#kfp trilogy

[fanstuffrantings]

The comedy of Trolls getting its flowers finally and being recognized as a fun series after the most recent movie when the first one has had me in a chokehold for years. When I used to have Netflix I would just watch that whenever I wanted to have fun.

Sometimes adulthood is looking at a jukebox musical based on a kids toy, and just deciding "yeah actually this is a good movie."

[miicycle]

The Kung Fu Panda Movies have always had Mr. Ping give the moral of the story, and I think about that a lot. Yes, Po is usually out fighting bad guys when realizing where he should be mentally and skillfully, on his own when he gets the point of teachings. Ping is such an important person in Po's life, just as much as Shifu is needed to help Po learn Kung Fu.

Way more under the cut!!!

Kung Fu Panda 1: "You are almost ready to be entrusted with the secret ingredient of my secret ingredient soup. And then you will fulfill your destiny and take over the restaurant [...]" - Ping

"Secret Ingredient of my secret ingredient soup" being an allegory for Dragon scroll and "destiny" being Po becoming the Dragon warrior and "take over the restaurant" as being Oogway's successor.

Then it turns out the scroll is blank. And Ping feels its a good place to tell Po about the secret ingredient. NOTHING. For something to be special, you just have to BELIEVE it's special.

So Po, not needing any secret scroll or any cool powerup, wins against Tai Lung by believeing in himself.

Ping made him believe in himself. And when Po fulfills his destiny of defeating Tai Lung, he's PROUD!

Kung Fu Panda 2: "Po, your life may not have such a happy beginning, but look at how it turned out! You got me, you got kung fu! And you got noodles!" - Ping (and almsot identical quote said by Soothsayer)

And

Po: "I gotta go. I'm the Dragon Warrior, it's kinda my job to save Kung Fu. And if I don't, what am I?"

Ping: "You're my son! ... Right?"

The message is pretty clearcut, but it's repeated very heavily in the movie. Mr Ping may not be his father, but he is his dad. No matter where he came from, Po is Mr Pings son through and through and he very much loves him.

The scene where Po has been knocked into a river and saved by the Soothsayer, she says the same thing that Ping does. He didn't have a happy beginning, but what matters is who he is, and what he chooses to do now.

And the montage plays everything hes done up until now, but also empathizes the moments between Ping and Po. The last thing he sees in his mind is Ping being a dad, because he is Po's dad! Whatever happened before doesn't have bearing for who Po chooses to be. So when he chooses to be the son of a goose and the Dragon Warrior, nothing he finds out can change that.

Because Dragon Warrior or not, Po is Ping's son! Right?

Kung Fu Panda 3: "He's hurt. He's confused. And he still has to save the World! He needs both his dads." - Ping

"I realized that having you in his life doesn't mean less for me. It means more for Po." - Ping

And

"I'm not trying to turn you into me. I'm trying to turn you into you!" - Shifu

(Love how often Shifu and Ping mirror each other's roles btw they're both so important)

So these are a little less on the nose, but again super important. No matter what Po is going through, he still has to fulfill his destiny, and giving him support while he does so is the best they can do. Ping was initially worried of Li Shan stealing Po away, but realizes that bonding with his biological father doesn't take him away from Ping, just more love and support for Po.

But also, Po learning that he doesn't have to change drastically to reach his true potential. When Ping and Li Shan stand on the small platform and tell Po that they can help, along with all other pandas, Po has the realization that he can't turn them into him, just as Shifu can't turn him into Shifu, or Li Shan can't turn him into a typical panda.

Ping doesn't say a direct quote to mirror Shifu's, but he did initiate talking to Li Shan after Po and Li Shan had the liar reveal. Li never had the experience of having an arguement with his child, but Ping obviously does. So he takes it upon himself to keep being the rock that Po can lean on by talking to Li Shan and helping him realize that they have to be there for Po, no matter what happens.

Because again. Po is hurt. Po is confused. But he still has to save the world. He needs both his dads.

I love Ping so much for being a good dad in this way. He really plays well as a support character and is such a good parent. Yeah, Po may not fit the mold the way Ping expected (taking over the noodle shop etc) but hes still so proud!!!

[ben-the-hyena]

I see fandoms rightfully hating or being very critical on a sequel/prequel/spinoff movie or show in a franchise for shitting on what was in other movies and straight up retconning or changing characters and relationships, but then I see it brings as much if not more money than the previous ones and reviewers, article writers and YouTube reactors love it and praise it which will only encourage making more soulless cashgrabs since a big part of the audience loves it, and then I think we do deserve living in a dark age for cinema after all

[cyanide-sippy-cup]

So I went down a rabbit hole. I noticed the Blades of Chaos/Blades of Athena/etc looked very similar to Kai's jade blades, so I was wondering if it was any kind of specific blade, so I searched it up. And from what I found, no. So I propose this question: did Kung Fu Panda 3 ripoff the Blades of Chaos?

[mechieonu]

just binged the entire trilogy and. yeah. i honestly don't understand what left of Po's story needs to be told

[firecat17]

Well, it looks like Kung Fu Panda 3 won. Thanks to everyone who voted! And remember that Pixar and DreamWorks may have gotten away with ruining these perfect trilogies by adding crappy, unwanted, unnecessary, franchise-ruining fourquels, but deep down in our hearts these franchises will always remain perfect trilogies and the awful fourquels don't exist!

[maskedhatter]

Kylo Ren is just bootleg Tai Lung and no, you can't change my mind.

[crescentbea02]

KFP silly idea- Tigress villain arc and her being Po's greatest challenge

So, my theory is that in the next trilogy of KFP we will see Tigress having a villain arc. And tho at the same time it wouldn't make any sense due to her character development I think it would be pretty fucking cool.

So my headcanon is that Tigress's family was a cult that controlled and used the power of the Chi to do evil that were eventually banned, and its through them that Kai learns how to use Chi the way he does in the third movie (Im not going to go with the Tigress royal family trope because I think that would be too clishe). There are no Tigers in China, there could still be tigers and them not be necessairly from Tigress family. Its also kinda foreshadowed when in the orphanage everyone was terrified of Tigress.

We know that why the Pandas were haunted and led into their hiding, but I dont think they will just recycle that storyline. I think that Tigress's family was actually evil and Oogway was sent to stop them and banish/kill them. Which would actually be a pretty cool constract to the symbolism of the tigers in China.

Now, how did Tigress end up in that orpanage. Well, just like Po's mother left him in a box, maybe Tigress's parents also left her in a box somewhere. Just it wasn't to save her, but to get rid of her, and instead of being taken in by a sweet goose, she was found and then taken to the orphanage. Years later, Oogway hears rumors about a tiger in an orphanage, whom everyone was afraid. He could sense her power, so he sent Shifu to teach her and then to adopt her. Oogway thought that she would end the cycle, just like he thought Po would bring the cycle back.

When Tigress finds this, she doesn't know how to process it. Not only Po took away her destiny to become the Dragon Warrior, the power of the Chi and kung fu had also taken away from her only family and he had everything she had ever dreamed of. Unlike Po, who had been adopted by a loving father, who became the dragon warrior despite not knowing a thing of kung fu, who had become a legend by fate. She was always the one left behind.

That leads Tigress into having a villain arc, on her way to fulfil her parents' legacy and to get her own destiny, her outfit including dark and dull colors, in opposite to Po's golden robe and aura. It would also come in hand with Tai Lung redemption arc.

Po has a challenge physically (Tigress was the only one who never got defeated by Po), spiritualyl (Tigress knows how to manipulate Chi in ways that he doesn't know about) and mentally (because of their bond and friendship). It will be his greatest challenge of all the trilogies, because Tigress might not be necessairly the most powerful of them all, but she is an equal to Po and Po genuinly cannot fight her because he cares so much for her.

And lastly them both would actually represent the yin and yang. With Tigress symbolizing the darkness of the chi and Po symbolizing the light.

Well thats it its just a silly idea for a possible plot the next trilogy will have lol. That wouldn't happen in KFP4 right ahead, it would most likely happen in the last two movies.

[chaossmith2]

Going to see Puss in Boots 2 finally

Everyone’s been hyping up it up for nearly 2 weeks straight so this better be the best movie ever lol

[nomaishuttle]

like the thing is this and kfp3 arent Bad movies (shrek 3 literally was dontcare talk 2 the hand) theyre just like. idk. annoying sequels

[whirling-fangs]

[[ love getting out of kfp4 at the movies to 99+ notifications 🥺 i am BOOPING y'all so BAD when i get home!!!!]]

[neofelis----nebulosa]

Uhhh why aren’t the furious 5 in the king fu panda 4 trailer

[tatsumiboobs69]

lately ive been going on a downward spiral into kung fu panda hell. i highly recommend checking out both the trilogy and the people behind the first 3 movies, jennifer yuh nelson is such an amazing person. there was a lot of work and love put into kfp.. its so much more than just a silly kids movie its geniunely an amazing franchise. to other artists especially, i really recommend finding behind the scenes videos if you can, its really amazing knowing just the depth of the care put into the creation of these films.

i wouldn’t recommend kfp4 though as it doesn’t hold true to the series (it’s not terrible but it is rlly mediocre), and esp looking and how it was produced, it wasn’t the same labor of love as the trilogy

That’s all my rambling.. i just have so much feeling abt this franchise…

[bietrofastimoff23]

I may not have been the only one who initially found Tai Lung a little out of character, but as time passes, I realize that this is definitely his personality.

in the first film, for certain reasons, he was serious and gloomy, and even then his humorous side slipped through. and now, when every his day is like another and he was not allowed to return to it, of course he will take the most fun out of this adventure.

I actually really liked his lighthearted side and it's great to see him having fun. I would watch a movie about Tai Lung and Scott commenting on all the fights of the trilogy kfp.

[kingofthewilderwest]

Am I the only one who feels like HTTYD isn't as memeable as Shrek or KFP? I know we have "You're as beautiful as the day I lost you." and the famous dancing Toothless, but that one was really from a parody recap. Other than that, I really don't see a lot of memes from it.

I think that means HTTYD is successfully doing its job with the type of narration it intends.

There are comedic lines like "talking fishbone" and "thanks for nothing, you useless reptile" that fandom has parroted since the early days. There's Hiccup encouraging Toothless while the Light Fury looks aghast as a meme template. And fandom can find anything to josh with, be it Hiccup's hot froglegs in HTTYD 2, or Hiccup's love affair with scrap metal from RTTE, or throwing everyone in the dungeon who made a Stoick joke (I am DATING my time in the fandom here, y'all). There will always be moments we play with, as it were.

But HTTYD, while funny, is built on heart. Shrek and KFP have heart, too (especially KFP), but they're built around different vibes (especially Shrek). Shrek was an intentional, abrupt, genuinely shocking aberration from animated fairy tale movies. For people who weren't around when it happened, there's a REASON it was a HUGE, rocking sensation and has become part of permanent culture. Meanwhile, KFP is a comedy action. HTTYD, at its core, is the story of a boy and his dragon, and a boy and his dad. I wouldn't expect fan response or general societal response to respond to these different frameworks the same way.

When audiences think about the impact of HTTYD, they aren't thinking about the pleasurable absurdisms that lead to "You're tearing me APART, Lisa!" or "I don't like sand" (which actually, for the record, I think is an unironically good character scene, sue me).

You ever watch a movie where they try soooo hard to be meme-able? Or they're throwing in jokes at places they shouldn't? I'm not not not saying it happened here, but one of the things I think THW could've improved was by reducing the number of gags it tried to run - while competing for time to emotionally conclude a sweeping trilogy. Sometimes it's not the place for a movie to have the content that'd make it meme-able. HTTYD's always been funny, yeah, and that's part of the franchise's charm. But different types of funny bring different audience results, and you ain't gonna beat Shrek when it comes for appropriate humor vibes for memes.

I could be forgetting a ton in my sleep-deprived state. But I'd agree it's not as meme-able as Shrek, one of the most meme-worthy pieces of media to exist. It means both have their place in the ecosystem of movies, and it makes both of them fantastic for what they are.

[starredforlife]

ok top five scenes from the kung fu panda universe (any of the movies, shorts, shows, etc). could be fight scenes, character moments, etc etc so on and so forth

FERN THIS IS SO HARD. FOR ME. UHM !!!!

ESCAPE FROM GONGMEN TOWER please watch it right now please please it's such an underrated scene musically and visually. this is the scene where tigress catches a flaming arrow and that's the exact moment i became a homosexual. vic history. it's also the scene where we see her chops as a leader of the five and the way she's fit into this role to balance out Po so well. and also all her potential as who she could've been, if she'd been chosen to be the dragon warrior herself. but she's not.

MUSICIAN'S VILLAGE I LOVE this scene the way it introduces, to the audience, that the score is going to play a part in the fight scenes of this movie is absolutely magnificent. and the way we get reintroduced to the furious five's + po's fighting style, and it reminds us immediately that they are formidable--and then sets up the inciting incident of the plot with so much mystery (and we see the 2d animation style again too, which has always represented po's inner subconscious. WHY DIDN'T THEY DO THAT FOR THE FOURTH MOVIE. whatever)

i would say the bridge fight (kfp1) and i adore that scene but i have to say, i really love the performances, the ambience, the color boards, the sound effects, and the emotional impact of shifu and tai lung's fight in the 3rd act more. i love when kfp actually invested time in its non-main protag characters. tai lung was an absolutely fascinating villain and this scene just rounds out his character so well

The entirety of the secrets of the scroll short film oh my god i love that one so much. teenage tigress. my baby girl.

FUCK okay and then the fireworks factory (2nd movie) where Po confronts Shen about his past. And he gets shot with a cannon and Tigress doesn't get to him in time. breaks my heart every time. i'm going to include the scene where Tigress and Po fight right before that in the jail too bc the musical score called "Fireworks Factory" starts with THEIR HUG. AND IT ENDS WITH HER RUNNING TO CATCH HIM. AND FAILING. MY BAKA LIFE !!!!! i don't even ship them anymore like i did when i was 14 i mostly just love tigress but their platonic relationship is v important to me. i have to include their hug bc that did irreparable damage to me as a tween. sorry the quality of the first vid is so ass. their relationship in the entire 2nd movie is so good i could write a whole analysis on it probably. it's paining me physically to not include their earlier boat scene talk.

this is also the scene where tigress snarls at the gorilla and that changed my brain chemistry forever.

i love the entire second movie this is so hard for me AUGHHHGHGH okay quick honorary mention: i also love the scene where we see shen fight the three masters (rhino, croc, ox). that quick fight scene is SO well executed. the dialogue and the performances are incredible. i used to have every line of dialogue of this movie memorized and especially loved reciting this scene (skip to 1:10)

and then if i had to pick a moment from the third one it's the one where oogway's statue gets wrecked at the jade palace. it lands emotionally very well for a scene that could have easily been mishandled too comedically or too quickly. like it still gives me chills. and i'm not even gonna touch on the character animation/acting of tigress and shifu here bc GOD. kai's theme does rock also!!! AND i LOVE the colors in this movie SO MUCH holy fuck

and then a minor detail from the first one is i love how the characters act with each other, namely the five and shifu. they clearly have a history and/or comradery with each other. shifu undoing the nerve damage tai lung did in a way specific to each of his students stands out to me in particular.

1 and 2 are masterpieces to me and i have my Things about the 3rd one but overall, a beautiful trilogy. i wish the 4th one didn't exist im killing it with my bare hands. vic hate movie? vic murder it. 5th rule of the streets.