Po (Kung Fu Panda)

Master Po Ping "Perhaps you know me better as... The Kung Fu Panda!" Gender: Male Type: The Chosen Martial Artist Hilarious Panda Legandary Warrior Age: 20 Species: Panda Portrayed by: Jack Black (films and The Dragon Knight) Mick Wingert (The Paws of Destiny) Status: Alive Media of origin: Kung Fu Panda

"Am I the son of a panda? The son of a goose? A student? A teacher? Turns out... I'm all of them. I am the Dragon Warrior."

— Po answering the question "Who are you?” in Kung Fu Panda 3

Master Po Ping (known simply as Po, and born as Li Lotus) is the main protagonist of the beloved Kung Fu Panda franchise. He is the adopted son of Mr. Ping and the biological son of Li Shan and his wife, as well as one of Master Shifu's students at the Jade Palace. He is also the foretold Dragon Warrior of legend, and a master of the Panda Style of kung fu. He is voiced by Jack Black. Originally born in a farming village to his birth parents, Po was separated from his family as a result of a massacre. He was eventually found by Mr. Ping, who adopted him, hoping for Po to inherit the family noodle shop someday. However, Po was drawn to kung fu, and his unwavering enthusiasm led him to be chosen as the Dragon Warrior, after which he began training under Master Shifu. Though clumsy and unaccepted at first, Po persevered and fulfilled the destiny of the Dragon Warrior by defeating Tai Lung and discerning the Dragon Scroll, proving himself as a hero to everyone, including himself.

Why He is The Big Fat Panda

1. Po is usually easygoing, playful for the most part, and cocky like a big kid, as well as rather "fanboyish" when expressing his love for kung fu.
2. Like the franchise he stars in, he is the definition of the phrase: 'Don't judge a book by its cover'. Who knew a big, slovenly panda can make a badass martial artist?
3. When given the chance to finally become the Kung Fu master he always wished he could be, he is all too eager to learn kung fu the hard way, enduring physical beatings and insults in hopes of changing who he is.
4. Comedian, singer, and actor Jack Black does a phenomenal job bringing this big, fat panda to life.
   • His screams, squeals, and mannerisms are owed to his highly memorable vocal performance.
5. As Po tends to be less serious and disciplined than other masters, he also tends to think more outside the box, and will find different, creative ways to solve a problem if need be.
6. He possesses a kind and selfless nature, and is generally friendly and laid back.
7. He has an infinitely strong sense of justice, willing to risk his life to protect others.
8. His lack of discipline and flippant personality often give him an unintentional advantage over his enemies, since, combined with his appearance, it causes them to disregard him or struggle to take him seriously, so they are often shocked when he proves to be a tenacious and incredibly skilled warrior.
9. While he can be a bit of a goofball, Po is very insightful and wise.
10. Po racks up an impressive series of victories over the course of his career. He defeats the nigh-unstoppable Tai Lung virtually single-handedly, wipes out Lord Shen's fleet of ships equipped with cannons that can easily kill the most hardened kung-fu masters, beats and obliterates Kai, who was Oogway's equal, and destroys the Demon King Ke-pa.
11. He uses The Wuxi Finger Hold, where the user holds a person in a strong one-handed grip, save for a pinkie. Lowering the pinkie sends the intended person to the Spirit Realm. Po had no one to teach him that, but he figured it out on his own.
12. Each film centers around his personal growth in some way:
    • The first film has Po learn to believe in himself.
    • The second film has Po to not let his tragic past define who he is or his future.
    • The third has Po understand his own identity and what it means to be the Dragon Warrior: someone who can revolutionize the Kung Fu world for the better.
    • The fourth has Po willing to accept change for his new title as the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace and chooses Zhen as the next Dragon Warrior.
13. "Skadoosh!"

The Only Bad Quality

1. He was very flanderized in Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, as he became much more arrogant and cocky than he was in the movies, which many fans criticized since this attitude more or fewer causes as many problems as Po and the others try to solve, but at least he was still a very funny protagonist.
   • Furthermore, he was somewhat flanderized in Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight, where some of his character development from the movie trilogy was reverted and, instead of being the fun-loving yet wise and mature ultimate kung fu master that most people love, the Dragon Warrior, he is now portrayed as an immature and oblivious idiot and fights first-grade kung fu.

Trivia

• Earlier versions of Po's character had him not as a fan of kung fu, and he was "rather hateable and stupid and dead-end".
  • However, Jack Black's performance helped to change and define Po's personality as more vulnerable and kind instead.

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