Kung Fu Panda

PLOT

In the Valley of Peace, a land in Ancient China inhabited by anthropomorphic animals, Po is a fan of kung fu, and idolizes the Furious Five–Tigress, Monkey, Crane, Viper, and Mantis–a group of kung fu masters trained by Master Shifu. However, Po is unable to pursue his dream of learning kung fu while he helps his adoptive father, Mr. Ping the goose, in his noodle restaurant.

Grand Master Oogway, Shifu's mentor, has a vision that Shifu's former protégé, the evil Tai Lung, will escape from prison. Oogway fortells that Tai Lung will return to the valley to exact his revenge for being denied the dragon scroll, which is said to hold the secret to boundless power. Panicked, Shifu sends his messenger, Zeng the goose, with a request for the prison to tighten its security. He then holds a tournament for the Furious Five so that Oogway can identify the Dragon Warrior, the one kung fu master worthy of receiving the Dragon Scroll. Po arrives too late to enter the arena; desperate to see the Dragon Warrior, Po straps himself to a set of fireworks and launches himself into the middle of the arena. He crash-lands in front of Oogway as he points towards the Dragon Warrior. To the astonishment of everyone present, Oogway proclaims Po as the chosen warrior.

Believing Oogway's decision to be an accident, Shifu tries to dispose of Po with a harsh training regime, while the Furious Five berate Po as an enthusiast with no potential in martial arts. Po considers resigning, but after receiving encouragement from Oogway, he endures his training and gradually befriends the Five with his resilience, culinary skill, and good humor. During this time, Po learns that Shifu's cold and distant behavior stems from his own shame over Tai Lung's betrayal, having raised him from infancy.

Meanwhile, Tai Lung escapes from prison by picking his locks with one of Zeng's feathers. Shifu learns of Tai Lung's escape from Zeng and informs Oogway, who extracts a promise from Shifu to believe in Po, and then passes on to the heavens in a stream of peach blossoms. Still unable to grasp the basics of kung fu, Po despairingly admits that he has no chance of defeating Tai Lung. Overhearing this, Tigress leaves to stop Tai Lung by herself being joined by the remaining members of the Furious Five before she departs. However, Shifu discovers that Po is capable of impressive physical feats when motivated by food. Using food as positive reinforcement, Shifu successfully trains Po by incorporating these feats into an innovative kung fu style.

Meanwhile, the Furious Five return after being 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. Believing the scroll to be useless, Shifu orders Po and the Five to evacuate the valley while he faces Tai Lung. As Tai Lung arrives and fights Shifu, a distraught Po finds Mr. Ping. In an attempt to console his son, Mr. Ping reveals that the secret ingredient to his famous "secret ingredient soup" is "nothing", explaining that things are special when believed to be. Po realizes that this is the message of the Dragon Scroll (as the scroll reflected him) and goes back to confront Tai Lung.

Po proves himself to be a formidable challenge for Tai Lung, frustrating him with confusing fighting techniques. Additionally, his excessive body fat bestows on him an incredible ability to absorb damage and grants him immunity to Tai Lung's nerve strikes. Tai Lung momentarily beats Po and retrieves the scroll, but he is unable to understand it and continues attacking Po. Eventually, Po defeats Tai Lung in combat by using the mysterious Wuxi Finger Hold to vanquish him.[a] 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, while Shifu finally attains peace.

VOICE CAST

Jack Black as Po

Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu

Angelina Jolie as Master Tigress

Seth Rogen as Master Mantis

Lucy Liu as Master Viper

David Cross as Master Crane

Jackie Chan as Master Monkey

Ian McShane as Tai Lung

Riley Osborne voices a younger version of Tai Lung

James Hong as Mr. Ping

Randall Duk Kim as Grand Master Oogway

Dan Fogler as Zeng

Michael Clarke Duncan as Commander Vachir

Robert Clotworthy and Steve Bulen as Anvil Of Heavens