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"Hear the legends of the Kung fu Panda!"
—Po, from the Bragging Theme Tune
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The DreamWorks Animation team and Nickelodeon have teamed up to bring the popular characters from their Kung Fu Panda movies to the small screen as Kung Fu Panda Legends of Awesomeness.
Po the Panda, Master Shifu, his sifu, and the Furious Five from the film have all returned. Master Oogway having Ascended to a Higher Plane of Existence (or died) is still mentioned with respectful memory. They still reside in and protect The Valley of Peace from various threats (though not of the level of Tai Lung).
The CGI is of course TV quality, which means it lacks the detail and intensity of the cinema level animation. The big name voice actors have been replaced with sound-alikes.
The show does, however, manage to keep the basic balance from the two movies: martial arts story with comedy elements.
Has a Recap Page under construction.
Tropes:[]
- All There in the Manual: The names of one of the Croc Bandits other than Fung and Gah-ri[1] and Scorpion's real name[2] can only be found in this gallery of concept art.
- In-universe example: The Corridor of Unbelievable Agony has a scroll explaining how to defeat every single trap guarding the Clay Pot of Remembrance. Too bad that Po can't be bothered to read through it.
- Accidental Unfortunate Gesture: Po back-hands Tigress in 'Hometown Hero'. Tigress is not amused.
- The main conflict of "Fluttering Finger Mindslip" is kicked off when Po tries out said move, looking down at the scroll and mimicking the steps, while completely unaware that Viper just came in...
- Due to sleep deprivation from Mr. Ping's sinus problem late last night, Tigress falls asleep on Po, which not only sparked more "Po-Ti" shipping squeals, but it also caused Po to get back-handed when trying to wake her up...and get snored on yet again when no one was paying her any attention.
- Actor Allusion: In the movie, Jackie Chan plays Monkey. In the animated show, James Sie plays Monkey. In another animated show, James Sie played Jackie Chan. Makes sense, really.
- Actually Pretty Funny: When facing off against the mindwiped Furious Five, Shifu laughs and says this about Crane's assumed name, "El Storko".
- Tigress cracks a joke for once in "Chain Reaction".
- Affably Evil: Fenghuang. Not only does she banter playfully, act coquettish, and genuinely offer to help train Po, but she saves his life even before she knows who he is or how he can help her.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Mr. Ping in "Master Ping" during his brief but chaotic stay at the Jade Palace, and of course included sharing humiliating anecdotes about Po's childhood with the Furious Five and Shifu.
Mr. Ping: Po was so cute when he was little! He couldn't say the word 'tomato', he said: 'amamamomo'. |
- Ambiguous Gender: To judge by Mr. Ping (and their identical character design), the lone female member of the five "creepy" snow leopards who replace the Furious Five. Only one or two of them (obviously male) speak, so no way of telling "which is which", or even if any are and it isn't just a rumor.
- Going by grunts made when they fight, it appears that it is actually Inverted, the sounds most of them make are female, with the two who speak seeming to be the only male ones.
- The Ladies of the Shade is a village of snow leopards who specialize in dancing. The whole village is females only.
- Ambiguously Gay: Gah-ri of the Croc Bandits, to judge from his love of fashion/interior design and Fung's subsequent reaction.
- Fung himself might qualify as well.
- Amnesia Danger: "Fluttering Finger Mindslip" has this when the Furious Five meet Taotie.
- Amusing Injuries: Take a shot every time Po goes through one of these. Go on, try it.
- Anachronic Order: "Rhino's Revenge" explains how Chorh-Gom was shut down after Tai Lung's defeat, and sees it re-established as a prison for other villains. It aired in the middle of the first season, after several episodes of villains being sent there and Po himself visiting in "Jailhouse Panda".
- Further supported by the DVR descriptions. The summary doesn't match but the title does, implying that they released the episodes in a rush without forethought.
- Anachronism Stew: Perhaps inevitable, and thankfully not too prevalent so far, but The Mafia bull lord and the joy buzzer do stand out. Also the joke products in "Owl Be Back".
- Angel Face, Demon Face: The princess' features are sharp, angular and hard while she's still mean and nasty. Once she and Po make friends, her features become rounder and cuter.
- Arrow Catch: Master Chao does this. Just before being riddled by arrows. He gets better. Apparently lizard skin is very thick.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: The list of things Hundun lost because of the Dragon Warrior--his job, his wife, his kids, his house, a pair of goat friends (whom he didn't really like anyway), and a pair of slippers.
- Art Shift: As in the original movies, Flashbacks and certain other narrations are traditionally animated.
- Arrogant Kung Fu Guy: Po has started to become a little full of himself in the series. But that usually means he's going to learn a lesson that reminds him to be a bit more humble.
- Emphasized with Evil!Po.
- Zigzagged with Peng, who at first is as humble as can be, then becomes mad with a desire to prove himself just like his uncle, then returns to normal after the truth comes out.
- Invoked when Shifu creates "Dragon Warrior Challenge Day" to help tame Po's ego.
- Ascended Fanboy: Po maintains that amazement that he is still working with the Furious Five.
- Ascended Fanon: According to Po, Tigress did have a crush on Shifu growing up.
- Awkward Ability: ...Po has many of these...or maybe he just has many awkward NAMES for his 'abilities'. 'Crazy Feet, Arms of Justice, Belly of Truth'? ...Perhaps he's just naming his body parts in a more creative way...
- Badass Grandma: Fenghuang is as old as Shifu, but trounced him and the Furious Five in one move each. She only lost because Po caught her off guard.
- Needless to say that Shifu qualifies, but we also have three new characters who fit to a T: Master Yao, Mr. Yeung, and Mrs. Gow.
- There is also Shirong, Shifu's father. He can still hold his own in a fight, from bumbling bandits to a spar with his kung fu master son, as well as Tong Fo. He has his limits, though.
- Bash Brothers: Particularly evident in "Chain Reaction", when Tigress and Po chase after Fung.
- Batman Gambit: Junjie is a master of these. First he deliberately tricks Po into watching an advanced kung fu move, blinding him in the process so that he will screw up his kung fu demonstration, disgrace the Jade Palace, and get Shifu removed by Master Chao--after which he then replaces the Five with his own group of snow leopard warriors. Then in "Ghost of Oogway" he impersonates Oogway so as to turn Po and Shifu against each other and make the latter leave the palace as an outdated has-been.
- Quan the Unkillable has one too: make Po believe he's a weak, decrepit old man just looking for one last exhibition match to end his career with some dignity, convince him to handicap himself to make the match "fair" so that Quan can lose more gracefully...then wipe the floor with Po to make up for his inadvertent humiliation of Quan years ago.
- Big Brother Mentor: What Po tries to be to Bian Zao--at first quite lamely, then successfully.
- Big "What?": Po and the Furious Five's reaction to getting kicked out the Jade Palace.
- Could also be seen as a Mass "Oh Crap".
- Bittersweet Ending: The series brings the first movie's ending into light. Turns out, with their only prisoner gone, the many soldiers at the prison ended up losing their jobs.
- Blind Kung Fu Warrior: Po, after the self-inflicted Golden Lotus Clap. He is still awesome.
- Bloodless Carnage: Exploited in "Owl Be Back" when Po stabs Shifu with a collapsible knife.
- It was bloodless because he wasn't actually harmed.
- Bragging Theme Tune: Written and sung by Po himself.
- Bratty Half-Pint: The little pig princess, before she learns her Aesop.
- Breaking the Bonds: Po, in an awesome moment in "Monkey in the Middle".
- Brick Joke: At the end of "A Sticky Situation", Shifu mentions that they'll send Taotie the bill for the destruction of the training hall. Sure enough, upon Taotie's next appearance, he's seen receiving it.
- Another occurs at the end of "Jailhouse Panda": After going the whole episode knowing the Sacred Hammer of Lei Long can crack the ground and set off earthquakes, and a hilarious Hot Potato battle to keep it from touching the ground, it's finally dropped thanks to Po's clumsiness...leaving a bomb-blast crater but thankfully not destroying the Valley.
- Bring My Brown Pants: One of the croc bandits asks Fung if they have time for a bathroom break just before making their move. Once they attack and he's faced with an angry Tigress, he announces "I gotta pee again" and takes off.
- Bug Buzz: Mantis makes a sound akin to Chirping Crickets when he moves.
- But for Me It Was Tuesday: Inverted example from "Has-Been Hero": the day Po wanted to see Quan the Unkillable fight he remembers as the most wonderful, exciting day of his life...but he had inadvertently caused Quan to lose, and in such a humiliating way his career as a fighter was finished, thus leading him to desire Revenge.
- Call Back: In "Scorpion's Sting", Shifu makes a face similar to Po's "Doooy!" expression in the first movie. Po uses it again himself later.
- Also appears in "Rhino's Revenge", this time intentionally caused by Mantis.
- In the first movie's dream sequence, Po had spoken of the Dragon Warrior as being so awesome people would be blinded by his moves. The Golden Lotus Clap does exactly that to anyone who witnesses it performed and doesn't close their eyes. Including the one who performs it.
- Can't Get Away with Nuthin': Po, blinded by jealousy, lies to Peng that Shifu wants him to leave the Jade Palace. This snowballs into Peng almost going on a rampage, a three-way Let's You and Him Fight, and eventually the disruption of the entire Peace Festival into a free-for-all.
- Cardboard Prison: Chorh-Gom, it seems. Not only is Junjie somehow able to escape it off-screen in order to return as Oogway's ghost, but Hundun is able to build prosthetic horns, including explosive ones, out of the things he can scrounge up or is outright given by his guards, and with them escape with ease. Apparently once Tai Lung escaped from it, Chorh-Gom just doesn't measure up any more.
- To be fair, he (Tai Lung) kinda wrecked the place when he broke out. Although no evidence of this is shown in the series...
- Cassandra Truth: Po, in disguise and proven to be a Bad Liar, brazens it out and braggingly confesses to Tong Fo his real identity and mission. This sounds so utterly ridiculous to him that he dismisses it, instead assuming "Sheng" to be Dangerously Genre Savvy--until later, when he sees Po fight.
- Cats Are Snarkers: Tigress retains her Deadpan Snarker tendencies.
- Catch Phrase: Fung the Crocodile Bandit has "looks like we're doing this the hard way!" At one point Tigress points out that he keeps saying it, which causes Fung to get all indignant.
Fung (hurt): "It's a good line... so... shut up!" |
- He also has "darn it!" and throwing his hat.
- Po has "That... was... AWESOME!"
- Celebrity Star: It is said that Lucy Liu reprises her role as Viper.
- James Hong also reprises as Mr. Ping, the only VA to keep his role across all KFP media (movies, shorts, TV series and video games).
- Celestial Deadline: Po's Evil Twin must be reintegrated before sundown or else become permanent.
- Tigress needed the tea made from the Sacred Sun Orchid before sundown or else she'd die.
- Chained Heat: Tigress and Po in "Chain Reaction".
- Chekhov's Gun: Shifu had more than one shift stone...
- The toy knife from "Owl Be Back".
- The replica mirror from "Bad Po".
- Dizzy Kung Fu from "Love Stings".
- Child Prodigy: Peng. Also Master Yao.
- Circling Monologue: Fenghuang does this in "Owl Be Back" while attempting to tempt Po to the dark side.
- Commercial Break Cliffhanger
- A particularly fun one in "My Favorite Yao" because it is played literally--Shifu and Po are sent hurtling off a cliff by Temutai and his men. After the return from commercials, they are still falling, they drop out of camera-view to the sounds of screams and smashing...only to reveal they'd simply landed (mostly) safely in the bamboo.
- Completely Missing the Point: As said by Tigress before she clawed out Crane's face in Fluttering Finger Mindslip. Could also be seen as Comically Missing the Point.
Tigress: Judging by our fighting skills....we must be bakers..." |
- Conservation of Ninjutsu: The Furious Five themselves fall victim to this. Individually they do well in battle, but if all five of them attack the Villain of the Week at once, expect to see them defeated in rapid succession.
- Subverted in "My Favorite Yao": even though it is only Shifu and Po, the two most powerful masters at the Jade Palace, they can't succeed in stopping Temutai and his men from getting away with the captured Yao.
- Conspicuous CG: The grain mill in "Monkey in the Middle". Still looks pretty good, though.
- Conspiracy Theorist: Tigress, hilariously, because she doesn't "trust anyone" and believes herself Properly Paranoid. Exemplified here:
Tigress: I don't trust them. |
- Counting to Three: Recurs through the series.
- Po and Tigress disagree upon whether to go on three, or after actually finishing the count. They eventually see the strengths of each other's styles.
- The five attack Po on a regular three count.
- Criminal Amnesiac: Taotie takes advantage of the Furious Five's missing memory by convincing them that he's their master, leading them against the horrible Shifusanidiot.
- Cunning Like a Fox: Master Junjie.
- Deadpan Snarker: Taotie's son.
- Tigress has her moments as well.
- Monkey gets a shot at this in "Sticky Situation."
Tigress: Romantic entanglements upset one's chi. That's why I avoid them. |
- Death by Despair: What happened to Monkey's mother, sort of.
- Delusions of Eloquence: Shirong. Occasionally he manages to get the words right and thus speaks in Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness, but most of the time his words are completely made up.
- Department of Redundancy Department: Hundun, all the time.
- From "Sight for Sore Eyes":
Po: I'm blind! In my eyes! |
- Didn't See That Coming: Played for Laughs in "My Favorite Yao" when Temutai is taken by surprise by Shifu's Last Request...to dance.
- Disability Superpower: Parodied. Po, after being blinded by the Golden Lotus Clap, seems able to detect his opponent with supernatural senses--but it is because he'd previously eaten a garlic dish. Which Po himself had delivered.
- Disguised in Drag/Dressing as the Enemy: Po has to disguise himself as one of the Ladies of the Shade in order to recover the Dragon Chalice. Unfortunately he keeps slipping out of character.
- A Dog Named "Dog": The Furious Five all being named in this fashion gets Lampshaded in "Fluttering Finger Mindslip".
Crane: I couldn't stand it if my name were just what kind of animal I am. I need a name with real panache! |
- Don't Explain the Joke: In "Chain Reaction":
Tigress: My friends are the twins...Discipline..and Sacrifice. |
- Another, briefer example, in "Kung Fu Daycare": Shifu sends Crane and Viper to "search high and low" for Zan's parents.
Crane: I'll take high! |
- Double Edged Answer: Shifu's enduring devotion to Oogway and his continued conflict over Po's laziness and tendency to shirk discipline cause one in "Ghost of Oogway".
Shifu: I can't believe Master Oogway ... |
- Shifu seems to wrestle with answers like these a lot when it comes to Po. Despite his respect for the Panda, he still harbors a little dubiosity about Po's worthiness and Ooogway having chosen him as Dragon Warrior.
- Dreamworks Face: Po is still making it as seen in above image.
- Drop the Hammer: The Sacred Hammer of Lei Long, capable of smashing the earth apart, setting off earthquakes, or possibly even causing an Earthshattering Kaboom.
- Drowning Our Romantic Sorrows: Mantis mostly in 'Sticky Situation'.
- Easily Forgiven: Po, despite having lied to Peng about Shifu not wanting him at the Jade Palace; apparently being honest about one's Green-Eyed Monster is a "Get Out of Jail Free" Card for almost wrecking the Peace Festival and setting off a second snow leopard rampage. Also, oddly, Temutai forgives him too.
- To be fair, Po couldn't have expected such an extreme reaction from Peng, and he made numerous efforts to stop it.
- Though ultimately, this was Po outright lying to a child in order to make him leave, just because Po himself was not being the center of attention for once. That's especially harsh when compared to all the overall irresponsible things Po has done so far.
- The point wasn't that Po should not be forgiven, since he did, as pointed out, try to stop what was happening and make amends. It's that it happened too easily. It seems odd that Peng didn't chide Po for allowing his jealousy to push him into telling such a hurtful lie--or Shifu, or Tigress. And Temutai has even less reason to be forgiving.
- On the other hand, this was the Peace Jubilee — a day of absolving grievances. In Peng's case, he was likely just as ashamed as Po. As for Temutai, I'd say his reaction falls under the category of Rule of Funny.
- It's justified in the first episode featuring the villain, Taotie. When Shifu learns that Po allowed his old enemy to gain access to the materials necessary to create a machine to attack them, he is furious and is at a loss of how to punish the giant panda. However, when Po is then flattened by Taotie's machine's giant mallet, Shifu decides that's a good enough punishment.
- To be fair, Po couldn't have expected such an extreme reaction from Peng, and he made numerous efforts to stop it.
- Eccentric Mentor: Master Yao. After meditating in full isolation for sixty years inside a box, he's gone full blown Cloudcuckoolander, but maintains the wisdom and awareness to carry out a rather dangerous plan to make Shifu loosen up and live his life each day as if it were his last.
- Embarrassing Nickname: The various names that Taotie gave the amnesia-ridden Furious Five. Whiskers Kitty-Poo, Noodle, Little Britches, etc.
- Enemy Mine: Po must team up with the leader of the Croc Bandits to rescue his kidnapped brother. Subverted when it turns out to have been a ruse to help Fung to kidnap and hold for ransom the son of a powerful family. Double Subverted when Fung's conscience causes him to go back for Po who had taken the rap for him.
- Enemy Without: "Bad Po".
- Energy Absorption: The Mongolian Fire Fist Demon, which gets stronger (and bigger) each time it is hit.
- Everything's Better with Princesses: Subverted. She's obnoxious and bratty, but Po turns her into a baby Defrosting Ice Queen.
- Evil Counterpart: Master Junjie to Shifu, both as a kung-fu master and in design. Also, he's a fox, to Shifu's red panda — a species of animal sometimes referred to as a firefox.
- Evil Is Easy: Unlike Shifu, Fenghuang is extremely willing to leap right into teaching Po 'the good stuff', including the Seven Impossible Moves. She also showers him with praise and calls him a fast learner.
- Evil Laugh: Master Junjie has one--which he interrupts to praise the garlic chow mein.
- Exact Words: Bian Zao doesn't help his dad drag the Iron Claws of Doom up the steps because he asks him to help but, per the oracle, doesn't tell him he has to. He also didn't oil the claws because he'd asked him would he do it, as a favor.
- Expecting Someone Taller: Implied; in the 2D flashbacks of the Sacred Hammer, Po imagines Tong Fo as a huge and hulking warrior, so that when he actually meets him he keeps looking around at empty eye level...until finally looking down.
- Eyepatch of Power: Inverted; when Po pretends to be Mantis's sidekick, his costume includes an eyepatch, making him clumsier.
- Face Heel Turn: Subverted. When, after being told he was rejected by Shifu and the Jade Palace, Peng runs off declaring he will "show them all how strong he is", it looks like he's going to join Temutai and learn dark kung fu at his side. Instead...he challenges him to a Duel to the Death. Of course, if Po hadn't intervened and admitted the truth, this sort of seemingly justified and heroic act could have led to Jumping Off the Slippery Slope...
- Fake Defector: Po in "Owl Be Back". And surprisingly effectively.
- Fake Weakness: Quan the Unkillable's age--he's actually quite the Badass Grandpa.
- Fan Boy: Shifu of all people, for Master Yao.
Shifu, to Temutai and his men: How dare you touch the great Master Yao! (strokes and fondles Yao's face) |
- Fastball Special: Mantis gets tossed around like this occasionally, such as by Monkey during "Owl Be Back".
- Fetch Quest: Tigress comes down with a fever that requires a specific delicate flower to cure. Po and Monkey must seek it out.
- Finishing Stomp: Performed by Master Junjie on Po. Junjie's tiny fox foot barely dents Po's giant muzzle, yet Po is both pinned and visibly straining under Junjie's applied force.
- Foreshadowing: When Po thinks he's going to turn evil in "Owl Be Back", he eventually adopts a very cold, crude and harsh manner of speaking. "Bad Po" speaks the exact same way. For that matter, the fact that one episode after it is "prophesied" that he will turn evil, a mirror brings his dark side to life.
- "Friend or Idol?" Decision: In "Monkey in the Middle", Wukong has to choose between going on with his life of crime, or going back to save his brother.
- Also Po, having to decide between the mystical knife or the little pig's father in "Hall of Lame". He chooses the father of course...and of course, Chung Sung Jai Kai Chow was lying when he said he'd let him go.
- Frying Pan of Doom: Employed by Ping against Hundun. And then Po. Twice.
- Fun Personified: Master Yao, it turns out, once he gets to experience life again.
- Gag Words: In 'Jailhouse Panda', according to Po, Tigress dry-heaves when she hears the word 'slurp'. When he points that out while trying to prove that he was the real Po, she does.
- Genius Bruiser: In "Chain Reaction" it's revealed that Tigress is very studious and knowledgeable in subjects that aren't directly related to kung fu.
- Genre Blind: Po, thanks to being The Heart and Incorruptible Pure Pureness (maybe), is still too gullible and believes Hundun when he fakes a Heel Face Turn.
- He also doesn't see through the fake Oogway.
- Genre Savvy: However, Po is very familiar with all the trademark 'evil cliches' in "Owl Be Back", to the point where he rattles them off to Fenghuang and admires her finer 'evil' moments. Treads into Dangerously Genre Savvy when he appears to stab Shifu to death.
- Getting Crap Past the Radar: When Po is trying to figure out why it is Chung Sung Jai Kai Chow wants the doll so badly.
Po: What, does it wet itself...? |
- Glamour: The shift stone, which allows you to change your appearance simply by concentrating (although you can still see how you really look in any reflection). Interestingly it doesn't seem to require maintaining concentration or even retaining possession of the stone (although the destruction of said stone then destroys all illusions made with it).
- Junjie, then Shifu, disguised as Oogway's ghost.
- Go-Karting with Bowser: In "The Kung Fu Kid", Temutai is invited to the Peace Jubilee. While there are hostilities and even fights, he and Po do gush together about their liking of the olive branch crowns, he has a nice time at the evening feast alongside everyone (except Po), and ultimately things end well overall.
- Gold Digger: Hao Ming, who only wants to marry Mantis for the prestige that comes with being the Dragon Warrior's wife.
- Gray Rain of Depression: While Bian Zao sits on the Jade Palace steps after his father is taken to Chorh-Gom.
- Grandma, What Massive Hotness You Have!: Fenghuang, who is as old as Shifu if not older, looks like she's as old as Po.
- Green-Eyed Monster: In "The Kung Fu Kid", Po's insecurities come to the forefront as he sees everyone being charmed by the younger and more talented Peng.
- Grievous Harm with a Body: Evil!Po uses Viper as a whip-chain against the others.
- The real Po also uses her, in a cross with Improbable Weapon User, when she poses as a parasol (with Crane's hat) in "Ladies of the Shade".
- Groin Attack: When Fung and his goons tie Tigress to a tree stump...she does THIS to show a lesson....multiple times.
- In "Ghost of Oogway", Po does it to himself with the Tri Bo Yao.
Po: [high voice] ... my consequences. |
- Guess Who I'm Dating?: The plot of "Love Stings", in which Mr. Ping dates a "convicted villainous evil mastermind".
- "Uh uh ahhh. Never convicted"
- Hammerspace: Po evidently has one of these. In "Princess and the Po," he pulls several board games out of nowhere.
- Heel Face Turn: Song, due to The Power of Friendship, or possibly The Power of Love.
- He's Dead, Jim: Playfully subverted in "Scorpion's Sting". Tigress lies on the bed silent and unmoving even after the cure has been given. The Furious Five and Po all bow their heads in sadness. Tigress jumps to her feet, instantly well.
- Hold Your Hippogriffs: Po tells Tigress that putting Zan to bed isn't "fireworks science".
- Po jumps at the chance to play "buddy warrior opera", and calls dibs on the warrior who makes his own rules.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Po isn't very good at reading others. "Good Croc, Bad Croc" points out his gullibility.
- Hostile Weather: The Canyon of the Shrieking Winds. Turns into Weather of War when Po makes use of it to blow the parasol-carrying Ladies of the Shade away.
- Hot Potato: The reversed example, where Po, Tigress, Monkey, the Croc Bandits, and Tong Fo all fight over the Sacred Hammer--the villains to obtain it for themselves, the heroes to keep it from touching the ground. Hilarity Ensues.
- Humiliation Conga: Zigzagged in "Has-Been Hero". Initially, it was the (inadvertent) actions of Po which caused Quan the Unkillable to spectacularly lose and have his career ruined, thus leading him to plan his Revenge. After he tricks Po into handicapping himself for their match, he proceeds to give one of these to the panda. Once Monkey and Crane release Po from his handicap, the panda then turns the tables, causing a repeat of Quan's original loss. Crushed, Quan prepares to die, believing he has earned it, that it's what he would do in Po's place, and that he has no way of earning back his honor anyway. But then Po fakes receiving a terrible blow, allowing Quan to defeat him after all, throwing the match as was originally intended and restoring Quan's reputation--but legitimately, without it being about Revenge or a Duel to the Death, thus leaving the Aesop of the episode intact.
- Hypocritical Humor: In "Sight For Sore Eyes", Mr. Ping tells the pig lady to go easy on his son, and the lady agrees sympathetically....as soon as Po drops the dishes and she gives him the "No wonder you're not the Dragon Warrior anymore!" line.
- I Don't Like the Sound of That Place: The Corridor of Unbelievable Agony.
- "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Between Po and Monkey in "Scorpion's Sting."
- I Just Want to Have Friends: Mei Li.
- I'm Taking Him Home With Me: Essentially this was Po's inital reaction to Peng, before Green-Eyed Monster set in.
Po: Oh please, please can we keep him? Can we keep him pleeeeease? He's even pottery trained! |
- Idiot Hero: Po louses up a lot, but this can be seen as part of the Myth Arc of Po's Coming of Age through the series.
- Revealing to someone out for revenge against the Dragon Warrior your own weakness, and those of the Five, while also curing them of theirs, takes the cake, however...
- Idiosyncratic Wipes: "Ghost of Oogway": Po trudges away from the village. As he trudges, the scene dissolves around him and resolves as the Dragon Chamber of the Jade Palace.
- I Gave My Word: Adhered to to the point of Face Palm by Good!Po.
- Ignored Epiphany: Hundun, after Po saves his life from the falling statue. He then shoves Po out of the way so the statue falls on him anyway.
- Imagine Spot: Bian Zao has a nightmarish one, imagining what will happen to his new friend Po if his father Taotie escapes prison to take revenge.
- Improbable Age: Fung's "little" cousin Lidong. Fung even lampshades it: "You grew up..."
- Indy Ploy: In "My Favorite Yao", Po's checklist of how he handles screwing things up references his tendency to use this. He also actually does so when using wild, upbeat music and dancing to lure out Master Yao.
- Instant Expert: Po can learn kung fu moves after having seen them performed once (the Golden Lotus Clap, the various moves Fenghuang teaches him). Whether Po is really just this good, his constant study of all things kung fu enabled it, or it's a power the Dragon Scroll granted him once he believed in himself isn't clear.
- Oddly, he seems to have inherited this somehow from Ping, since the latter manages to properly perform a complex and advanced kung fu move after seeing Shifu perform it once.
- Everyone seems to be an Instant Expert in the Kung Fu Panda-verse. The years of training that goes into learning secret Kung Fu techniques doesn't seem to be because the moves themselves are difficult to learn, but more that they learn to use them responsibly. (For example, the Fluttering Finger Mindslip.)
- Subverted when Po tries to use a dual-headed three-prong mace for the first time, and the second, and the third.
- Intergenerational Friendship:
- Po and Master Shifu.
- Po and Princess Mei Li.
- Interquel: What this series became when production delays made it miss its intended 2010 premiere year and ended up after Kung Fu Panda 2 was released in 2011.
- In the Blood: Apparently, Peng's kung fu skills, since he is just a potter and has no formal training. And is Tai Lung's nephew.
- Invention Pretension: Mantis told his village he was the Dragon Warrior because he wanted his former fiancee to regret dumping him. Po allows him to continue the charade.
- I Surrender, Suckers: Used by Hundun on Po.
- It's All About Me: Hundun, who despite the fact Po stopping Tai Lung saved the Valley of Peace ("I don't live there") only cares that this led to the shutting down of Chorh-Gom and him losing his job. Lampshaded by Hundun himself.
- Its Pronounced Tropay: One of Fung's Mooks has to keep reminding him that his name's Gah-ri, not 'Gary'.
- Jail Bake: How Taotie extorts his son's help in escaping Chorh-Gom, in return for "father-son" time--through a whole series of cakes, each one holding a piece of the Iron Claws of Doom for him to reconstruct.
- Kung Fu Clairvoyance: This happens multiple times throughout the series.
- Large Ham: "TEMUTAI! WARRIOR KING OF THE CHI-DAAAAAAN!"
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: The "Fluttering Finger Mindslip" can erase the victim's short-term memory if performed correctly. Incorrectly, however...
- Laser-Guided Karma: After abusing the Jade Palace's hospitality, disrespecting kung fu (which he had called boring anyway), and turning both the training hall and the Hall of Warriors into a noodle shop (and the Five as his waiters), Ping gets mistaken for Shifu, kidnapped, and forced to train the villains in kung fu.
- Po himself gets this when his using the Fluttering Finger Mindslip as a shortcut out of doing work and getting in trouble leads him to the Corridor of Unbelievable Agony (which he must go down three times) to find the cure for the Five. All because, again, he tried to take a shortcut in reading the scroll detailing how to navigate the corridor. An Anvilicious aesop that, thankfully, seems to have mostly sunk in.
- Last Request:
Shifu: I have a last request. I wish to dance. |
- Laughably Evil: One of the Croc Bandits just stands there watching when Po frees Tigress in "Chain Reaction".
- Lampshaded in "Kung Fu Daycare" when Po and Tigress manage to sneak up on the Croc Bandits while they're kidnapping Zan.
Fung: Darn it! You guys...Gah-ri? Couldn't you...I don't know, maybe, for once...say something? |
- In "Kung Fu Daycare":
Croc Bandit: Hah! You walked right into our trap! Now Fung can grab the kid from the Jade Palace easily! |
- Lemony Narrator: At the beginning of "Chain Reaction," Po attempts to narrate his underwhelming mission with Tigress, exaggerating everything (of couse). Needless to say, Tigress is not amused.
- Let's You and Him Fight: Po's lie to Peng about Shifu thinking he wasn't good enough for the Jade Palace ends up leading into them having to fight each other (and Temutai)--Peng because he blames Po for getting his hopes up and giving him a dream with his invitation, Temutai because Peng didn't choose to train with him and had wiped the ground with his nephew (and because he was itching for a fight anyway).
- Lightning Bruiser: Many of the characters capable of Kung Fu.
- Like You Were Dying: The Aesop of "My Favorite Yao", delivered in a wonderfully poetic and beautiful fashion through the metaphor of the hibiscus--"Did you know the hibiscus blooms for only one day? But that day is the most beautiful and wonderful day of all." Also made literal, considering how close Yao, Shifu, and Po come to death. And further extended when Shifu, embracing the lesson, makes his Last Request...a dance.
- Literal Split Personality: Good!Po is sweet, kind, compassionate, polite, and utterly useless in a fight. Evil!Po is aggressive, dominant, flawless in battle, clever, and "has no friends".
- Live Action Escort Mission: Basically the plot of "The Princess and the Po."
- Loophole Abuse: The most powerful of the Furious Five will always turn to evil...but Po is not actually one of the Five.
- Love Makes You Crazy: Mantis gets hit with this hard in "Hometown Hero." Fortunately, he eventually snaps out of it.
- MacGuffin: The Dragon Chalice.
- MacGuffin Escort Mission: This is Tigress and Po's task in "Chain Reaction" with a valuable statue and ruby. With all the "escorting" Po and the Furious Five do, you'd think they were a delivery service or something...
- Made of Iron: Played with. In "Challenge Day" Po allows a chimney to fall on him in order to save a child. Afterward he is alive and seems unharmed--until he reveals he's injured his leg. Despite the fact he uses his crutch later to prove what a Handicapped Badass he is, the injury is neither forgotten about nor brushed off as it would have been in the movie.
- Mad Scientist: Taotie, who specializes in Bamboo Technology.
- Maintain the Lie: "Hometown Hero" reveals Mantis told everyone in his little village he was the Dragon Warrior. When he finds out, Po plays along by pretending to be his Sidekick.
- Mama Bear: Tigress to Zan, eventually.
- Metaphorgotten: Po tries to tell a story to the princess. One of those I Have This Friend stories, that's clearly all about their relationship.
- Hundun did a few of these too.
- Meaningful Echo:
Peng: You took me into the Jade Palace, you gave me a dream! And now you've taken it all away! |
- Meaningful Name/Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Hundun, who is 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. The Stinger implies, however, that he will be much more menacing and dangerous when he returns for his revenge.
- The Ladies of the Shade, who are both a dancing troupe that shelter under parasols and a group of thieves who are therefore shadowy and evil.
- Mind Control: Monkey in the Fetch Quest episode.
- Mistaken Identity: Happens several times with Good and Evil!Po.
- And again with Ping who, thanks to taking over the Jade Palace as his noodle shop, gets confused for Shifu.
- And again with Monkey and his older brother.
- Momma's Boy: Evil!Po calls Crane this.
- Monster of the Aesop: In "Po Fans Out", the episode begins with him being taught (via the infamous Chinese finger-puzzle) the "Hero's Dilemma"--that sometimes the way to win is not through physical force but by ceasing to struggle. Later Po discovers that the way to defeat the Mongolian Fire Fist Demon which grows bigger and stronger every time it is hit is by not fighting, refusing to let it hit him.
- Moral Dilemma: Lampshaded. Poor Bian Zao. Help his Mad Scientist father conquer the Jade Palace, thereby earning some true quality time with him (and make him proud of him), but betray his new friend Po; or help save Po, the first person to show him caring and treat him like an equal, but betray his own father. Lame. Luckily he manages to Take a Third Option.
- Mundane Made Awesome: In "Master Ping", Ping narrates a tale of "the greatest noodle maker in the empire", complete with the usual 2D animation and mystical effects, just as if it were as exciting and amazing as a kung fu legend. Subverted when Po is shown looking utterly bored while Monkey has fallen asleep in his noodle bowl.
- Mythology Gag: The original characterization for Po as an annoying, arrogant Parody Sue has resurfaced as Evil!Po. And, unfortunately, some seems to be creeping into Po's regular characterization too. Possibly because the one who originally called for the change in Po's personality, Jack Black, is not voicing him in the series.
- The Name Is Bond, James Bond: After Po accidentally mindwipes the Furious Five:
Po: It's me...Po! |
- Nice Hat: The olive branch crowns, according to Po and Temutai.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Po has a tendency to make serious mistakes and misjudgments, then scrambling to fix the results.
- Shifu seemingly does this in "My Favorite Yao", by letting Yao out of his box and thus putting the naive and unworldly Sense Freak in danger. Po calls him on it when he tries to deny it, although in humorous fashion rather than nastily. ("Believe me, messing things up is what I do all the time, and that is one doozy of a mess-up!") This turns out to be a subversion however, as Yao wanted to be let out so he could experience life outside meditation, and to teach Shifu a lesson. Yao himself also seems to mess up when his excited outburst about Po and Shifu's dramatic rescue attempt gets them all caught by Temutai. Again, this was intentional since Yao wanted Shifu to let loose, have fun, and truly live life before he would step in and save the day.
- The Nicknamer: Po, particularly in "Big Brother Po". Most of them are Fail O Sucky Names.
- No Escape but Down: Po and a disagreeable Tigress jump off a cliff, while HANDCUFFED, to escape Croc bandits.
- No Except Yes:
Shifu: When I saw you had taken the shift stone, I came after you. |
- No Flow in CGI: Fur, nor feathers are animated in this, though there is still Po's fat.
- No Sense of Humor/The Comically Serious: Tigress, most of the time. This is made most clear, in a cross with My God, You Are Serious, when she makes two separate, seemingly funny jokes, in "Love Stings", only for her to reveal she was being serious. Which was a shame, since her "joke" about Shifu's boring speech was perfect.
- Noodle Incident: Crane's story about the ricksaw driver, the teapot and the hot peppers. All we know is that Po and Shifu both hate that one.
- Not Now, Kiddo: In "Hall of Lame", Po keeps brushing off a kid so as to find someone else in town who can give him an awesome weapon for the Hall of Warriors or a quest on which to find/earn one. Parodied in that everything he tries to do is either absolutely lame, or is a case of him mistaking something lame for a genuine threat or quest, and when he finally listens to the kid, this quest too sounds like something utterly ridiculous--rescuing a doll...which is up a bamboo shoot. Of course in the end it turns out to be much more serious than it appears.
- Not So Above It All: SHIFU of all people in 'My Favorite Yao' acts rather...Po-like. (Or, as the panda himself said it, 'Embracing his inner Po.')
- Not So Different/Foil: Evil!Po has a number of things in common with Tai Lung...
- Possibly deliberately invoked in "Owl Be Back", when Fake Defector Po has Shifu pinned by the Moon Pool in almost the exact same pose Tai Lung did when he was about to kill him.
- In "The Kung Fu Kid", Temutai has difficulty getting up all the steps to the Jade Palace, and joins Po in gushing over the olive branch crowns they both wear for the peace ceremony. He also apologizes just as abashedly when their fight almost ruins the Peace Festival.
- Not So Harmless: Fung the Croc Bandit may be Surrounded by Idiots, but he does have a fair amount of tricks up his sleeves...
- Evil!Po is not only effective as a fighter because he has all of Po's skills and aggression but none of his clumsiness or silliness (he actually manages to sneak up on Shifu), but when he captures the red panda during said Eureka/Oh Crap moment, he is surprisingly chilling and menacing.
- In a more humorous sense, the villagers turn out to be this, to some degree, when they all are taken into Shifu's confidence and attack Po on "Challenge Day" to try and become the Dragon Warrior.
- Not So Stoic: When she learns Shifu didn't die in "Owl Be Back", Tigress picks him up and spins him around in a bear hug... then fumbles to recover once she realizes what she's done.
- Offhand Blocking: Po does this while arguing with the amnesiac Furious Five.
- He accidentally offhand backhands the brainwashed Monkey in "Scorpion's Sting", and does the same thing to Tigress while gesturing in "Hometown Hero". It also happens to the poor statue maker in "Rhino's Revenge", courtesy of his "FLAMING WINGS!" flourishes. Po's an unintentional master of the Offhand Backhand.
- Tigress' reflexes came into play when Po tapped her in order to wake her up since she WAS sleeping on his shoulder.
- Oh Crap: Shifu gets this when Po confesses to accidentally mindwiping the Furious Five.
- Junjie gets several: one where he realizes Po has used the Golden Lotus Clap to escape the dungeon, immediately followed by Tigress appearing with the rest of the Five: "Hello, Junjie..." The other is when Oogway's ghost appears (or so it seems) to chastise him.
- Po's face at the very end of "The Kung Fu Kid" pretty much exemplifies this trope. And for good reason.
- Once an Episode: Every episode has an Art Shift to 2D animation, usually to tell a flashback or a dream.
- Overly Long Gag: In "Challenge Day", the bit with Shifu asking Po to fetch him an apple.
- Only Fatal to Adults: River Fever makes kids 'a little sneezy, little snoozy' and passes after a day or two. Adults struck by the same disease, however, wind up dying unless they drink tea made from the sacred Sun Orchid.
- Owl Be Damned: Fenghuang.
- Painting the Fourth Wall: At one moment, during the exciting chase sequence after Temutai and his men, Master Yao observes, "How dramatic!" He continues to make such comments all throughout the ensuing failed rescue attempt and following battle.
- Papa Wolf: Po becomes this for Mei Li in "The Princess and the Po." Thinking of giving her away as a slave? Not going to happen.
- Mr. Ping may not be a warrior, but insulting his son is a Berserk Button severe enough to make him throw out a customer [3] and manhandle one of the Furious Five without blinking. He also does a surprisingly good job defending Po in "Master Ping".
- Paper-Thin Disguise: In "Hometown Hero", Po hides from the villagers in Mantis' hometown by holding a bamboo branch in front of his face. It actually works.
- Pass the Popcorn: Monkey, chowing down on noodles while he watches Po and the pig warriors trash the noodle shop.
- Played for Laughs: The supposed "signs" that Po is turning evil, since they are not only ridiculous, most of them are things he's always done.
Po: I've been wearing the same pair of pants for three days! |
- Playing Against Type: In a meta sort of way--in the Chinese zodiac, the pig is one of the humblest and kindest of animals, yet that is the species chosen for Royal Brat Mei Li. Of course by the end of the episode she gets better and ends up playing true to type after all.
- Precocious Crush: In "Jailhouse Panda," it is revealed that Tigress had a crush on Shifu (her adoptive father) as a teenager.
- The Promise: Monkey made one to his mother to look out for his brother and preserve the family name, thus explaining why he'd take the fall for Wukong's thievery.
- Pun-Based Title: "The Princess and the Po" is of course a pun on The Princess and the Pea.
- "Love Stings", as a Shout-Out to Love Hurts.
- Pure Awesomeness: Shifu acts as if Master Yao, by virtue of his mastery of all the secrets of kung fu, is this. It turns out he's right, since aside from a move in which he briefly stops time, he succeeds in pulling off an incredibly powerful physical move with the power of his mind alone to stop Temutai and his men.
- Rated "M" for Manly: Evil!Po is this, or at least tries to be.
- Recurring Character: Fung, the leader of the Croc Bandits, and Taotie, the Tech Fu master who holds a grudge against Shifu and seeks to destroy Kung Fu in general.
- Temutai now as well.
- Also Junjie and his leopards.
- Redundant Rescue: The rescue of Master Yao is this, since he could have rescued himself at any point (and in fact this is clear from the start once Shifu tells the story of just how much Yao knows of kung fu). It's even lampshaded when Shifu Hand Waves Po's objection that Yao will be fine because he's a kung fu master "of the mind, not the body." Except Yao is so powerful he can do physical moves with only his mind. That's okay though, because the whole point of the rescue was to teach Shifu a lesson about how to live life to the fullest. And to have fun. (Yes, it manages to be a rare example of playing this trope straight and dramatically, while still being hilarious.)
- Remembered I Could Fly: Ping, literally, when Hundun drops him.
- Retcon: Apparently despite what the Kung Fu Panda website and Art of Kung Fu Panda stated, Chorh-Gom was no longer only Tai Lung's prison. This was never particularly believable to begin with (a massive fortress just for him was built in rapid time after the rampage?), and without any indication how much time has passed since the first movie (the second is implied to occur after quite a Time Skip) it is possible it could have been repaired and new/former prisoners brought there since his escape. But considering the number of questions this raises, viewers could be forgiven for having their Willing Suspension of Disbelief tested and it does seem to undermine the Rule of Cool a tad. Oh, and either there's an unlimited number of rhino warriors out there to re-staff the prison, or despite the Family-Unfriendly Violence of the first film none of the guards were killed during the escape.
- The episode "Rhino's Revenge" reveals that they re-opened the prison after Hundun was defeated and incarcerated there.
- It is, however, still a Retcon of events in the movie. Keeping Anachronic Order in mind does help, and it makes sense they'd need somewhere to put villains (though where were they put before Tai Lung's escape, then?), but...eh.
- I fail to see how Chorh-Gom being re-opened after Tai Lung's defeat as a regular prison is a retcon.
- See the OP. The website stated the prison was built only for Tai Lung, but it is now no longer being used for that purpose. The escape sequence in the movie also left it unclear whether the prison was in any condition to be re-used (my, they repaired all that explosives damage quickly), and as the series itself shows, it seems a bit odd to place villains in a prison which Tai Lung managed to escape--Junjie, Hundun, and Taotie all escape it now with relative ease. It also raises the question of where villains like Tong Fo were kept before Tai Lung's escape and why it was thought a good idea to then move them to a prison that had had its security compromised.
- I fail to see how Chorh-Gom being re-opened after Tai Lung's defeat as a regular prison is a retcon.
- "Kung Fu Daycare" seems to have done this with Tigress and Shifu's relationship when he trained her. In the movie it was shown that he was a stern master who never showed approval over Tigress martial art progress. But in the episode Tigress has a flashback with Shifu with a young Tigress and is shown to be warm and kind with a gentle smile.
- Royal Brat: Mei Li, until it's revealed that she is really just a Lonely Rich Kid.
- Rump Roast: Po suffers flame on his tail traversing The Corridor of Unbelievable Agony.
- Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Crocodiles (alligators?) appear to be the bad guys. Oogway is gone, so the lone nice reptile besides Viper is Master Chao.
- Right Behind Me: When Po's talking about skipping a few scrolls to get to the awesome techniques, Viper tries to warn him that Shifu's just arrived.
- As Shifu is figuring out what's going on in "Bad Po", the Evil Twin comes up behind him...
- As Po is trying to convince Hundun he isn't hiding anything from him, and keep him from learning he is the Dragon Warrior, the statue built in his honor is right behind him. He even poses like it.
- Rummage Fail: When Po tries to show Tigress he's got the ruby from the stolen statue, he accidentally pulls out his Tigress action figure instead. Once again, Tigress is not amused.
- Run or Die: Hey, even the Furious Five have to flee at times.
- Running Gag: Po tends to land on the Furious Five a lot.
- In "Good Croc Bad Croc", Chung Sung Jai Kai Chow's name.
- Which is followed up on in "Hall of Lame", with Po being excited he got it right.
- Despite the fact of her name AND her voice, characters often tend to mistake Tigress for a guy, or, as Princess Mei-Li put it, "The mean man with the stripes".
- The apple scene from "Challenge Day."
- Tigress feeling the need to keep others at arms' length in the first movie has been amped into outright neurosis, played for laughs throughout the series. A few examples include confusing the simple act of being offered a towel by a spa employee as an attack, and having a thirty-year-long vendetta against the Jade Palace mailman...
- In "Good Croc Bad Croc", Chung Sung Jai Kai Chow's name.
Monkey: You don't trust anyone. You don't even trust the mailman, and he's been coming here for thirty years! |
- And continues with her aversion to children. "A necessary step on the way to adulthood..."
- Mr. Ping plugging his noodle shop whenever he can.
- Sacrificial Lamb: If not for Po's intervention, this would have been Princess Mei Li's fate.
- Sadistic Choice: In "Hall of Lame", Po has to choose between grabbing the mystical kung fu weapon (and thereby get his "awesome" trophy for the Hall of Warriors) or the doll which means so much to the little pig he was helping. He is forced to Take a Third Option when he ends up falling from the broken bridge instead...only to reappear pulling himself up to safety with one of the items. And you all know which one.
- Saying Sound Effects Out Loud: Po.
- Sci-Fi Writers Have No Sense of Scale: The journey from Chorh-Gom to the Valley, which had been previously established as taking anywhere from a week to a month, seems much shorter now for Taotie, Hundun, and Shifu and Po in the Tong Fo episode. The trip to Temutai's compound also seems to be much quicker these days, considering how often he shows up in the Valley and how quickly Shifu and Po get there in "My Favorite Yao". See the Fridge page for more details.
- Scooby Stack: "Jailhouse Panda": Po and the Croc Bandits do one as they try to escape prison.
- Sense Freak/Sensory Overload: In "My Favorite Yao", Master Yao after being let out of his box. Hilarity Ensues. (Actually, it does.)
Yao: Your apple, it is so delicious! It is the best thing I have eaten in 65 years! |
- She Fu: The female masters in the series, of course.
- Ship Sinking: "Ladies of the Shade" with Po being shamelessly shipped with Song. However, the Ti Po fanbase was left unfazed.
- Ship Tease: Has its own page
- Turned on its head when Evil!Po openly (and rather disgustingly) flirts with Tigress.
- Also implied, however, between Po and Song of the Ladies of the Shade. It remains to be seen if she was merely a one-episode fling since she intends to be off running the troupe, if the writers will keep playing the tension back and forth between Song and Tigress, or if this is a whole different continuity than the movies.
- Let's not forget how Tigress fell asleep on Po, of course.
- Shipper on Deck: Those two bunny girls who annoy Tigress on her sick bed.
First: So do you love Po? |
- Shot in the Ass: Po and his butt full of darts...and third degree burns. Ouch.
- Shout-Out: In "Rhino's Revenge", Po states that Crane's weakness is to sweep the leg.
- In "Sight For Sore Eyes," Monkey fights a snow leopard and goes in a brief drunken-like swaying stance after making himself dizzy during a move (or simply goes into the stance intentionally, it certainly seems that way), in what is likely a reference to Drunken Master — given Monkey's voice actor in the movie (as well as his voice actor in the show, who has also played a character who, in understatement, heavily references Jackie Chan and his movies)
- Shrine to Self: Junjie has one built when he replaces Shifu, commemorating his (mostly) off-screen defeat of Shifu--several statues, a painting, a tapestry, a teapot...
- Sick Episode: "Scorpion's Sting", oddly selected as the first episode aired.
- Sidekick: Po pretends to be this to 'Dragon Warrior Mantis' in "Hometown Hero".
- Slipped The Stocks: Good!Po could have left the stocks at any time, but didn't because he gave his word to Evil!Po that he wouldn't.
- Slow Clap: Chung Sung Jai Kai Chow, after Po and Fung attempt to escape.
- Something Only They Would Say: Po uses his knowledge of Tigress and Monkey to prove to them who he is, after he's lost the shift stone and can't remove his Glamour.
- Something Something Leonard Bernstein: Alluded to. The Theme Tune appears to be something Po came up with on his own and is kind of a work in progress. As a result, the last verse goes:
He lives and he trains and he fights with the Furious Five |
- Tigress' attempt at the 'Princess Ceremonial Dance Song'.
- Something They Would Never Say: Shifu figures out that the animal Po has been learning from is not Oogway when Po relates that Oogway said "awesome", something very out of character for the ancient and cryptic turtle.
- Immediately subverted, however, when we see the real Oogway's ghost say that very word seconds later.
- So Proud of You: Bian Zao gets this twice, once from Po and once from his dad. Which causes major guilt when he has to choose between them.
- Spaghetti Kiss: Subverted when Song tries to set this up with Po while eating noodles. He ends up with her entire head in his mouth.
- Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace: Mantis' girlfriend Hao Ming is marrying him with the lie about Mantis still unrevealed. Po begs them to skip this part so the marriage can happen before the lie is revealed.
- Squick Invoked in-universe as Po's reaction to Ping and Scorpion dating.
- Stock Punishment: In the archive room, used by Evil!Po to keep Good!Po prisoner (and safe from being used as a weapon against him). There's also a smaller version, for the original prisoner's son, which gets used on Shifu.
- Strange Minds Think Alike: Po goes gaga over the ceremonial olive branch crown and wants to wear it at a jaunty angle. Turns out Temutai has the exact same fashion sense.
- Of all things, Shifu and Po also have something in common: a love of playing with famous kung fu warrior figures.
- Sue Donym: While it isn't based off his real name, the alias Po adopts while infiltrating the Ladies of the Shade is...particularly failworthy.
- Surrounded by Idiots: Fung isn't particularly bright, but he's a heck of a lot smarter than his minions — he spends a decent chunk of his scenes raging at how moronic they are.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: In the episode "The Kung Fu Kid", Po and Shifu meet a young boy named Peng, who displays great kung fu skill and seems to be a prodigy at it, and they take him to the palace. Does anybody else think Peng looks a bit like another young kung fu prodigy we've already met?
- It's not just the fact that Peng and Tai Lung look stunningly alike. The similarities throughout Peng's introduction episode are uncanny. A young snow leopard with great aptitude for kung fu (with Peng taking it further by having no formal training), with dreams of becoming the Dragon Warrior, who displays a nasty temper when he feels Shifu does not approve of him. Even during the three-way fight near the end of the episode, Peng attacks Po in the stomach, where his fat prevents any damage. And of course, Po trying to make Peng listen to reason at the end, and finally a difference comes in when Peng does calm down and listen to reason, unlike Tai Lung in the movie. What is oddest is that, other than a brief look of shock from Shifu when he first meets Peng and asks him his name (ironically calling him "son"), neither he nor Po bat an eye at his appearance or abilities. Luckily instead of a Hand Wave, the similarities are then explained when Peng says he wants to continue his journey of finding his Uncle Tai Lung.
- Some of his moves during the fight with Temutai and Po are also rather familiar, such as when he scales the tent poles or is flung about into the walls. Also:
- It's not just the fact that Peng and Tai Lung look stunningly alike. The similarities throughout Peng's introduction episode are uncanny. A young snow leopard with great aptitude for kung fu (with Peng taking it further by having no formal training), with dreams of becoming the Dragon Warrior, who displays a nasty temper when he feels Shifu does not approve of him. Even during the three-way fight near the end of the episode, Peng attacks Po in the stomach, where his fat prevents any damage. And of course, Po trying to make Peng listen to reason at the end, and finally a difference comes in when Peng does calm down and listen to reason, unlike Tai Lung in the movie. What is oddest is that, other than a brief look of shock from Shifu when he first meets Peng and asks him his name (ironically calling him "son"), neither he nor Po bat an eye at his appearance or abilities. Luckily instead of a Hand Wave, the similarities are then explained when Peng says he wants to continue his journey of finding his Uncle Tai Lung.
Peng: I can't believe you think I'm not good enough, that I'm not strong enough! Well I'll show you, I'll show you how strong I am! |
- Synchronization: Po and his Evil Twin in "Bad Po". Hilarity Ensues when he uses it to literally beat himself up.
- Take a Third Option: How Bian Zao solves his Moral Dilemma--he helps his dad...by making his machine malfunction "accidentally" and then helping him escape, so that Po will make it out unscathed.
- Take Our Word for It: When Crane breaks out a picture of an adult victim of River Fever, all viewers get is Po's horrified reaction — and hesitant query of "I...is that a pig?"
- Tech Fu: Taotie, who happens to be the Gadgeteer Genius of the series.
- Temporary Blindness: The Golden Lotus Clap's effect on any who don't close their eyes or look away.
- Ten-Minute Retirement: Happens to Shifu twice; the first time is an Enforced Trope (leading to his imprisonment and impending execution), but the second is played straight. Until he subverts it, as usual, with a Big Damn Heroes moment.
- Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: Hao, Mantis' ex girlfriend, has long eyelashes, a bustline, spots of pink blush and lipstick. Mantis himself has a moustache.
- Fenghuang wears lipstick on her beak.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Po gives a blistering one to Mei Li after she manages to hit his Berserk Button by insulting his friends.
- The Rest Shall Pass: Po when he tries to reconciliate his blunders....or when he's trying to attempt five pull-ups on a bamboo set. Once again, the keyword was 'attempt'.
- This Is Gonna Suck:
Taotie, after his unlubricated Iron Claws of Doom fail and the Five are about to overwhelm him: I hate this part! |
- And the Dragon Warrior challenge day episode, Po as he braces himself to have a chimney land on him to protect a rabbit child. "Oh, this is gonna sting."
- Toothy Bird: Or in this case, toothy bugs. Mantis and the other mantises all have teeth. Crane, however, does not.
- Tomboy: Tigress, so much so that doing anything stereotypically feminine is outside her skillset. She tries to sing and do the Ceremonial Princess Dance in "The Princess and the Po" and can neither dance nor sing.
- Trickster Mentor: Master Yao, in a sense. While not deliberately tricking anyone, he does allow his kidnapping, numerous chase scenes and battles, and the near execution of himself, Shifu, and Po, all to teach Shifu a lesson about truly living life. And because after all those years of constant meditation and isolation, it's a lot of fun.
- Twitchy Eye: Seems to be a side-effect of having the "Fluttering Finger Mindslip" performed on you.
- Unreliable Voiceover: Subverted. When Su is telling the story of how she and her troupe came to be homeless and on their own, the species of the warlord changes--because Po jumps in assuming he was a rhino, leading to Su having to correct him. Double Subverted, however, since the knowledge that Su is actually a duplicitous thief makes everything she says suspect anyway.
- Villain of the Week: Any villain who isn't Taotie, Temotai, the Croc Bandits, Junjie, or Hundun.
- Visual Pun: While trying to defend the pig princess from the croc bandits, she gets flung around like a football.
- When Po is introducing his dad to the Ladies of the Shade, he literally points at him with the noodle-shop arrow sign...which also has Ping's picture on it.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Po and Tigress, Type 1. Seriously, they argue non-stop all through "Chain Reaction."
- We ARE Struggling Together!: Po and Tigress in "Chain Reaction".
- We Can Rule Together: Fenghuang says as much to Po.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Oogway to Shifu. And Oogway says it, just not where anyone can hear it.
- Taotie to Bian Zao. He finally tells his son he's proud of him...for helping break him out of prison.
- Wham! Episode: At the end of The Kung Fu Kid we learn...Tai Lung has a nephew who's searching for him.
- What the Fu Are You Doing?
- What the Hell, Hero?: As if lying about being the Dragon Warrior to win fame (and a woman's heart) isn't bad enough, Mantis continues to allow Po, in disguise as his "useless" sidekick, to stand in for him in his fights with his rival until the panda is left utterly battered and beaten--all so he can keep romancing Hao Ming. Po calls him on it big-time.
- Mr. Ping calls out the Furious Five when none of them are willing to help Po retake the Jade Palace.
- Po lying to Peng, saying Shifu does not want him in the palace, in an attempt to make Peng leave. He actually lies to a little kid in order to make him go away, just because for one single day he was not being the center of attention. One even has to wonder if Po would really have tried to make amends had Peng really decided to leave instead of the reaction he actually had and Shifu had not unintentionally guilt tripped him into it when talking about Po being honest and pure.
- Wistful Amnesia: A comedic version. The Furious Five don't remember their names or what animals they are, and try to help each other in this condition. Hilarity Ensues.
- With Catlike Tread: Po's first 'Dragon Warrior sneaking mission'. Complete with running commentary and cutting in front of his tailing target. Ironically enough, Mantis still doesn't spot/confront him until they're practically at his village.
- He seems to have learned to be a little bit more successful, as he manages to follow Shifu silently into Temutai's compound to rescue Yao, and doesn't give them away. (Of course they still fail. That time.) On the other hand, he does so by, in Shifu's words, "not doing what you normally would do".
- The Worf Effect
- Worf Had the Flu: Temutai attempts to justify his first loss to Po by claiming he had a head cold. He bungles his Bluff roll.
- Wrestler in All of Us: Both Po and Quan the Unkillable perform wrestling moves in "Has-Been Hero", including the Stone Cold Stunner.
- You Go, Girl!: When the Croc bandit leader 'attempts' to interrogate Tigress. Keyword is attempts.
- You Have Got to Be Kidding Me!: Basically most of Tigress' reactions to Po's blunders.