< Kung Fu Panda

Kung Fu Panda/Characters


Kung Fu Panda

Po Ping

Voiced by:
Jack Black (Films)
Mick Wingert (TV Series)

The main protagonist. A Giant Panda with a big heart, he is a major kung fu fanatic and runs a noodle shop with his father (who is a goose). To the surprise of everyone, he is selected by Master Oogway to be the Dragon Warrior destined to defend the Valley of Peace from danger, and now trains under Master Shifu and alongside his idols, the Furious Five.


  • Accidental Athlete: In the first movie, when he climbed several feet off the kitchen floor and performed a perfect split just to get Monkey's cookies off the top shelf. When he sees Shifu watching him, Po's first words are "Don't tell Monkey."
  • Acrofatic: After his training. He's in a fact a normal weight for a member of his species, though he doesn't know this at first and worries about his gluttony.
    • Though he can still tire after too long and struggles with over-long staircases
  • Adorkable: Look no further than when he first entered the Jade Palace and spent the next minute or two just gawking to himself over the cool kung fu artifacts. Pandaing to the Audience indeed.
  • Anti-Hero: Type I. Slips towards a Type II in the special, as he tries to rig a contest so that he gets to spend Not-at-all-Christmas with his Dad and promptly proceeds to humiliate and insult dozens of competing chefs.
  • Ascended Fanboy: Even after he's been established firmly as the Dragon Warrior, he occasionally looks around at his comrades like he can't believe something so cool is actually happening.
  • Ass Kicks You: While Po is fighting Tai Lung, he sits on Tai Lung at one point. It becomes one of his signature moves later on.
  • Awesome By Analysis: In the cartoon series, it is revealed that he is quite talented through means of observing attacks. Yes, even dangerous techniques.
  • Badass
  • Badass Boast: "I'm not a big fat panda. I'm THE big fat panda!"
  • Battle Couple: With Tigress in the second movie, as part of their Ship Tease.
  • Battle Cry: "GET READY TO FEEL THE THUNDER!!"
  • Bear Hug: To Tigress at the end of the second film. It is funny because he is a bear.
  • Beary Funny
  • Big Eater: He can stuff forty bean buns into his mouth.
  • Big Fun
  • Bunny Ears Lawyer: Becoming a kung fu master doesn't end his being the comic relief.
  • Butt Monkey: He starts off as this.
  • Catch Phrase: "Skadoosh".
  • Charles Atlas Superpower: It's revealed in "Oogway's Ghost" that Po relies the most on the frequent training sessions to keep his skills sharp out of the group. Going for even a few days without the proper level of taxation leaves him nigh useless in battle.
  • Chef of Iron: Doubles as Team Chef.
  • The Chosen One: Twice, even!
  • The Chosen Zero: He doesn't appear to be a hero at first, but it turns out his chubbiness is a boon against Tai Lung and he can figure out the meaning of the Dragon Scroll.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass
  • Dark and Troubled Past: Po's family and his species in his infancy were massacred by Lord Shen, but Po has no conscious memory of this for years and soon comes to terms with it.
  • Determinator
  • Disability Immunity: He is so chubby that Tai Lung's pressure-point attacks don't work on him.
  • Disappeared Dad: His biological father. Who actually turns out to be alive.
  • Ditzy Genius: Has figured out advanced Kung Fu techniques by himself without being shown, has an encyclopediac knowledge of kung fu history and lore, is a competent and imaginative strategist, and is a Supreme Chef to boot. Discovers inner peace three days after being told what it is, and has an excellent grasp of kung fu philosophy. And the end credits for the second movie show that he didn't buy his near-identical action figues of the Furious Five- he carved them by himself. For all that though he's pretty childish, occasionally clumsy, easily excited and often lacks common sense.
  • Downer Beginning
  • Drives Like Crazy: On a cart in Gongmen City chasing down the Wolf Boss in Kung Fu Panda 2.
  • Encyclopaedic Knowledge: Even before Shifu decided to seriously train him, Po still had a stunningly complete fanboy knowledge of kung fu lore and philosophy.
  • Epic Fail: His first attempt at training with Shifu.

Shifu: There is now a level zero.

  • Finger-Poke of Doom: The Wuxi Finger Hold.
  • Friend to All Children: As shown in Secrets of the Furious Five.
  • Gentle Giant
  • The Gift: Said word for word in an episode of Legends Of Awesomeness.
  • Green Eyes
  • Happily Adopted
  • Hard Work Hardly Works: Averted. While Po has a great deal of natural talent and can learn very quickly under the right circumstances while creating powerful innovations, he still has to rely extensively on the Five in combat (although he is still an asset to them as well), and Tigress in particular is implied to be a much more formidable combatant.
  • Heartbreak and Ice Cream: Po has a psychological dependence on eating when he's upset, but he manages to conquer it to some degree in the first film.
  • The Hero
  • Heroic BSOD: Whenever he sees Lord Shen's symbol. Before he achieves inner peace, that is.
  • Hidden Depths: Leaving aside his martial arts skills, as much as Po so often seems an immature Ascended Fanboy, Shifu learns that he is an excellent teacher of kung fu's philosophical aspects.
  • I Just Want to Be Special: Turns out he's destined to be the Dragon Warrior, and the one who is to defeat Lord Shen.
  • Incorruptible Pure Pureness: He's quite the innocent character.
  • Ink Suit Actor: Po is basically his VA Jack Black as a panda.
  • Kevlard: Specifically, his fat makes him immune to nerve strikes.
  • Large Ham: Being voiced by Jack Black, it's a given.
  • Last of His Kind: Subverted. His biological father and other Giant Pandas are still alive in a hidden, distant area.
  • Late to the Party: This doesn't stop Oogway from believing that he is the Dragon Warrior, as he appeared right in front of him while he was deciding his choice.
  • Lightning Bruiser
  • Made of Iron: Because of his fat, he can deflect blows quite easily. Even Tai Lung's nerve strike attack.
    • As a result, when he begins to lose weight in KFP 2 (noted by his father), he no longer has this resistance (as the Wolf Boss is able to hurt him with a strike to the belly).
  • Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Feminine Boy to Tigress's Masculine Girl.
  • Meaningful Name: Word of God says his full name is "Po Ping" (寶平, bǎopíng), which means "precious peace".
  • The Messiah: Because he does not hate anybody, even Shen who attack Po's village, and killed his mother, still forgave him and told him to let go of the Past.
  • Missing Mom: His real mom is suggested to have died while leading Shen and the wolves away from him.
  • Pandaing to the Audience
  • Parody Sue: Po's dream as the totally awesome Legendary Warrior.
  • Rookie Sixth Ranger: The newest addition to the Furious Five, and initially the least experienced.
  • Ridiculously Cute Critter: As a baby.
  • Ship Tease: With Tigress, especially during the second film.
  • Stout Strength
  • Supreme Chef: When it comes to noodles. It runs in the family.
  • Took a Level in Badass: The first film's plot revolves around this. In the sequel, although his fighting skills are still far from flawless, he kicks much more butt.
  • Use Your Head: He favors this move to shut enemies up fast, as seen in the holiday special and the second film.
  • What Could Have Been: In an early version of the original movie's script, Po was intended to be something of a Parody Sue, expecting the Furious Five to love him and adore him as much as he liked them. Apparently, Jack Black intervened because he realized how unlikeable this made the character, and urged the writers to change Po to being insecure and well aware of his own flaws.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: In Kung Fu Panda 2, not only does Po keep freezing up during crucial moments whenever he sees Lord Shen's symbol, but he refuses to explain why. This doesn't rub well with the other Five (Tigress especially) when this problem makes him miss the perfect opportunity to catch Shen. It passes when they find out why he was distracted, though.

Master Shifu

Voiced by:
Dustin Hoffman (Films)
Fred Tatasciore (TV Series)

An old Red Panda, he is the kung fu teacher and master of Po and the Furious Five, and secondary protagonist of the series. He originally refuses to accept Po as the Dragon Warrior until the young panda proves himself. He is the protege of Master Oogway, and has succeeded him as spiritual leader of the Valley of Peace in the wake of Oogway's death.


  • Anti-Hero: Type IV or III at first, given his borderline abusive treatment of Po and frankly assholeish attitude.
  • Badass Grandpa
  • Badass Mustache
  • Big Damn Heroes: In the second film, he convinces a pessimistic Master Ox and Master Croc to fight against Lord Shen in the climax, though the convincing happens totally off screen.
  • Big Eater: He is seen eating a large amount of dumplings in a few mere seconds during Po's training montage.
  • Big Good: After Oogway dies.
  • Big Ol' Eyebrows
  • Blue Eyes
  • Character Development: Since he trained Po to be the Dragon Warrior, and the giant panda helped undo his mistakes with Tai Lung, he's been feeling much better in the second film. Just take a look at this visual proof.
  • Comedic Sociopath: A teacher chucking his student down a flight of stairs the size of a small mountain wouldn't have much in the way of employment prospects in real life.
    • Justified in that he's a traditional Chinese Wushu Sifu. Historically, in Imperial China, outright abusive treatment of students by people in his position was not only tolerated, but expected.
  • Cool Old Guy
  • Cynical Mentor: After Tai Lung's turn to evil, and to Po before he proves himself capable of intense physical action.
  • Defrosting Ice King
  • Demoted to Extra: In the sequel, he gets a couple of brief scenes at the start, then sends Po on his way while he remains in the Valley of Peace until the very end when he does the Big Damn Heroes bit. Justified in that his character arc was mostly done with by the end of the first movie.
  • Disney Death: Averted. "I'm not dying, you idiot!"
  • Establishing Character Moment: Shifu's first scene is effortlessly evading the Furious Five's attacks during a training session and then harshly berates all of them for "doing well if they were trying to disappoint [him]."
  • Flash Step: He was quick in the first movie. In the sequel, he's able to essentially teleport.
  • Glass Cannon: He is a very fast and powerful fighter, but against tougher and larger opponents like Tai Lung. First evidenced in his match with Po at the end of his training, when the main advantage Po has on him is that Shifu is comparatively tiny.
  • Handicapped Badass: He walks with a limp since he was struck in the leg/hip by Tai Lung, but that does nothing to stop him from being a good fighter.
  • I Gave My Word: Shifu promises Oogway he will train Po minutes before the former unexpectedly passes away.
  • I Have No Son: Towards Tai Lung, briefly. Shortly after he tells him he was always proud of him though, and apologises for being a poor parent.
  • Jerkass: Until his Character Development in the second half of the film, he only shows concern about the kung fu techniques of his pupils and is downright mean to everyone who does not meet his impossibly high standards (while his contempt is completely focused on Po for much of the story, the Furious Five get their share before Po enters the stage). No wonder that both Tai Lung and Tigress have... serious self-esteem issues under their outward demeanor.
  • Ki Attacks
  • Meaningful Name: "Shifu" (師父) means "master".
  • Miniature Senior Citizens: Justified, since Red Pandas as a species are small animals.
  • My Greatest Failure: How he regards his training of Tai Lung.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: One could see it as Shifu allowing Tai Lung to be released, since if not for his paranoia, he wouldn't have sent Zeng to double check his holdings and allowed Tai Lung the feather he needed to escape. However, he only did that because Oogway said Tai Lung would escape, therefore it could be considered Oogway's fault. Also counts as Self-Fulfilling Prophecy.
  • Not So Different: In an episode of Legends of Awesomeness titled My Favorite Yao, he's compared to Po. He's a giant fanboy of this kung fu master named Yao, and even has action figures of Yao (in his meditation box) and himself even going as far as to accidentally letting Yao unleashed and going into Sensory Overload!
  • The Obi-Wan: Much more apparent by the sequel, where he replaces Oogway as the Valley of Peace's resident Obi-Wan.
    • By the sequel he has achieved the inner peace necessary to be this. It wasn't so much unapparent in the first film as averted, as he was too bitter and cold to be this, save towards the end.
  • Offscreen Teleportation: Courtesy of achieving inner peace.
  • Old Master
  • Parental Abandonment: His con-artist father left him at the Jade Palace when he was a kid.
  • Parents as People: Was far too busy training his adopted children in kung fu to actually, you know, parent them.
  • Pint-Sized Powerhouse: He's, what, a tenth Po's size? Smaller? Yet he can fling Po around like it's nothing.
  • Pride: He was blinded by this while training Tai Lung, preventing him from seeing the monster Tai Lung was becoming.
  • Sadist Teacher: In the first film, towards Po. His main motive may have been to get RID of Po, but there is a slight chance that he was enjoying it.
  • Seldom-Seen Species: He's a Red Panda. Which also makes him a "Kung Fu Panda" as well...
  • Staff of Authority: He inherits Master Oogway's and it becomes his Weapon of Choice.
  • Twitchy Eye
  • You Are Better Than You Think You Are: When Shifu at the Pool of Sacred Tears asks Po if he wants to learn kung fu, his response to the panda's impassioned "Yes!" says that he knows Po can be trained after all.

Master Tigress

Voiced by:
Angelina Jolie (Films)
Kari Wahlgren (TV Series)
Tara Strong (Young)

The strongest and boldest of the Furious Five, and tertiary protagonist of the series. She initially resents Po for being chosen as the Dragon Warrior over her, believing herself to be more worthy, but has since mellowed out considerably and is now one of his most loyal friends.


  • Action Girl
  • Anti-Hero: Type III->Type II.
  • Arrogant Kung Fu Girl
  • Badass: Particularly in the second film. Amongst other things, it's strongly implied she could still beat the crap out of Po, even after he's defeated Tai Lung. Then there's her plan to run to the top of a toppling tower. From the outside.
  • Battle Couple: As part of the Ship Tease in the second film, Po and Tigress often work closest together in combat with specific tactics they evidently developed together.
  • Big Shadow, Little Creature: As a youngster in Secrets of the Furious Five.
  • Bifauxnen: In Legends of Awesomeness, Mei Li refers to her as the scary man with stripes.
  • Break the Haughty: Her humiliating defeat at the hands of Tai Lung in the first film really brought her down to earth.
  • Cats Are Mean: Played straight in the first film in that she's the rudest of the Furious Five towards Po until the end; it's subverted massively after that.
  • The Comically Serious
  • Cool Big Sis: Becomes this to Po in the second movie.
  • Cooldown Hug: Delivers one to Po in the second film to end their fight over why Po couldn't open up about his problems, and to show him just how much she cares for him. She is later paid back with a Bear Hug.
  • Crazy Prepared: Tigress has protocol for dealing with a rooster wielding a battle-axe and a banana. You have to approach from the side holding the battle-axe, because the banana's a decoy.
  • Cute Bruiser: As a child because she couldn't control her Super Strength.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Her reaction to Po's discovery that a 2 and a half foot goose isn't his biological father.

Po: I'm just kinda...freaking out because I just found out my dad...isn't really my dad.
Tigress: You mean, your father, the goose?
Po: Yeah.
Tigress: That...must have been a shock.

Tigress: The hardcore do understand. But I can't watch my friend be killed.

Tigress: (flat expression) "I am smiling. This is my happy face."

  • Eyes of Gold
  • Feel No Pain: She spent twenty years punching the ironwood trees at the Jade Palace to the point where "now, I fell nothing". As Po points out, that is incredibly cool.
  • Freudian Excuse: She acts so cold and aloof because she knows about the trouble Shifu went through with Tai Lung, which means that he hasn't let himself show any emotional attachment towards her and constantly tells her--as well as the rest of the Five--that she can do better, rather than ever say he is proud of what she has already done. She desperately wants his approval, so is understandably annoyed when Po is selected as the Dragon Warrior with zero training after spending decades of hard work trying to become Shifu's star pupil. She warms up to him when he goes through Shifu's Training from Hell and still doesn't quit, because he's always modest around all of them, and after he earns the respect of her teammates, though she's the last to show it.
  • Happily Adopted: Subverted; she was very happy that Shifu (who trained her to control her brute strength as a child) adopted her, but until her adulthood Shifu was very cold to her.
  • Hot Amazon: Po seems to think so, considering his reaction to when she demonstrates her "flexibility".
  • Huge Schoolgirl: She was raised in an orphanage full of pigs, bunnies, and geese, and she was naturally much bigger and stronger than any of the other children. The fact that she did not know her own strength only made things worse.
  • Incest Subtext: Shades of it - according to Po in "Jailhouse Panda", Tigress did have a crush on Shifu growing up.
  • Ineffectual Loner: Defied.
  • Jerkass: Towards Po, initially.
  • The Leader: Of the Furious Five.
  • Made of Iron: Po punches her in the arm and only succeeds in hurting his hand. She doesn't even seem to notice.
    • Counting half the planks in the Thread of Hope with her back (and taking solid hits from Tai Lung in general) and not dying wasn't indication enough? Not to mention the fact she took a direct hit from Lord Shen's cannon and survived.
  • Mama Bear: To Zan in Legends of Awesomeness.
  • Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Masculine Girl to Po's Feminine Boy.
  • Orphanage of Love: Bao Gu, where she was raised.
  • Panthera Awesome
  • Parental Abandonment: She is confirmed to be an orphan, though how and why she became one is unknown.
  • Replacement Goldfish: She feels overshadowed by Tai Lung, and incapable of taking the place he supposedly had in Shifu's heart. As Secrets of the Furious Five reveals, she was adopted by Shifu as well, making her Tai Lung's replacement in all aspects. She's wrong at least in the sense that Shifu did a very poor job of expressing his love and approval in time to Tai Lung as well.
  • The Resenter: To Po, initially. She more than gets over it when he impresses her by defeating Tai Lung by himself.
  • Running on All Fours
  • Ship Tease: With Po in the second film. And somewhat in the Legend of Awesomeness episode "Scorpion's Sting" when she is asked by two bunnies if she loves Po and if Po is her boyfriend. She does say no, but seem a bit embarrased to answer. Note also that the events in the TV series does take place between the two films.
  • Sleeves Are for Wimps
  • Sugar and Ice Personality: The Five even lampshade the switch.
  • Taking the Bullet: For Po against a cannonball in the second film. She survives, though.
  • Tall, Dark and Bishoujo: As a bipedal tiger she's amongst the tallest of the main cast, has the personality down pact, and has the voice of Angelina Jolie, one of the quintessential Real Life examples of this trope.
  • Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Tomboy to Viper's Girly Girl.
  • Well Done Daughter Girl
  • When She Smiles: She always tries to be the serious martial arts warrior, but when she smiles, it's like she's letting you see the true inner beauty she has. While some of her smiles might seem somewhat strained if you're Po or a little bunny on Winter Festival Eve, you get the honest, heartwarming smile. A warm smile for Po? Ship Tease, anyone?.

Master Mantis

Voiced by:
Seth Rogen (Films)
Max Koch (TV Series)

The smallest of the Furious Five, but still just as strong as any other kung fu master. He is also a skilled acupuncturist.


  • The Big Guy: Ironic, eh?
  • Chirping Crickets: Manages this even though he's, well, a mantis. Bilingual Bonus?
  • Deadpan Snarker: More snarky than deadpan, but still qualifies.
  • Disappeared Dad: "I don't have any problems with my dad. Probably cuz Mom ate his head before I was born..."
  • Fragile Speedster: He was known to be very fast, but his fragility came from his impatience.
  • He-Man Woman Hater: Somewhat logically. All There in the Manual, though.
    • However, the sequel seems to suggest he's actually looking forward to the day he can settle down with a female mantis and eventually get his head bitten off.
    • It may have been more of a bout of Gallows Humor, since he and the Five were captured by Shen and they all thought China was done for.
  • Leeroy Jenkins: In the past, when he'd rush into battle without paying heed to any precautions.
  • The Medic: This is where the acupuncture comes in.
  • Napoleon Complex: Not to the point of it being a Berserk Button, but he does get a bit irked whenever his size is mentioned. It's also said in the artbook that Mantis does all of his lofty kung fu feats (i.e. breaking buildings instead of bricks) in compensation for his size.
  • Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Strong enough to hold a broken rope bridge with Tai Lung and three of his team mates on it. Heck, he might even be the strongest member of the team next to Tigress!
  • Pressure Point: His specialty.
  • What Could Have Been: The creators were going to make him The Mole until character designer Nico Marlet gave him more of a playful look that played with the stereotype of a creepy praying mantis.
    • And for the second movie, there was time in the plot where a female mantis was going to eat him!

Master Viper

Voiced by:
Lucy Liu (Films, TV Series)
Jessica DiCicco (Young)
Kath Soucie (video game)

One of the sweeter members of the Furious Five. She makes up for her lack of fangs and venom with her elegant dexterity and precision.


Viper: No one beats up my daddy!

  • Dance Battler: She sometimes uses a dance ribbon in battle. In Secrets of the Furious Five she was also noted as the best ribbon dancer in her village.
  • Flower in Her Hair: Well, head, but the two lotus flowers are pretty.
  • Handicapped Badass: She was born without fangs.
  • Lady of War: She's even voiced by the current trope poster woman!
  • Nice Girl
  • Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Girly Girl to Tigress's Tomboy.
  • Waif Fu
  • Well Done Daughter Girl: She was very loved by her father, a kung fu master who relied on his venomous fangs, but he feared that she wouldn't be able to carry out his legacy because she was born without fangs. She eventually proved herself to him when she used her ribbon dancing skills to beat up a bandit who shattered her father's fangs with armor.

Master Crane

Voiced by:
David Cross (Films)
Amir Talai (TV Series)

The most patient of the Furious Five, he acts as the group's moderator and tries to avoid conflict when necessary. He can also fly, so that's useful.


  • Adorkable
  • Butt Monkey: in Legends Of Awesomeness.
  • Deadpan Snarker: "So that was Stealth Mode, huh?"
  • Family-Unfriendly Violence: The creators decided to not incorporate Crane's beak into his fighting style for this reason.
  • Feather Fingers: Averted. He's the only bird character in the cast who uses his talons instead of his wings as hands.
    • The one exception is in Secrets of the Furious Five, in which he uses his wings to hold several different things.
  • Jaw Drop: Twice in the sequel, when Tigress first gives a Cooldown Hug to Po and again when Po hugs Tigress near the end.
  • Nice Hat
  • The Smart Guy
  • Super Strength: Not to the extent Tigress and Mantis have it, but he does regularly carry the heavier members of his team with no visible effort. He starts breathing hard when he has to carry four of them at once, though.
  • Team Mom: Word of God describes him as being a "mother hen" to the other members of the Furious Five.
    • It's also hinted at in the first film. It takes one heck of a Mama Bear to simaltaneously carry all four of his paralyzed teammates away from a losing battle, even though they are heavier than him even without being deadweights, just to ensure all of their safety.
    • Also in the second movie when Po is pulled out of the water after Shen's boat explodes, Crane asks him to "never do that again" in a voice that shows he was seriously worried.
  • Walking Shirtless Scene
  • Weak but Skilled: Given his scrawny frame, no one thought he was cut out for kung fu and he got a job as a janitor. However, he developed the speed and reflexes he needed while working to become a skilled warrior; all he needed was confidence.
  • Wind from Beneath My Wings: A couple of times in the sequel. "Wings of Justice! Caw-CAW!"
    • Also counts as a Chekhov's Gun. He did it once for the demonstration in the first movie, but never really got to use it after that until the sequel.
  • Workplace-Acquired Abilities: How'd he become so skilled? He pretty much single-handedly took care of the cleaning of the number one kung-fu school he worked in!
  • Yamato Nadeshiko: Probably not intentional (the setting is China and Yamato Nadeshiko is a Japanese ideal), but strangely enough Crane actually features the key personality traits of a Yamato Nadeshiko: Helpfulness, caring, obedience of authority, humility, soft-spoken politeness, grace, while still knowing how to be Badass. Being the Team Mom only contributes to this. Though Crane was about as irritated at Po for one-upping him as everyone else, only Viper shows it less than he does. This exchange shows the closest he gets to losing his temper:

Po: Thanks.
Crane: Don't mention it.
Po: No really, I appreci--
Crane: --ever.

Master Monkey

Voiced by:
Jackie Chan (Films)
James Sie (TV Series)
Jaycee Chan (Young)

The prankster of the Furious Five. He's very approachable, fairly street smart, and has a good sense of humor.


  • Banana Peel: In his younger days, he liked leaving these on the ground for people to slip on. He even tried using them against Oogway, but it didn't work.
  • Cymbal-Banging Monkey: Parodied briefly in the first battle of the second film, in which he uses a pair of cymbals to bash a wolf bandit's head.
  • Defeat by Modesty: Again in his younger days. He could quite literally beat the pants off of anyone...except for Oogway, who didn't wear pants.
  • Defeat Means Friendship: Oogway, after defeating the trickster Monkey in the past, convinces him to use his skills for good.
  • Delinquent: Before Oogway convinced him to change his ways.
  • Everything's Better with Monkeys
  • The Lancer
  • Seldom-Seen Species: A Gee's golden langur is only found in India and Bhutan. It is also endangered.
  • Simple Staff: He sometimes fights with a bō, making him the only member of the Furious Five to fight with a weapon.
  • The Trickster: He originally played pranks on people because of an embarrassing event that happened to him when he was a child, making him a laughing stock. Also, the "Owl Be Back" episode of the TV series: "Can I borrow that fake doodie?"
  • Walking Shirtless Scene

Master Oogway

Voiced by:
Randall Duk Kim

An ancient tortoise from the Galapagos Islands and creator of kung fu. He is Shifu's mentor, and was the one who chose Po to become the Dragon Warrior. He has ascended to the heavens, leaving Shifu in his place as leader of the Jade Palace.


Mr. Ping

Voiced by:
James Hong

Po's adoptive goose father. He runs a noodle shop, and would rather like to see Po become a noodles seller, but just the same, he is very supportive of Po's dream to become a kung fu master.


  • Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: In the second movie, he packs Po a lunch and his Furious Five action figures... in front of the Furious Five.
  • Charles Atlas Superpower: After decades of raising his son, both literally and figuratively, he is capable of flinging Po around with ease when motivated enough.
  • Feather Fingers
  • Good Parents: Despite their obvious differences, he truly loves Po as his own son.
  • Hidden Depths: Quirky goose, awesome cook, surprisingly skilled at Chinese chess.
    • It should be noted that, in both films, he is wise in the general themes that the films play upon before anyone else grasps them, such as the importance of being yourself in the first and the ability to let go of the past in the second.
  • Honest John: A mild case in that he is a loving father and has a nice sense of community, but he's also a canny restauranteur sees nothing wrong in taking advantage of opportunities to honestly enhance his business' profits such as charging extra for lonely people to eat at his place's Winter Festival night dinner or displaying his son's old possessions as tourist attractions.
  • I Am Not Your Father: Confesses this in the second movie. Ironically, Po already knew (well, he says he knew), he just wanted his dad to admit it.
  • Nice Hat: Shaped like a bowl of noodles, of course.
  • Non-Action Guy
  • Offing the Offspring: Played for laughs, but he briefly attempts to best Po in combat so he can claim the 'Dragon Warrior' title in "Challenge Day".
  • Running Gag: His obsession with noodles, to the point where it could qualify as a Cargo Ship.
  • Papa Wolf: Shows up more often in the TV Series, but he's fiercely protective of Po when it counts.
  • So Proud of You
  • Supreme Chef: Where do you think Po got it from?

Zeng

Voiced by:
Dan Folger

Shifu's timid messenger goose. Bears witness to Tai Lung's escape when he attempts to warn the patrols to step up their security.


  • Acrophobic Bird: Averted. He's the only goose in the cast who's ever been shown flying so far.
  • Bearer of Bad News
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: After bringing Shifu the news of Tai Lung's escape, he completely disappears from the entire series, save for a picture in the Kung Fu Panda end credits. Not that he was important nor anything else.
    • He did make a voiced appearance in the Holiday special, assisting Po in picking the chef and even talking about the forbidden hand wave.
    • He has also appeared several times in Legends of Awesomeness.
  • Disaster Dominoes: It all started with one little feather...
  • Nice Hat
  • Shrinking Violet
  • Unwitting Instigator of Doom: He's the sole reason Tai Lung manages to escape in the first film.
    • Not necessarily, he was doing what Shifu told him (To tell the commander in charge to double the guards, weapons, etc.) It was the commander's fault for patting his back and thus let that single feather drop down and make Tai Lung escape.

Tai Lung

Voiced by:
Ian McShane
Michelle Ruff (as a baby)

The Big Bad of the first film. One of Master Shifu's earlier students and adopted son, Tai Lung is an arrogant Snow Leopard who turned evil and went on a rampage before being imprisoned for twenty years. It is the prophecy of his escape that sets the events of the series into motion, and his defeat at the hands of Po that affirms Po as the Dragon Warrior.


  • The Alcatraz: Chorh-Gom, the prison Tai Lung is kept at, which was built specifically to hold him.
  • Arrogant Kung Fu Guy: Entirely convinced that he is the destined Dragon Warrior.
  • Badass: Escaping from the prison built specifically to contain him, using only a feather? Check. Destroying a thousand-strong army in the process, as if it was nothing? Check. Taking on the five most famous kung-fu masters at once? Check. Defeating their even more powerful mentor without taking a single hit in return? Check. There is little doubt that, had he only managed to overcome his inner flaws, he would have been either the most powerful kung fu master ever, or second only to Oogway.
  • Big Bad: Of the first film.
  • Cats Are NASTY
  • Calling the Old Man Out: Gives Shifu one, basically saying "My life sucks and it's all your fault." Shifu apologizes for his mistakes he made raising Tai Lung. Tai Lung declares that he doesn't give a damn and proceeds to strangle his former master, claws raised.
  • Chewing the Scenery:

Tai Lung: Our battle will be legendary!

  • Conservation of Ninjutsu: How his escape from his incarceration goes down. Justified by the fact that all those security measures were in place for a damn good reason.
  • Door Step Baby
  • Dramatic Irony: Shifu talked about how Tai Lung would become strong enough one day to receive the Dragon Scroll, and Tai Lung trained hard to succeed and make him proud. This type of upbringing made him arrogant, prideful and power-hungry, precisely the character flaws that made him unsuitable to receive the scroll. And then when he finally reads it and Po explains that there is no secret to ultimate power, you just need to believe in yourself, the deep inferiority complex Tai Lung has developed means he can't or won't accept that because he needs the scroll's "power" to get the validation of his skill that he craves.
  • Efficient Displacement: In his fight with Po when he crashes to Earth, he leaves a hole not just with an impression of his body, but his tail as well.
  • Et Tu, Brute?: Tai Lung feels this way when Shifu doesn't speak up after Oogway refuses to give him the dragon scroll.
  • Evil Albino: Kind of, since he's a snow leopard.
  • Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: His arrogance prevents him from understanding that the secret to limitless power lies not within the Dragon Scroll, but within himself. Word of God says this is the only thing that prevents him from making a Heel Face Turn.
  • Evil Counterpart: Functions as this to both Po and Tigress.
  • Eyes of Gold
  • Face Heel Turn: In flashback.
  • Fallen Hero
  • Freudian Excuse: He turned evil not only because he was denied the Dragon Scroll, but also because Shifu did nothing about it despite the tremendous amount of support he gave before.
  • The Gift: Tai Lung, though it's to his detriment. He has a severe ego problem that prevents him from being truly receptive of the Dragon Scroll's wisdom. This is why Oogway refused to make him the Dragon Warrior. His response to this was less than cordial.
  • Humiliation Conga: Much of the final battle with Po.
  • Incendiary Exponent: He is so Badass he can set his paws on fire and not even get burned!
  • Inferiority Superiority Complex
  • Ki Attacks
  • Large Ham: "Our battle WILL BE LEGENDARY!!'"
  • Lightning Bruiser
  • Meaningful Name: Something of a subversion as his name (太龍, tàilóng) means "great dragon", which is everything but what he is (i.e., the Dragon Warrior).
    • His name is very meaningful, though, as far as expectations placed on him by Shifu are concerned.
  • One-Man Army: He single-handedly defeats the army of rhino guards of Chor-Ghom prison with little effort.
  • Panthera Awesome
  • The Paralyzer: His nerve strike, which he learned after Oogway used it on him.
  • Pressure Point: "Shifu taught you well...but he didn't teach you everything."
  • Rage Against the Mentor
  • The Resenter
  • Sealed Evil in a Can: Chorh-Gom Prison exists for the sole purpose of keeping Tai Lung, and only Tai Lung, locked up. The one thing that keeps him immobilized is a turtle shell-shaped harness with acupuncture needles in his back...and the one thing that allows him to escape from the prison carved out of a mountain that goes down for miles and is guarded by a thousand of rhinos is a single feather. He uses it to pick the harness' lock with his tail.
  • Shadow Archetype: He represents what Po could have been with a bad teacher. Notice one of his first lines (see Large Ham) is similar, if less funny, to Po's first line.
    • Both of them also are incurable show-offs, even when the situation calls for dead seriousness. Remember when Tai Lung appeared before Shifu out of nowhere before their confrontation? Tai Lung was hiding in a distance for some time and waited for Shifu to blink, so that his entrance can be appropriately dramatic (as explained in DVD commentary).
  • Start of Darkness
  • Stepping Stones in the Sky: His prison break.
  • Super Strength: Having a giant boulder hanging on a chain from each paw was not enough to restrain him, he sends rhinos flying like rag dolls and tears a piece of stone bigger than himself from the temple's stairway to hurl it at Shifu; he distinguishes himself even in the world where unnatural strengh automatically comes with kung fu mastery.
  • Trash Talk: Tai Lung's pre-battle banter with Tigress is such a masterpiece of condescension, that he seems to be taunting her on purpose. Against Po he just voices his arrogance... and that piece of Trash Talk sounds much lamer.
  • Used to Be a Sweet Kid: A huge part of what makes him Unintentionally Sympathetic.
  • Villainous Breakdown
  • Walking Shirtless Scene
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: "All I ever did, I did to make you proud! Tell me how proud you are, Shifu! Tell me! TELL ME!"
  • Wrong Genre Savvy: He seems to think he's The Hero of the story. Supported by the fact that Word of God says that in the film, the color gold represents glory and heroism, and given that he has Eyes of Gold...
    • Tai Lung's scenes are framed as episodes of a stereotypical action Heros Journey. He gets betrayed and defeated by enemies in the past, then he breaks out of the predicament they put him in; then he overcomes obstacles and beats up a whole lot of Mooks led by The Brute; then he beats up a Quirky Miniboss Squad led by his counterpart/ShadowArchetype by revealing an Eleventh-Hour Superpower he developed after his initial defeat; then he beats up the Big Bad, who was responsible for the things that happened to him at the beginning; then the Dragon Ascendant powered by an Artifact of Doom is revealed as the True Final Boss... Well, and then his story crumbles around him, primarily because he does not have what it takes to be The Hero, after all.

Commander Vachir

Voiced by:
Michael Clarke Duncan

The head of security at Chorh-Gom Prison, where Tai Lung was held for twenty years.


Kung Fu Panda 2

Master Thundering Rhino

Voiced by:
Victor Garber

The benevolent leader of the Kung Fu Council, which protects the vast metropolis of Gongmen City. He has descended from a long line of masters and is the son of the legendary Master Flying Rhino.


Master Storming Ox

Voiced by:
Dennis Haysbert

Thundering Rhino's star pupil and loyal friend, and a member of the Kung Fu Council of Gongmen City.


Master Croc

A former bandit gang leader who had a change of heart and acts as a member of the Gongmen Kung Fu Council.


The Soothsayer

Voiced by:
Michelle Yeoh

An elderly goat with the power of foresight, who served as an adviser to the ruling family of Gongmen City, the Peacocks. Upon request by Lord Shen's parents, she had foretold what the future held for their son should he continue his current path: defeat at the hands of a warrior of black and white.


  • The Atoner: She holds tremendous guilt for telling Shen the prophecy that he would be defeated by a "black and white" warrior, inadvertently making herself responsible for the ensuing panda holocaust.
  • Badass Damsel: Shen basically keeps her as a prisoner. She never tries to escape, but she doesn't make her imprisonment easy for him.
  • Cool Old Lady
  • Deadpan Snarker:

Soothsayer: (telling Shen's fortune) I see...*plucks Shen's feather*...pain...

Shen: Ow!

Soothsayer: And anger... *bites Shen's robes*

Shen: How dare you! That is the finest silk in the province!

Soothsayer: ...followed by denial...

Shen: This not fortune-telling! You're just saying what's happening right...

Soothsayer: ...now?

Lord Shen

Voiced by:
Gary Oldman

The Big Bad of the second film. He is a peacock whose clan rules over Gongmen City. Having acquired a desire to take over all of China, he is the inventor of the cannon, which poses a threat to the very existence of kung fu itself.


  • Agent Peacock: Literally.
  • Ambition Is Evil: Ever since Shen became obsessed with his invention, he basically desires power for the sake of power. When Soothsayer points this to him, Shen sort of admits that he doesn't really know what he's going to do with all this power if he succeeds at taking over China, but immediately shrugs the thought off.
  • And Then What?: The Soothsayer asks him if conquering China and destroying kung-fu will finally make Shen happy. He simply mutters "it's a start" before giving a rather obvious snarky dodge.
  • Ax Crazy: Constantly on the verge of a nervous breakdown, manic and crazy-eyed, plagued by paranoid delusions about his parents not loving him. And deals with all of them by starting wars and commiting genocide, which he sincerely thought would make his parents proud (from his point of view, it was a pre-emptve act of self-defence).
  • Badass: Despite how insane and evil he is, he is a pretty awesome fighter as well.
  • Bad Boss: Was not in the least doubtful to fire at his own men to defeat Po and the Five.
    • Though to be fair, this was a consequence of a Villainous Breakdown, and he usually isn't that ruthless with them.
  • Being Evil Sucks: In the end, Shen is a deeply unhappy, bitter bird.
  • Beta Test Baddie
  • BFG: He invented the cannon, in order to destroy Kung Fu and take over China.
  • Big Bad: Of the second film.
  • Big Ol' Eyebrows: of the "match-the-width-of-his-shoulders-so-he-can-fit-through-gaps" variety.
  • Blade on a Stick
  • Chocolate Baby: His parents were both regular blue peacocks, he came out white.
  • Color Coded for Your Convenience: White is the traditional color of death in eastern Asian cultures, which suits nicely to his health issues and his villainy.
    • In Wu Xing, white is metal and red is fire. He has both as his weapons in the form of the cannon, which is even described by Shifu as "it breathes fire, and spits metal".
    • Given that red is associated with positive emotions in chinese imagery, specially love, his red motif can also be seen as a distortion of his relationship with his parents.
    • Fire Is Red: As a consequence of this colour motif, the fires that Shen and his mooks use, both in the cannon and in regular torches, are of an unusual crimson tone. Justified as in Shen is explicitly stated to be working off of firework chemicals, so it stands to reason his cannonballs would have a colorful glow to them.
  • Combat Pragmatist: Uses throwing knives in addition to his spear, conceals his movements with his tail, and the entire purpose of inventing the cannon was to destroy kung fu masters he can't beat one-on-one. When confronted with a fight he can't possibly win, Po and the Furious Five, he flees out the window and calls down a barrage of cannonfire to destroy his own tower.
  • Curb Stomp Battle: Using a cannon to win a fight certainly helps a lot. It's not treachery, it's pragmatism!
  • Dark and Troubled Past
  • Death Seeker: His introduction portrays him as an arrogant, prideful, and bloodthirsty villain, but it soon becomes clear that he is a deeply depressed bird, and even admits that conquering China probably won't be enough to make him happy. As well his attitude swings between being precise in the details of his plan and being completely dismissive of events around him, so it's likely he really doesn't care what happens or if he succeeds or not. And when he doesn't, he seems more enraged that Po has achieved inner peace than he does actually being thwarted.
  • Even Bad Men Love Their Soothsayers: See Parental Substitute in the Soothsayer category. He shows hints of this when he encounters Po and the Furious Five for the first time. Despite being at the end of his patience, he never actually looses it unless Po makes a comment about the Soothsayer, the second time driving him to point a knife in Po's face. The Soothsayer is also the only character in the movie that he never physically harms.
  • Evil Albino
  • Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Is totally shocked that Po doesn't hold what he did to his species, his family, against him, and that he was able to let go of his pain, because his own pain has never went away, and he doesn't believe it ever will.
  • Eviler Counterpart: His backstory has significant parallels with that of Tai Lung -- promised power by his parent figure, denied and exiled, returns to claim his place and prove himself. However, Shen's Freudian Excuse is weaker and his vengeance is more sinister. Tai Lung wanted the Dragon Scroll to prove to himself and Shifu he was worthy of it and was a Worthy Opponent to Po, whereas Shen wants to conquer the country and uses cannons because he can't beat a true kung fu master in a fair fight.
  • Evil Genius: He discovered that fireworks could also serve as gunpowder, and then invented the cannon to put that discovery to use.
  • Evil Tower of Ominousness: His home in Gongmen City, which he's shown perching atop of during a travel montage.
  • Faux Affably Evil: He's polite, well-spoken and composed...until something gets him angry, when he shows the true Ax Crazy monster beneath it all.
  • Feathered Fiend: And how.
  • Feather Fingers
  • Feather Flechettes
  • The Fighting Narcissist: An Axe Crazy peacock with a fighting style focusing far more on grace and fluidity than the other fighters seen in the film.
  • Flight: He's a bird (peafowls can fly, though not very long nor far). The only time he uses this ability, however, is to run away. He "flees" or "flew", if you will, thus putting the term "flight" in a different light. Confused yet?
  • Freudian Excuse: His parents banished him for massacring the pandas as part of his ambition to rule. He's let the resentment percolate inside him ever since, though that said they had already been worried about his desire to turn fireworks into death machines. Of course, the massacre and other traits suggest he was already pretty messed up long before this.
  • General Ripper
  • Getting Crap Past the Radar

Master Ox: What's in the box, Shen?
Shen: Want to see? It's a gift. It's your parting gift. In that it will part you. Part of you here, part of you there. And part of you waaay over there, staining the wall.

  • Glass Cannon: Very agile and quick and has lethal aim with his throwing knives, but he's one of the few characters not Made of Iron and is clearly at a disadvantage when his blades aren't enough to overwhelm a more defensive foe.
  • Hero-Killer
  • Hoist by His Own Petard/Karmic Death: Crushed by the very weapon he was going to use to conquer China, which only happened because he accidentally cut the ropes holding it up while trying to kill Po.
  • Ignored Epiphany: When the Soothsayer tells him his parents did love him, so much it literally killed them to banish him, Shen looks genuinely moved for a few seconds before he closed his eyes and brushes the information aside.
  • I Just Want to Be Loved
  • Killer Rabbit: Who knew a peacock could be such a threatening, efficient villain?
  • Knife Nut: He hides an arsenal of blades under those robes of his and he is terrifyingly skilled with them.
  • Knight of Cerebus: The worst Tai Lung did was beat up Shifu and the Furious Five, and he just wanted the Dragon Scroll. The second film opens with Shen ordering the genocide of the pandas, and ten minutes later he blasts Flying Rhino with a cannon.

Shen: Kill him, somebody kill him!

  • Large Ham: He has his moments. Here's his voice actor hamming it up while recording him in the studio.
  • Last Villain Stand: He spends the entire film running from a direct confrontation with Po because of the Soothsayer's prediction. In the end, after he's killed his own Dragon and had everything he built be obliterated before his eyes, he finally stops running fights Po with everything he has and nothing more that he can lose.
  • Light Is Not Good: Both to chinese and western imagery. In the west, white is obviously seen as the "good" colour, while red is the "good" colour in China (white is actually symbolic of death there). Add this to the fact that his name can be translated as "divinity", his association with fire and the resemblence to the mythological Feng Huang, and you got yourself a heavenly demon.
  • Man in White: A given thanks to his white plumage and colors.
  • Meaningful Name: One of the meanings of "Shen" (神) is "divinity", which relates to his quest for power and attention.
    • An alternate reading of Shen (焴) is "flame", which connects to his cannons.
  • The Mentally Disturbed: He seems to suffer from chronic depression, paranoia (as far as his parents are concerned, thinking they never loved him) and is deeply insecure.
  • Moral Sociopathy: The creators' commentary implies that part of his denial to recognise how wrong he is because it's the only way he can justify his genocidal actions.
  • Never My Fault: When his parents banish him for committing genocide, he takes it as further proof they don't care about him instead of punishment. Even more so due to the fact being banished as opposed to being executed may have been an act of mercy on their part.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Herod: Shen overhears a prophecy that he will be defeated by "black-and-white". He proceeds to massacre a panda village. However, Po's mother leaves the infant panda in a case of groceries that get delivered to Mr. Ping. This results in Po being in the right place and the right time to become the Dragon Warrior, receiving the training he will need to stop Shen. In fact, it's remembering the massacre and his mother's sacrifice that allows Po to master the skill he needs to overcome Shen's cannons.
  • Obi-Wan Moment: He just closes his eyes before he is flattened by the weapon he knocked onto himself.
  • Overshadowed by Awesome: Despite being a sickly albino, and despite relying on artillery and trickery over brawn, Shen is still a deadly skilled blade wielder. It's just that the kung fu masters are so powerful they overshadow even his skill.
  • Pet the Dog: He lets the Soothsayer go, unharmed. Indeed, he never harms her, in spite of the attitude she gives him (and the fact she keeps eating his clothes).
  • Razor Wings: His throwing knives are in the shape of feathers to help him conceal them, and he also uses his giant tail as a weapon and distraction similar to what real life martial-arts styles with metal folding fans.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: Aside from his regular eyes, the eyespots on his tail are also red, reflecting his Evil Albino status.
  • Screw Destiny: Shen's goal to conquer China is partially motivated by his desire to prove the Soothsayer wrong about her prediction that he will be defeated by a panda.
  • Self-Made Orphan: Indirectly. His parents died out of grief for having to banish him.
  • Tragic Villain: While he tiptoes around the edge of being a Complete Monster, all he wanted was to make his parents proud, and thought that a path of conquest was the way to do it. His exile was his true Start of Darkness, and it's hinted several times that he knows full well conquering China will do nothing to ease his pain. At the end, when he's finally beaten, he calmly accepts his death, perhaps realizing that his defeat truly was inevitable, or perhaps realizing that death is the only way to stop his torment.
  • Twitchy Eye: Who could also be an Actor Allusion: Gary Oldman previously voiced Ruber who had the same tic.
  • Villainous BSOD: Is almost at a lost for words when Po achieves inner peace and uses his kung fu to redirect Shen's cannonfire to destroy his armada.
  • Villainous Breakdown: When Po returns after being blasted into the harbor and assume dead, Shen loses it and opens fire on his own men while killing his only true friend. After Po obliterates his armada by redirecting cannon fire, Shen is left in a Villainous BSOD, not only because that he'd lost everything he'd spent years creating, but because Po overcame his own troubled past without succumbing to rage, instead finding inner peace. As Po tries to explain to him he just has to let go of the past because it doesn't matter anymore, Shen loses it and goes berserk, and in the ensuing battle Po never even gets in a hit with Shen's blades flying at him every second.
  • Weak but Skilled: Physically unimpressive, but man, can he hurl blades with the best of them.
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: Is deeply insecure about how his parents rejected him for his evil ways and thinks they never loved him, and considers it an Awful Truth when Po demands to know about his parents and Shen lies that his parents didn't love him. Is also completely unable to understand how Po is able to come to terms with him killin Po's parents.
  • What Could Have Been: Before the movie was released, there was information that pointed out a totally different backstory from what was shown: Shen's parents were said to be ashamed of his albino coloring and poor health, so they left him in the care of their advisor, the Soothsayer, who raised him like her own. Traces of this can be seen as Shen is never outright cruel to the Soothsayer, such as how he releases her before the launch of his armada, meaning that he still respects her for showing him love. This backstory did show up in the novelization however.
  • White-Plumaged Pretty Bird
  • Wolverine Claws: Shen wears metal talons for both combat and to cover up the burn scars on his feet.
    • They also resemble the ornaments Chinese nobles wore to protect their long nails.
  • You Cannot Fight Fate: Played with. It was predicted that a "warrior of black and white" would defeat him, but it was also included that he could change his fate if he stopped his destructive ways.

Wolf Boss

Voiced by:
Danny McBride

Lord Shen's oldest (and probably only) friend and most loyal servant.


  • Adorkable: For being a brutal warrior, he has many dorky features, like whimpering when his toe is stomped or annoying Shen with out of place comments. See also Trash Talk below.
  • Beleaguered Assistant
  • Big Badass Wolf
  • The Brute: Strong, not very bright, and has only rudimentary kung fu skills.
  • Completely Missing the Point: Prone to this.
  • Dark Is Evil
  • The Dragon: To Lord Shen.
  • Drop the Hammer
  • Even Evil Has Standards: He refuses to fire at Po while knowing his own men would be caught in the crossfire. Shen kills him for it.
    • Fridge Brilliance: Wolves operate as a pack. You can't just attack one and hope to get away with it. Fits nicely into the animal motifs.
  • Expy: Of Wolf O'Donnell. Big Badass Wolf? Check. Mohawk? Check. Bad eye? Check, and points for being the same eye. Shoulder spikes? Check. Hell-Bent for Leather? Check. A natural leader who is himself The Dragon to someone else? Check. Even Evil Has Standards? Total check.
    • Like Wolf and Fox, he's also Not So Different than Po in terms of attitude--it's just their morals and their choice of allies that sets them apart, as they can both be silly or serious, and their short battle has elements of You Fight Like a Cow.
  • Everything's Worse with Wolves
  • Eye Scream: He lost his eye during the attack on the Panda Village. When he tried to attack baby Po, Po's father smashed his face with a rake.
  • Family-Unfriendly Death: Considering the Bloodless Carnage of the rest of the series and its focus on slapstick kung fu fighting, taking a volley of throwing knives to the chest and falling to the side is pretty brutal.
  • A Father to His Men: He stands up to Shen for ordering to fire on his own men.
  • Hell-Bent for Leather
  • Kick the Dog: Not above throwing innocent bystanders in front of danger to slow down his foes.
    • Hell, he even throws children.
  • Killed Off for Real: Most likely, considering he was hit with several of Shen's knives point blank.
    • Word of God via DVD Commentary states that he's alive though.
      • That particular comment about him being "alive" was a joke by Rodolphe Guenoden ("But he's not dead! He just fell off...yeah..."). While it's never confirmed that he's alive, it is true that it's never confirmed he is dead, either; in fact, Melissa Cobb did mention that she wondered if he ever died, and that she didn't know.
  • No Name Given: He is only listed as "Wolf Boss" in the credits. That's what he does.
  • Only Friend: He was probably this for Shen.
  • Papa Wolf: Since the alpha male of a wolf pack is also the father of many members, it could apply.
  • Spikes of Villainy
  • Trash Talk: Played for Laughs. His "insults" consist of calling Po big, soft and cuddly... except that he talks about Po that way even when Po isn't around, and he isn't making fun of him. He describes him to Lord Shen as "Big and furry, soft and squishy... uh, kind of plush and cuddly." Think too long about it and it might even come across as mild Foe Yay.

I'll tell ya whats gonna be yours! My fist in your plush, cuddly, super-soft face!


Legends of Awesomeness

Hundun

Voiced by:

Diedrich Bader
"My revenge will be like a poison river of molten iron that drips and burns like iron that has been melted and now drips..."

One of the former guards of Chorh-Gom prison, who lost his job after it was shut down after Tai Lung's defeat, which caused him to lose his house, his family, two goat friends, and a pair of slippers. Po met him during the Dragon Warrior Day celebration, and attempted to get his life back on track by getting him a job, a place to stay, and by teaching him kung-fu in order to quell his rage. Unfortunately, once he learned Po's true identity, he attempted to kill him. Ironically, his actions caused Chorh-Gom to be reopened... with himself as its first new inmate.


  • Barefoot Cartoon Animal
  • Blatant Lies: Claims he was on the front lines of the rhinos facing down Tai Lung, when... he was actually standing way in the back.
  • Department of Redundancy Department: A lot of his metaphors involve repeating the same words in vaguely different order.
  • Dumb Muscle: Subverted. He's actually surprisingly competent and intelligent; his strange way of speaking just makes him seem dumb.
  • Dangerously Genre Savvy: After his return, he realizes Shifu may have made up Dragon Warrior Challenge Day, but he's the only one that knows it. He knocks out Shifu and locks him in a closet so no one knows he's really not the Dragon Warrior.
  • Genius Bruiser: He's actually surpisingly intelligent, homemaking a number of fake horns containing various weapons and picking his spot for when he could take revenge most effectively.
  • Hannibal Lecture: Gives one to Po when he gets the advantage in their fight, telling him that his heart is his real weakness. Po points out that at least he has a heart.
  • Ignored Epiphany: Po helps him and bends over backward to help him get his life back on track, but he throws it back in his face at every turn.
  • I Surrender, Suckers
  • It's All About Me: He doesn't care about the damage Tai Lung would have done to the Valley of Peace, only that Po defeating him caused Hundun to lose his job.
  • Lightning Bruiser: After Po trains him. Unfortunately, Po is a stronger one.
  • Jerkass: Big-time.
  • Meaningful Name/Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Named for the Chinese god of chaos. Subverted in that, while a credible threat after Po has trained him in kung fu, he is still fairly pathetic and certainly not an embodiment of chaos or evil. However, in his return, he's far more competent and a legitiment threat.
  • Metaphorgotten
  • Not So Harmless: It takes Po training him, but he ends up coming dangerously close to beating Po on two occasions, and winning on another. However, all three times were due to a weakness on Po's part, in a straight one on one fight, he's no match for Po. However, Hundun knows this and picks his spots.
  • Rage Against the Mentor: After finding out Po is the Dragon Warrior.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning
  • Rhino Rampage
  • Shaped Like Itself: His metaphors for how bad his life has gotten tend to enter this territory.
  • Swiss Army Appendage: Turns his severed horn into this by creating a large number of fake horns with various weapons hidden in them.
  • Ungrateful Bastard

Scorpion

Voiced by:

Lynn Milgrim
"This is going to sting a little bit — just kidding. It burns like fire!"

A former healer who was banished after discovering hypnotic elixir and attempting to take over the Valley of Peace with it.


Fung

Voiced by:

John Dimaggio
"Looks like we're gonna do this the hard way!"

Fung is the leader of a group of Crocodile Bandits. He most often relies on weapons to fight his opponents, but has been show to know some Kung Fu techniques, mostly in cases of defense. Fung appears regularly, sometimes leading his bandits, and other times serving as a lackey to another villain[1].


Gah-ri

Voiced by:
Fred Tatasciore

A member of Fung's bandit gang, who would like to remind you that it's "Gah-ri", not "Gary."


Mei Li

Voiced by:

Kari Wahlgren
"You think I don't know nobody likes me? You saw them pretend to, but... it's just because I'm a princess."

The daughter of the emperor, who was sent on a mission of peace to the kingdom of Qidan. Though she proved to be an insufferable brat at first, Po eventually got through to her and the two became friends. Eventually, it was revealed that she was to be offered to the Qi Dan as a servant to the Qidan's king, Temutai, in exchange for peace, but Po challenged him and successfully earned Mei Li's freedom.


"I'll have you beheaded! I'll have you all beheaded! I'll make you behead yourselves!"

Temutai

Voiced by:

Kevin Michael Richardson
"TEMUTAAAAAAAI! Warrior king of the Qidan!"

The king of the Qidan Clan, a group of warrior water buffalo, whose people once waged war with Mei Li's kingdom, until an agreement was made to bring peace. Said agreement was that the emperor must turn over a princess to be his royal servant, in exchange for the Qidan not attacking. Mei Li was set to become his new servant, until Po defeated him in battle, earning her freedom.

Temutai appears regularly, usually as antagonist. One of his recent appearances shows him coming to the Valley of Peace as part of a peace celebration, where he actually ends up behaving amiably with Po and the others (though, with some hiccups along the way).


Jing Mei

Temutai's nephew, who he brought to the Peace Ceremony in order to participate in the children's kung-fu matches. He ended up losing to Peng. Has a sister, who is apparently much better at kung fu than he is.


  • A Load of Bull
  • Badass Mustache: Averted. He's just an unskilled brute.
  • Dirty Coward: Runs away instead of helping his uncle in his fight with Peng.
  • Generation Xerox: Shares a voice actor with his uncle, and is just about as bright (read, not at all).
  • Improbable Age: Just look at him. Not only is Jing Mei the size of a small car, he's already sprouted facial hair.
  • The Unfavorite: Temutai really doesn't care much for him.
  • The Unseen: His sister, whose both larger and more skilled in kung fu than Jing Mei.

Taotie

Voiced by:

Wallace Shawn
"Well, I have news for you! Kung Fu is outdated and useless! With machinery comes power!"

A warthog who studied kung-fu under Master Oogway alongside Shifu. Together, the two of them created the Jade Palace's training hall. However, Taotie was still unable to improve his kung-fu, so he turned to machines to make up for his weaknesses, only for him to be cast out after unveiling his invention. Years later, he would manipulate Po, who had accidentally wrecked the training room, into helping him sneak into the Jade Palace so he could create a new machine and take his revenge.

Taotie appears regularly, usually attempting to gain vengeance on Shifu and assert the dominance of machines over kung-fu.


Bian Zao

Voiced by:

Simon Helberg
"Lame!"

Taotie's apathetic, slacker son, who effectively serves as his henchman. He doesn't seem to care much for his dad's work, despite Taotie saying he's "learning the family business." Bian Zao appears regularly with his father.


  • Deadpan Snarker
  • Emo Teen: He has shades of this, though he's really more just bored and apathetic.
  • Full Boar Action
  • Follow in My Footsteps: Taotie says he's learning the family business. Bian Zao doesn't seem too thrilled about it.
  • The Slacker
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: Part of the reason he's always griping about things being "lame" is to cover his disappointment that his father is all consumed by revenge on the Jade Palace, and won't actually spend any quality time with him.

Jong Sung Jai Kai Chow

Voiced by:
Wayne Knight

Jong is a takin that rules over a land that does not abide trespassers. Fung tricked Po into helping him kidnap his son for ransom, and in response, Jong had Po arrested. Even when Fung returned his son and confessed, Jong was still going to hold them captive for their crime.


Hao Ming

Voiced by:
April Hong

Mantis's ex-fiance, who only took him back after he (falsely) claimed to be the Dragon Warrior. They were set to be married (again), when Mantis admitted the truth, and realized that Hao didn't deserve him.


Dosu

Voiced by:
David Koechner

Hao's ex-boyfriend, who she dumped two hours before getting back together with Mantis. Dosu attempted to fight Mantis and get her back, only for Hao to continue to show disinterest in him.


Tong Fo

Voiced by:

Jeff Bennett
"What a beautiful day... to be destroying the valley of peace!"

A loris incarcerated in Chorh-Gom Prison, who once attempted to destroy the Valley of Peace with the devastating Sacred War Hammer of Lei Lang, but switched it with a fake before being captured. In order to learn the location of the real hammer, Po went into the prison disguised as a criminal, only for Tong Fo use him to help him escape. Tong Fo was eventually stopped and recaptured.


Fenghuang

Voiced by:
Wendie Malick

An owl who was once the most powerful member of the previous Furious Five, who consisted of Shifu, three others, and herself. As Fenghuang grew stronger, she fell to evil, and attempted to wrest control over the Jade Palace from Oogway. Oogway defeated her and attempted to imprison her in an owl-shaped cage, only for her to flee. Years later, she encountered Po and learned Oogway had passed and returned to gain her vengeance on Shifu. She attempted to turn Po to her side, only for him to trick her and seal her in the owl-shaped cage. She was later taken to Chorh-Gom prison.


Master Chao

Voiced by:
James Sie

A monitor lizard and one of the xiaolin masters of the Sacred Onyx Council. He first appears to evaluate Shifu's qualifications as a master, and after Junjie manipulates Po, he removes Shifu and places Junjie in charge. Fortunately, he later arrived and overheard Junjie's machinations, and once the sinister fox was defeated, he re-installed Shifu as the master of the Jade Palace.


Master Junjie

Voiced by:
Stephen Root

One of the two xiaolin masters of the Sacred Onyx Council. After arriving to evaluate Shifu's qualifications as Master, he manipulates Po into getting Shifu dishonored and removed from his position as master of the Jade Palace. Once in charge, he throws out Po and the Furious Five, putting his five leopard underlings in their position. However, Po became wise to his schemes, and eventually, he was defeated and thrown into Chorh-Gom prison with his five servants. His next appearance, presumably after escaping, shows him impersonating the ghost of Oogway in order to sow discord within the Jade Palace.


The Creepy Leopards

Voiced by:
???

A quintet of five snow leopards that serve Junjie. After Junjie takes over as Master of the Jade Palace, they replace Tigress and the others as the new Furious Five. However, they are ultimately defeated by the originals when they come to save Po and Shifu, and are later incarcerated with him in Chorh-Gom prison.


Peng

Voiced by:
Danny Cooksey

A young snow leopard on a journey. After visiting the Valley of Peace during the Peace Jubilee, his kung-fu talents were discovered after he won a match against Temutai's nephew. He was immediately invited into the Jade Palace, quickly becoming popular and earning Po's jealousy. In an effort to drive him away, Po lied to Peng, only for him to become angry and attempt to defeat Temutai in order to prove himself. Po later revealed the truth and apologized, leading to Peng giving up and apologizing himself. In the end, he returned to his journey. He also reveals that he is the nephew of Tai Lung.


  • The Ace: He's pretty much one of these.
  • Badass Adorable: So very much...
  • Cats Are Mean: Zig-zagged. He's friendly and kind at first, goes absolutely nuts when he thinks he's been rejected, and then cycles back around when the truth comes out.
  • Cute Shotaro Cub
  • Eyes of Gold
  • Generation Xerox: Played with. Like Tai Lung, he appeared well adjusted, only to explode with anger when he found he was being rejected by the Jade Palace. However, once the truth came out, he did the exact opposite of his uncle and stood down. Only time will tell if Peng's destiny is to follow in his uncle's footsteps.
  • Kung Fu Kid
  • Long-Lost Relative: To Tai Lung.
  • Panthera Awesome
  • Super Strong Child: Without a doubt. We see him send Po flying, and hard, when he kicks him (twice), and Temutai clearly and visibly has to struggle to hold back a much smaller Peng.

Song

Voiced by:
Lauren Tom

A member of the "Ladies of the Shade", a dancing troupe of snow leopards which is in actuality a group of clever thieves. When their leader, Su, decides to trick Po into inviting them into the Jade Palace so that she can steal the Dragon Chalice, she chooses Song to worm her way into the Dragon Warrior's good graces to accomplish this task. However, things don't go quite as Su had planned...even though they do get away with the chalice, when Po goes to recover it Song ends up changing sides and helping him escape. After Su is captured and sent to prison, Song takes over the Ladies of the Shade and will be helping them all reform.


Other

Mei Ling

Voiced by:
Stephanie Lemelin

A kind young kung fu student who supported Crane in his path to becoming a kung fu master.


Wo Hop

Voiced by:
Jack McBrayer

A rabbit chef who was accidentally dishonored by Po and tried (and failed) to commit suicide because of it.


Wu Sisters

Voiced by:
Sumalee Montano

Su, Wing, and Wan Wu form a trio of infamously deadly criminals. First appearing in Secrets of The Masters short, the sisters were conceptualized as characters for the first film, but were ultimately left out.


  1. Such as Tong Fo or Evil!Po
  2. different kind of
  3. than Mort.
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