There, I said it.
My family used to mock me mercilessly for loving Po, his dad, and Master Oogway, but there’s so much about the films (the first 3; I like to pretend #4 doesn’t exist) that I adore. Po’s personal journey of self-love and actualization, Master Shifu’s constant battle for inner peace, Tigress slowly learning to soften and show tenderness to friends and family, and Mr Ping the adoring goose-dad.
Honestly, when I was younger, Po was an aspirational character. He was a certified nerd who dreamed of potential beyond his dad’s noodle shop. Working in fast food, the panda resonated with me. Constantly looking over the horizon wondering if I’d ever get to have an adventure of my own while serving endless lines of hungry people. Wistful dreams of people much cooler than me. And knowing that I cut a ridiculous figure in my daily life, making it hard to have any self-belief or esteem. I saw myself in Po, even though I wasn’t an orphaned panda who dreamed of Kung Fu.
I mean, it would be cool to do some martial arts, but it’s not very realistic at my current life stage, so I just sit and admire from afar.
The little details are always something I appreciate when I re-watch the series. Finding out that, after watching his son follow his dream to become a Kung Fu master, Mr Ping followed his own tofu-dream to resounding success at his noodle shop. That his efforts in raising a hungry child with no preparation or support were recognized and celebrated by Po’s biological and work-family. That Mr Ping becomes accepted and welcomed into an extended Panda culture because he earned his right to be called a Panda-dad. The look on his face when he met those baby pandas who loved his noodles said it all – it wasn’t the family he probably expected to have, but he found one nonetheless. These things weren’t explicitly said in the film but consistent one-liners in the background of the main plot reveal these tidbits with a second or third viewing.
Master Shifu constantly struggling to find inner peace, interrupted by the many things he’s irritated by in life. Learning that the greatest spiritual leader in the valley was the opposite of what he was working to be; a big, clumsy, hungry beast with emotional and loving connections to others. In watching Po’s journey, Master Shifu learns that his gruff and isolationist tendencies never served him, and that following Po’s example was the best way to find himself. Master Oogway only spent 30 years in a cave because doing so probably suited the chill old tortoise.
As Po told the Pandas in Kung Fu Panda 3, his job isn’t to make everyone a martial arts master, but to help them become the best version of themselves. Whatever you bring to the table, Po can help you elevate that to a more badass level.
Accepting yourself for who you are, rejoicing in it, and working on it to become The Coolest Version of Whatever That Is, was an amazing message.
Pairing that with sincere emotional beats, well-fitting music and artwork, and stylistic villains, Kung Fu Panda has a special place in my heart. I will keep re-visiting the story of the only panda to master both Chi and Kung Fu, to go beyond his panda tendencies and find self-discipline in a world that would dismiss him for his race, and to treat everyone in the Valley of Peace with sincerity and kindness.
I love Kung Fu Panda, and I love Po as well.
DrMrsDr 