The Chameleon (Viola Davis). The Chameleon is someone that has had her own ambitions of wanting to learn kung fu but never got the proper respect to be able to learn it. Because of that, she wants to take matters into her own hands and copy the kung fu from other notable warriors in the series rose gallery such as Tai Lung (Ian Mcshane), Shen, and Kai to become the kung fu warrior she has always inspired to be.

With the Furious Five not being available due to going on their own personal missions and Shifu supposedly aging, it’s up to Po to stop The Chameleon. However, he can’t find the sinister lizard without the aid of a wanted fox thief named Zhen (Awkwafina), who supposedly knows The Chameleon’s location and promises Po she can lead him right to her front door. Po and Zhen go on a journey together to put the new villain out of commission, where the former comes to the realization this might be his final adventure with The Dragon Warrior title and the latter wondering what side she’s actually fighting for.

Oh, and also Po’s two dads, Mr. Ping (James Hong) and Li Shan (Bryan Cranston), follow their son without him knowing because they are so worried that their son, who had already beaten the biggest named opponents out there up to this point, can’t handle a fight against this newest opponent for some reason.

When reading through that plot synopsis, it basically gives you the indication of where Kung Fu Panda 4 head is at every step of the way. Yes, Po has to learn to take his next step in life. Yes, he realizes he has a lot in common with his new wolf companion and new lizard foe than he initially thought. Yes, he has to learn the true meaning of change. And yes, who Po chooses to be the next Dragon Warrior is obvious the moment that character arrives on screen. However, whereas prior Kung Fu Panda movies were able to take familiar stories and add enough layers to it to make them stand out as fresh and unique tales, the plot of Kung Fu Panda 4 can be read like a book that you predict the expected beats five to ten pages in advance.

As I stated in the plot summary, The Furious Five are nowhere to be seen throughout the main film. Yes, there is an explanation given of their absence in an (admittedly) nice 2D animated sequence and they do show up right when the credits start to roll, but they have no presence in the story whatsoever. Whether this was because they wanted to put the spotlight on the new characters or the fact that the studios couldn’t afford to have Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, and crew return due to the film’s shockingly low budget is beyond me but fans who were hoping to see them in action in this one will be severely disappointed.

The newest player this time around is Zhen, played by Awkwafina. On paper, this casting make sense. The crew clearly wanted to hire a celebrity actress that has the same range of comedic chops as Jack Black provides to the titled panda himself. However, the reason why Jack Black has always been perfect as the character is how he is able to perfectly mirror the appearance of a fat comedic panda while still nailing the dramatic beats when needed.

Zhen doesn’t have that same gesture as she is just as feisty, parkour, and can handle herself in action as much as Po or even Tigress can. She basically plays out exactly how other characters voiced by Awkwafina have with nothing new added. She is yet another side character that’s snarky, wise-cracking, and might just have a heart of gold underneath. It’s not that the character herself is inherently bad but she’s not interesting enough to warrant having other characters being purposely written out just to make room for her. Zhen is mostly just your average “grey” character and doesn’t offer much to the Kung Fu Panda universe that other better characters in the series haven’t provided.

The main villain of The Chameleon does feel like more fitting character in concept but still feels like wasted potential. While she certainly has a resemblance to Kung Fu Panda 3‘s antagonist with Kai, with gaining the abilities of other notable kung fu warriors, her whole parallel with Po is the one aspect that Kung Fu Panda 4 provides that feels new and refreshing. Both of these characters were underestimated by society due solely to their appearances but went on to accomplish greater things. Whereas Po went on to become the greatest hero, The Chameleon went on to become the greatest villain. The perfect good guy/bad guy dynamic is right here and could be possibly the most compelling one in the series to date if enough time and care was given into it.

Unfortunately, just like with the most interesting ideas in the film, it doesn’t have much interest in exploring it. This matter is just addressed in a dialogue exchange or two and never is given much focus on beyond that. The character herself basically comes across as an excuse to revive other notable bad guys in the series in the hopes that would get more butt in seats.

It’s also strange how The Chameleon claims to have been denied of learning kung fu due to being “too small” despite one of the Furious Five members being Mantis, A.K.A. a literal grasshopper! I guess kung fu warriors are just as racist towards lizards as pandas.

When it comes to the returning antagonists of the series, Tai Lung is the only one that gets enough screen time to warrant being considered an actual role in the story. And by that, I mean he gets a decent action sequence and a couple of laughs and that’s basically it.

The other notable ones are just there for the sake of continuity and nostalgia, with Ian McShane the only one reprising his role. Not to mention, the scenes where Po is witnessing all of his foes in the same place but Tai Lung is the ONLY one that actually speaks is LAUGHABLY noticeable!

I don’t know if this was yet again done due to a lower budget or there was suppose to be an actual arc for Po’s first foe early on in development (which there really isn’t) but those who were hoping that the villains would get the Spider-Man: No Way Home treatment are destined for disappointment as well.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment of Kung Fu Panda 4 is the way it handles the humor. If you are someone that felt that Kung Fu Panda 3 went too far with its slapstick humor, it’s unfortunately just like that here but even worse. There’s too many jokes that feel extremely forced and are just not funny at all. Too much of the humor feels like it’s only there to keep the toddlers entertained and not because it works in the heat of the moment for the characters. Yes, all of the Kung Fu Panda movies have plenty of humor but they always felt perfectly timed and made sense for the characters without feeling out of place.

With Kung Fu Panda 4, the jokes are nonstop and feel like they are only there because the writers couldn’t figure out how to keep the main story engaging so they just threw in some random jokes in the hopes that it would be good enough to push the whole thing forward. It’s like the worst kind of humor in Marvel movies increased ten fold. There’s only so many times where you can hear Po say skadoosh without it getting tiring real quick.

To gain to the more positive side, the animation is quite breathtaking, which is all the more impressive considering the film’s 85 million dollar budget. Everything looks bright and colorful, able to expand on the same art style from the previous three films while being able to modify it for this to be far in a way the best looking Kung Fu Panda film to date. All the locations of new and old are beautiful to look at, especially the scene with Po in the valley of peace. Even the distractingly out of place models for all the new characters (which feel like they came straight out of Zootopia) can’t take away from this film being a visual treat for the eye.

The action scenes themselves are as dynamic as you would hope for in a Kung Fu Panda movie. It still has that sense of choreography, rhythm, and pace that has always made the fight sequences in this series stand out as well as they do. I enjoyed some of the earlier bits of Po guarding the valley of peace along with the scenes involving him and Zhen fighting together or against each other. While I can’t think of a set piece here that holds a candle to the best ones in the previous three films such as the fights with Tai Lung and Shen or the one between Po and Shifu, along with wanting more lasting action in the climax, they do deliver when it counts the most.

The voice cast is able to do the best with what they have. Jack Black is as perfect here as Po as he always has been, clearly bringing so much love and passion to our favorite panda. Viola Davis gives a great and menacing voice performance as The Chameleon, making the character stand out more than the script will actually allow her. It’s neat to see Ke Huy Quan get a voice over role here for a character that feels like a mix between his characters from Loki and Everything Everywhere All At Once. Dustin Hoffman has shown age as much as the character of Shifu himself (Then again, the man is 86 years old!) but still fits the role like a glove all the same. Ian McShane seems excited to be back as Tai Lung, even if his role isn’t as big as I hoped it would be. Even James Hong and Bryan Cranston are able to get moments to shine in the film’s few funny moments as the two fathers of Po. And as I said before, Awkwafina as Zhen plays out exactly as you would expect a character voiced by Awkwafina to play out, so take that as you will.

I imagine there will be plenty of people reading this review that think I’m being too harsh and overly critical of a movie clearly designed for children. If you think that, that’s completely fine but Kung Fu Panda to me has always been much better than that.

The series’ greatest trick in the past was having you thinking it would play out like your stereotypical “critic proof” movies for kids but when you watch the movies themselves, there is something much more than that. Kung Fu Panda 4 feels more in line with what the series was originally thought of as being on the surface level, almost as if it was made by Illumination than DreamWorks.

For those that come to these movies for the action and some laughs, you might get your money’s worth. It’s competently made with solid animation, fight scenes, and voice work throughout but the clever storytelling and engaging resonate themes are just not there this time around.

There are moments where it feels like it’s going to get there and makes this stand proudly with the other three films but it instead chooses to take the quick and easy path every step of the way, which is not how the series was up to this point. It’s odd how for a movie that claims to be about change, it does very little of that to its overall status quo.

I don’t know if it had to do with a supposed rushed development, lower budget, or running out of creative gas but Kung Fu Panda 4 feels like it was only made to keep the franchise brand going and not because anyone had a unique enough story to tell for it.

If the series continues to stick to it’s initial six-movie arc plan that DreamWorks envisioned back in 2010, then they better find a way to spice things up for parts five and six if they want anything after Kung Fu Panda 3 to be worthy of existing.

As an animated film for kids, it’s passable at best. As a Kung Fu Panda movie, there’s just not enough skadoosh this time around.

Other comments:

  • Yes, Jack Black’s version of Baby One More Time is awesome and the biggest standout of the entire soundtrack.

  • There is actually a scene in the movie where Bryan Cranston has a little Walter White in him as Po’s biological father.

  • Who in a million years would have thought that Puss in Boots: The Last Wish would be by far the best DreamWorks sequel in recent memory and NOT Megamind 2 or Kung Panda 4?

  • Yes, I watched Megamind 2. It’s probably the most pointless sequel I’ve ever watched!

  • Oh and Mr. Beast makes a voice cameo in this one! That’s cool I guess!

  • Also, Po’s dads are so gay! Just saying!

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) Retrospective- The Perfect Villain

Adam2 Comments

After the surprising success of Kung Fu Panda in 2008, a Kung Fu Panda 2 just had to be made. As a matter of fact, according to DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, they were looking to do a complete saga’s worth of Kung Fu Panda installments with at least six total. However, with DreamWorks, it’s clearly one step at a time by focusing on one distinct chapter at a time, especially in regards to Kung Fu Panda. We would end up getting a follow-up the original Kung Fu Panda three years later with 2011’s Kung Fu Panda 2.

As much as folks were doubtful that the first film could work at all given it’s bizarre premise, I believe there was even more doubt that a sequel could work in any way, shape, or form. Like what else could you do with a follow-up to Kung Fu Panda? Have Po be a bumbling idiot and learn the same lessons that he already learned the first time around? Clearly the first movie have to be a magical fluke and there’s no way DreamWorks could make lightning strike twice, right?! Right?! Welp, you would be wrong once again!

Kung Fu Panda 2 is not only as good as the original, it’s even better. It does EVERYTHING you want a sequel to do. It takes the characters into new and interesting directions, it expands upon it’s story and lore in the most logically way possible, the action and animation are taken to the next level, and it’s able to act as the best possible next step for the journey of Po as oppose to do just retreating steps from his first go around. It’s not only the best Kung Fu Panda movie thus far but it’s perhaps one of the best DreamWorks films ever made and even one of the best sequels of all time period. Not just in animation but in all films in general.

However, there is one strong element that’s able to hold this entire film together. One element that was perhaps a bit lacking in the first film compared to everything else going on. That is no other than the main villain of Shen, voiced BRILLIANTLY by Gary Oldman. Don’t get me wrong, Tai Lung was a fine antagonist overall but Shen easily blows him and any other antagonist in this entire series out of the water. The key to making a perfect sequel is to have a perfect villain. And Kung Fu Panda 2 is able to succeed GREATLY in that regard.

What makes Shen the best and most interesting antagonist of the entire series is his connection to Po. Unlike with Tai Lung and Kai, Shen is a villain that actually has a tie-in to Po’s past. Throughout Kung Fu Panda 2, you get a deeper dive into Po’s tragic past that was largely glossed over in the first film. A past that actually saw him with his fellow kin of pandas and his own biological mommy and daddy. However, there was one awful night where a good chunk of Po’s kind was wiped out and executed. That execution came from an army of deadly wolves that was lead by none other than Shen himself. It’s that connection that Shen has with Po that makes the conflict between him the most personal and engaging of the entire series.

Switching over to Po for a second, Po at this point has embraced his new life as The Dragon Warrior who now fights greatly alongside the Furious Five. However, he still has plenty to learn throughout his journey. One main component being that Po must achieve inner peace. Inner peace is a concept within the Kung Fu Panda universe to describe a peaceful state of mind and spirit. In the words of Shifu, it’s the ability “harness the flow of the universe”, enabling one to do basically the impossible. In a way, this is almost like what I imagine the special power that Po thought he was going to get with The Dragon Scroll but never got.

However, there is one road block that constantly gets in the way whenever Po tries to achieve inner peace throughout the course of the film. That being what happened the night that Po lost his parents, that night which was caused by Shen and his army. With that terrible memory he still has in his head that has come back to haunt him, finding inner peace seems impossible for Po because he can’t seem to put his past behind him. Something which Po can only be achieve once he discovered what happened that night. Unfortunately for Po, the only person that can answer that is Shen himself.

After Shifu sends Po and the Furious Five on a mission to Gongmen City after learning that Shin killed Kung Fu Master Thundering Rhino, Po is basically giving no choice put to confront his past head on in the hopes that it will unlock the secrets to not just inner peace but a brighter future as well. Shen, in this movie, is looking to do the unthinkable and destroy kung fu once and for all. He plans to do this by committing absolute genocide around China with cannons, hoping that will wipe out every single Kung Fu member and tradition.

The two first encountered with one another when Po and the Furious Five surrender to Shen and his army. However, Po claims he has a plan in motion and surprisingly enough, it succeeds. He’s able to catch Shen off guard and has the perfect opportunity to put an end to him right there but he doesn’t. The main thing that stopped him was symbol of Shen’s armor. It’s that exact same symbol Po saw with him when confronting bad guys at the village and it’s the symbol that calls back to that night where Po lost his parents. Because of that distraction, Shen escapes and destroys Gongmen Palace with his cannonade.

Tigress and the Furious Five demand to know why Po held back at stopping Shen. Despite initially hesitating, Po gives in and reveals that he believes that Shen knows what happened with his parents on the night that he lost them. With Po lacking clear focus on his mission, Tigress orders Po to sit the rest of the mission out and let the Furious Five handling it, refusing to let her friend get killed. But of course, Po can’t help himself and must seek answers from Shen. Not only will those answers make his past clear but it might just help unlock the inner peace hidden within himself.

Because of that eagerness, Po disobeys Tigress’s orders and goes to confront Shen himself. When Po demands answers from his new connected foe about what happened that night, Shen tells him that he was in fact there at night and watched as his parents abandoned him. That’s right! According to the words of Shen himself, it wasn’t him that caused Po to be separated from his real parents, it was themselves. With Po being horrified off the truth, that allows Shen to shoot the panda through his cannon, leaving him plenty of miles away from his fortress.

What I find the most fascinating about that exchange is that I don’t think Shen himself believes he is lying to Po there. Yes, he is clearly not telling the truth about Po’s parents abandoning him but I don’t think he himself realizes that. The main reason for that is with Shen’s own experience with his parentage. That experience which had fuel him into using his kung fu for evil and destroy China.

It’s revealed early in the film that the peacock rulers of Gongmen City actually invented fireworks for the purpose of peace. However, the ruler’s son, Shen, discovered that the gunpowder used to make the fireworks can also be used as a weapon. Once Shen’s parents take notice to their son’s sudden obsession with using fireworks as armory, they consult a soothsayer, who tells the two that if their son’s continues down this path of wrongful and sinful behavior, he will be defeated by “a warrior of black and white”. Overhearing of the prophecy, Shen believes that this supposed warrior has to be a panda, which is why he send his army of wolves to execute the pandas from all around the world, hoping this would lead to the prophecy not being fulfilled. Horrified by the panda genocide, Shen’s parents banished their own son from the city as he is no longer the boy they have come to love.

When saying that backstory out loud, you can actually get a sense as to why Shen would believe that Po would abandon his parents because he believes that is what parenthood is all about. With the way he was abandoned by his own parents, he only assumes that’s how the meaning of life is for everybody. Yes, they had ever right to do so but not in the eyes of Shen. This is because how much evil has blinded him from being the one good peacock he had the potential to be. The one that was able to use fireworks for good and not evil. The one that might have been able to fulfill his destiny and rule over Gongmen City for his parents. The one that would allow his past not to define him but only consume him. That right there spells out the perfect parallel that Shen has with Po.

However, the main difference between the past that Po and Shen share is how Po responds to learning the full truth about the tragic night with his parents. After getting blasted out of the cannon, Po is rescued by the soothsayer, the same one that was with Shen when she told the prophecy that caused him to wreck havoc. She tells Po all about the panda genocide and encourages him to face that past head on. It’s the only way that Po can do what he has been looking to do all movie long, achieve inner peace.

It’s then we get to what is not only hands down the best sequence in the entire franchise but one of the best scenes in any animated film period. This is the moment that the entire film has been building to. This is the moment where Po finally achieves inner peace. As Po unlocks the inner peace within himself, he is able to remember his father fighting off Shen’s army while his mother hid him in a little crate, drawing off the army so her son could survive. While the fate of his father is unknown, it basically all but confirms that Po’s mother is truly dead. It’s unlocking inner peace that allowed Po to unlock his past.

However, Po doesn’t have to be like Shen. He doesn’t have to let his past define him and motivate him to use his powers for evil. Instead, he can heal himself, leave the past behind him, and motivate himself to use his knowledge of kung fu for not just for the greater good but for a better and more uplifting future that awaits him. After all, he has already accomplished a great many things already during his time as the Dragon Warrior, as the rapid clip show of the events of the last two movies would show. This is where everything comes full circle for Po and this entire series in general. At the end of the day, Po is not Shen. Po is Po and he needs a hat!

One final master stroke of Po’s and Shin’s story is how both used their powers that they unlocked from their past. Shin is able to use the cannon of fireworks in the hopes that it would destroy China while Po is able use the knowledge of inner peace in the hopes that it would save China. However, because Po is the one that learned to not let his past define him, it is him that emerges victorious where Shen is defeated in the end. Whereas Po embraced his past as a scar that is a part of him forever, Shen embraced his past as a wound that never healed. Most of all, Po learned what Shen failed to. That the only thing that matters for yourself is what you choose to be in the here and now, not in the before or later. Because of that, Po was able to save the Furious Five, his master, and most importantly, all of China and kung fu from Shen.

When people talk about the best Part Twos of all time, a main strength that each and every one of them has is the perfect villain. The Empire Strikes Back had Darth Vader. Spider-Man 2 had Doc Ock. The Dark Knight had the Joker. And when it comes to DreamWorks Part Twos, Shrek 2 had the fairy godmother and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish had Death in the form of a wolf himself. Kung Fu Panda 2 has Shen and it’s all the more perfect for it.

There is an old saying that the hero is only as good as it’s villain. If that is indeed true, then I don’t think there has been an antagonist in any DreamWorks movie that was able to fit the exact meaning of that with Shen himself. Shen to this day is still the best villain in the entire Kung Fu Panda franchise and one of the best villains I have seen in any animated movie! I can’t imagine Kung Fu Panda 2 being the perfect sequel that it is if it wasn’t for Shen’s strong presence throughout the entire film. He make for a perfect parallel to Po and just makes for the perfect side of a coin in general.

If you are an inspiring screenwriter that is looking on how to make the perfect villain for your story, look no further than with Shen in Kung Fu Panda 2.

Next up: Kung Fu Panda 3– Finding Your Inner Chi

Kung Fu Panda (2008) Retrospective- Redefining The Chosen One

Adam2 Comments

If there is one movie out there that is basically the textbook definition of “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover!”, that would be Kung Fu Panda. On paper, this sounds like the dumbest idea ever. A big fat panda voiced by Jack Black learning Kung Fu?! That feels like an idea that came from the same person that thought The Emoji Movie would be a great hit! And that’s not even going to the overall marketing and trailers for this movie, which played the movie as being nothing more than a water down slapstick comedy aimed for toddlers. However, once the movie came out during the summer of 2008, we all could not have been wrong about Kung Fu Panda.

I believe it’s safe to say that Kung Fu Panda has been far in a way Dreamwork’s most surprising franchise to date. Heck, with the exception of Shrek and How To Train Your Dragon, you could argue Kung Fu Panda is their best and most consistent franchise to date. This was a series of films that most folks didn’t think could hold it’s own standalone film, let alone a franchise, with a premise that sounded like the stupidest idea imaginable. However, not only is Kung Fu Panda is able to work despite it’s silly premise, it’s able to work BECAUSE of it.

It’s able to use that “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover” mindset that not only acts what most folks thought of Kung Fu Panda when watching it but use that as the central theme throughout the film. And it’s that theme that makes for the perfect way to tell the story of the main character of Po, the titled panda that learns kung fu. A story that is yet again another chosen one narrative with the main character having to go through the typical hero’s journey but is able to use it’s admittedly absurd premise to find a completely fresh and unique way to tell it. It’s that exact reason and much more that makes Kung Fu Panda the right movie to talk about when it comes to films that is successfully able to redefine the typical chosen one narrative.

When we first meet Po, he seems like the last person that is worthy of being the chosen one, or as the movie refers to it as The Dragon Warrior. Sure, he is shown to be a massive fanboy of kung fu, with him having dreams of becoming the ultimate dragon warrior and owning his own action figures of the entire Furious Five group, but he comes off as an absolute clumsy oaf who don’t seem to take anything seriously. However, despite having a straight forward future with running a noodle shop with his TOTALLY not adapted father Mr. Ping, his heart doesn’t seem to eagerly awaiting for that kind of future. He’s awaiting for that special opportunity to fight alongside the Furious Five. He’s awaiting to become a kung fu warrior. It’s then the day that Po has been waiting for arrives, the day that known kung fu legend Master Oogway announces who The Dragon Warrior is.

After a handful of hilariously comedy bits in seeing how Po tries to enter a closed palace for the ceremony along with admitting to his father that noodles aren’t really his thing, we see Oogway choosing the Dragon Warrior. And that Dragon Warrior turned out to be no one other than Po himself. Not Tigress, not any member of the Furious Five, and not even a tall and muscular man! The Dragon Warrior is a fat panda named Po.

That moment is not only Oogway choosing the fate of kung fu in the valley of peace set in China but the fate of the actual movie in general. He is basically counting on the most unlikely person imaginable for the job. He is counting on the titled panda character voiced by Jack Black to carry the entire picture and make Po’s heroic journey feel earned. It may seem unimaginable but Oogway has fate in himself, his students, and most importantly, the audience to be alongside Po’s quest to become the Dragon Warrior by any means necessary.

Shifu is the one kung fu master that has to train Po to become the Dragon Warrior, as he had trained the Furious Five. His goal is to teach the panda kung fu and have him become good enough to not only defeat the sinister Tai Lung, Shifu’s fallen apprentice that has escaped from prison with a massive grudge against his former master, but also to claim the dragon scroll, which is believed to have the secrets to limitless power of kung fu. However, as you would expect for as someone that is as bumbling and clumsy as Po looks, it does not start off well at all.

Po’s early days of training are nothing short of disaster. Fallen short of every possible training lesson, session, and technique needed to master any sort of kung fu, Po had lived up to his first impressions of being the worst possible person for the job of the Dragon Warrior. Due to that, every one around him seems to think that Oogway made a mistake picking Po. Shifu believes it, the Furious Five believes it, and worst of all, Po himself believes it as well. The only person that does NOT believe Oogway was wrong is well…Oogway himself.

After receiving word of Tai Lung escaping from prison, Shifu realizes that their days may be numbered before evil strikes the heart of the valley of peace. Matters are made even more complicated when Oogway’s time has come and dies of old age at the Sacred Peach Tree, blown away by wind and pink petals. Even though Shifu has done everything in his power to get rid of Po, he now knows he has no choice but to do everything in his power to train Po and become the ultimate Kung Fu master.

Before he is able to do that, Po tries to run away from the responsibility after coming to the realization that he is the only one that can stop Tai Lung. We then have a great moment between Shifu and Po when the former asks the latter why he didn’t quit when everyone was trying to get rid of him. Po claims that despite all of the constant failing and insults from Shifu and the gang, he powered through with it because he figured that if there was anyone that can change himself from being just a big fat panda to a noble warrior, it was Shifu. This right there is a major defining moment of the movie.

This is when the movie has it’s main character basically questioning it’s own premise and overall existence. There is no way a big fat panda can be the one to be the hero that saves the day, it has to be someone way more than him. Po doesn’t want to be that anymore because that’s not what is normally defined as being a hero. No matter how good he can be at kung fu, Po will always be that big fat panda in his overall appearance and nothing can change that. Nothing except for possibly the dragon scroll.

With Shifu figuring out that the only way to motivated Po to be the best Kung Fu warrior imaginable is with food, he takes unconventional measures to train Po, measures that he could never have done with the Furious Five. Because of that, Po is able to succeed and have now learn how to properly Kung Fu. After the Furious Five attempt to take Tai Lung head on and failing, Shifu believes that it is now time to hand Po the dragon scroll, which is believed to do basically anything to help the Dragon Warrior master Kung Fu in ways unimaginable.

However, something unexpected happens once Po opens up the dragon scroll. It’s blank. Literally completely blank. Only showing himself in a golden reflection. No kung fu cheat codes, no magical or whimsical power! Nothing but Po himself. All of that build up and hype for the dragon scroll turned out to be literally for nothing!

Now, a movie where the big overall reveal turns out to be nothing is a HUGE risk, especially when there has been so much build up towards it. It could make the whole experience feel like it was a giant waste of time with trying to keep a secret that ultimately amount to literally NOTHING. However, Kung Fu Panda not only makes it completely work but it might just be the best “nothing” twist that I’ve seen in any movie.

After Po and the Furious Five go their separate ways with Shifu, who awaits his former student’s arrival, we see Po running into his father once again as the whole valley evacuates. Despite learning kung fu, it seems like Po is right back where he started at the beginning of the film, awaiting his noodle tradition future with his adopted father. It’s then that Mr. Ping believes it is time for him to let his son know of his little secret. That secret being the secret ingredient of his secret ingredient soup. And just like with the dragon scroll, the secret ingredient is literally nothing.

That’s right! That secret that Mr. Ping has kept from his son for so long turned out to be literally nothing. It’s nothing but plain old noodle soup. Even though there is no secret ingredient, Mr. Ping believes he doesn’t need it for his soup to be a success. The fact that he believes his soup making skills are special is good enough for him. The fact that he believed in it hard enough and made it happen was the true secret ingredient to all of this.

And there it is right there! That was the meaning of The Dragon Scroll! That was the point that Oogway was trying to get across! There is no secret ingredient to becoming a hero, it’s just you! Your overall appearance doesn’t matter! It’s only a matter if you believe in yourself willingly to accomplish the goals you set out to achieve! That moment right there is not only telling Po himself not to take himself for granted but also the audience as well!

It’s Po using the skills he learned from Shifu and the knowledge he discovered from his father to defeat the sinister Tai Lung. It’s nothing that was learned from any member of the Furious Five or even Shifu himself, it was all on Po. And that realization comes into fruition when Tai Lung finally gets his hands on The Dragon Scroll only to find out it’s literally nothing. All of that training and years of anticipation for the dragon scroll to find out it’s literally nothing. The main difference here is that Po is able to discover the inner meaning of himself with that reveal while Tai Lung is unable to. It’s because of that and more that Po is the one victorious in the end and Tai Lung ends up in skadoosh land.

There have been many different ways of telling the traditional chosen one narrative. There has been plenty of franchises out there that have done that and done it well. However, there isn’t one that I can recall that was able to tell it as fresh, unique, and most importantly, subversive as Kung Fu Panda. It’s like the filmmakers behind were fully aware of it’s absurd premise that audiences would judge too harshly on the surface. It’s like they wanted to use that sense of doubt from everyone to not only prove all the naysayers of the film wrong but literally have that be the main driving force of the film. And if the success of this film is anything to go by, I would say they succeeded spectacularly.

It’s that positive mindset of not doubting yourself that has led DreamWorks to the success with Kung Fu Panda. At the end of the day, when you set yourself out to achieve something, it’s only you that can accomplish it. There’s no secret weapon or trick to do it all, it’s just you. It’s only if you have the confidence to believe in yourself will you be able to accomplish your dreams when given the opportunity. Po was able to do that just well throughout the series and hopefully you can too with whatever you set out to be. Only then where you might just become your own version of the chosen one or The Dragon Warrior.

Next up in the marathon: Kung Fu Panda 2– How To Make The Perfect Villain