Kung Fu Panda (franchise)

The Kung Fu Panda film series from DreamWorks Animation, consists of two films including: Kung Fu Panda (2008) and the upcoming film, Kung Fu Panda 2: The Kaboom of Doom (2011). An Annie Award-winning short, Secrets of the Furious Five, was later released in 2008. A television series is in development for Nickelodeon and is due to air in the fall of 2010.
== Main Series ==
===Kung Fu Panda (2008)===
The story is set in the Valley of Peace, a fictional land in ancient China inhabited by anthropomorphic animals. Po (Jack Black), a young, clumsy and overweight panda, is a kung fu fanatic who idolizes the Furious Five – Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu), and Crane (David Cross) – a quintet of kung fu masters trained by the red panda Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) to protect the valley. Because he works in his goose father Ping's (James Hong) noodle restaurant, Po is unable to achieve his dream of becoming a kung fu master himself.
One day, Shifu's mentor, the elderly tortoise Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim), has a vision that Shifu's former student and foster son, the snow leopard Tai Lung (Ian McShane), will escape from prison and return to the Valley of Peace to take revenge for being denied the Dragon Scroll, which is said to hold the secret to limitless power. Shifu holds a kung fu tournament for the Furious Five so that Oogway may identify the legendary Dragon Warrior, the one kung fu master worthy of receiving the Dragon Scroll and defeating Tai Lung. Po arrives too late before the doors to the tournament close and, desperate to see the Dragon Warrior as Oogway is about to make his decision, straps himself to a set of fireworks and rockets into the sky, crashing into the middle of the arena; to the surprise of everyone present, Oogway chooses Po, seemingly by accident.
Unwilling to believe that a big, fat panda can be the Dragon Warrior, Shifu attempts to get rid of Po by berating and ridiculing him into quitting his training with the Furious Five, who similarly despise and mock Po for his lack of respect and skill in kung fu. After receiving helpful advice from Oogway, however, Po endures his grueling training and slowly begins to endear himself to the Five with his tenacity, culinary skill and good humor. By this time, Tai Lung escapes from prison as foreseen by Oogway, who passes away after making Shifu promise he will train Po. Still unable to grasp the basics of kung fu, Po despairs he has no chance of defeating Tai Lung until Shifu discovers that Po is capable of impressive physical feats when motivated by food and, using the promise of a meal, successfully trains Po to incorporate these skills into a makeshift yet effective kung fu style.
Meanwhile, the Furious Five set out on their own to stop Tai Lung themselves, only to return following their defeat. Shifu decides Po is ready to receive the Dragon Scroll which, upon being opened, reveals nothing but a blank, reflective surface. Thinking the scroll is useless, Shifu orders Po and the Five to evacuate the valley while he fights Tai Lung to delay him as long as possible. The dejected Po meets with his father Ping who, in an attempt to console him, reveals that the long-withheld secret ingredient to his famous "secret ingredient soup" is nothing, saying that things become special if people believe them to be. Realizing this is the point of the Dragon Scroll, Po goes to confront Tai Lung after he nearly kills Shifu. Po proves to be a formidable challenge for Tai Lung as he tries to protect the Dragon Scroll to lure the villain away from Shifu, but it eventually falls into Tai Lung's grasp. However, he is unable to understand or accept its symbolic meaning, and Po ultimately defeats him using the secret "Wuxi Finger Hold". Po is praised by the Valley of Peace and earns the respect of the Furious Five, who fully acknowledge him as a true kung fu master. Shifu, exhausted but alive after his fight with Tai Lung, is finally at peace with himself now that peace has returned to the valley.
===Kung Fu Panda 2: The Kaboom of Doom (2011)===
Po (Jack Black) is now living his dream as The Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, The Furious Five – Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Crane (David Cross), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu) and Monkey (Jackie Chan). But Po's new life is threatened by the emergence of a formidable villain, who plans to use a secret, unstoppable weapon to conquer China and destroy kung fu. It is up to Po and The Furious Five to journey across China to face this threat and vanquish it. But how can Po stop a weapon that can stop kung fu? He must look to his past and uncover the secrets of his mysterious origins; only then will he be able to unlock the strength he needs to succeed.
==Releases==
Film 	Release date 	Revenue 	Revenue 	Revenue 	 	
Film 	Release date 	United States	Outside United States	Worldwide 	All time United States	All time worldwide
Kung Fu Panda 	 	$215,434,591 	$416,309,969 	$631,744,560	 	
Kung Fu Panda 2: The Kaboom of Doom	 	TBA 	TBA 	TBA 	 	
Total (as of 2010) 	Total (as of 2010)	$215,434,591 	$416,309,969 	$631,744,560	 	
===Critical reception===
Film 	Rotten Tomatoes 	Rotten Tomatoes 	Metacritic
Film 	Overall 	Cream of the Crop	Metacritic
Kung Fu Panda 	88% (160 reviews)	- 	73% (33 reviews)
Kung Fu Panda 2: The Kaboom of Doom	TBA 	TBA 	TBA
==Cast and characters==
*A dark gray cell indicates the character does not appear in the film.
Kung Fu Panda (2008) 	Kung Fu Panda 2: The Kaboom of Doom (2011)	 	 	 	 	 	
Master Po 	Jack Black 	Jack Black 	 	 	 	 	
Master Shifu 	Dustin Hoffman 	Dustin Hoffman 	 	 	 	 	
Master Tigress 	Angelina Jolie 	Angelina Jolie 	 	 	 	 	
Master Viper 	Lucy Liu 	Lucy Liu 	 	 	 	 	
Master Mantis 	Seth Rogen 	Seth Rogen 	 	 	 	 	
Master Crane 	David Cross 	David Cross 	 	 	 	 	
Tai Lung 	Ian McShane 	Ian McShane 	 	 	 	 	
Master Oogway 	Frank Welker 	Frank Welker 	Frank Welker 	 	 	 	
Prince Charming 	  	Rupert Everett 	Rupert Everett 	  	  	  	 
Pinocchio 	Cody Cameron 	Cody Cameron 	Cody Cameron 	Cody Cameron 	  	Cody Cameron 	Cody Cameron
Gingy 	Conrad Vernon 	Conrad Vernon 	Conrad Vernon 	Conrad Vernon 	  	Conrad Vernon 	Conrad Vernon
The Big Bad Wolf 	Aron Warner 	Aron Warner 	Aron Warner 	Aron Warner 	  	  	Aron Warner
The Three Little Pigs	Cody Cameron 	Cody Cameron 	Cody Cameron 	Cody Cameron 	  	Cody Cameron 	Cody Cameron
Dragon 	Frank Welker 	Frank Welker 	Frank Welker 	Frank Welker 	  	Frank Welker 	 
Three Blind Mice 	Christopher Knights 	Christopher Knights 	Christopher Knights	Christopher Knights	  	Christopher Knights 	Christopher Knights
Magic Mirror 	Chris Miller 	Chris Miller 	  	Chris Miller 	  	  	 
Sleeping Beauty 	  	  Cameo 	  Cheri Oteri 	  	  	  	 
Captain Hook 	  	Tom Waits 	Ian McShane 	  	  	  	 
Rumpelstiltskin 	  	  	Conrad Vernon 	Walt Dohrn 	  	  	 
Ogre Triplets 	  	  	Frank Welker 	Frank Welker 	  	  	Frank Welker
Lord Farquaad 	John Lithgow 	  	John Lithgow 	  	  	John Lithgow 	 
Snow White 	  Cameo 	  	  Amy Poehler 	  	  	  	 
Cinderella 	  Cameo 	  	  Amy Sedaris 	  	  	  	 
Thelonious 	  Christopher Knights 	  	  	  	  	  Christopher Knights	 
Fairy Godmother 	  	  Jennifer Saunders	  	  	  	  	 
Mongo 	  	Conrad Vernon 	  	  	  	  	 
Artie 	  	  	Justin Timberlake 	  	  	  	 
Rapunzel 	  	  	  Maya Rudolph	  	  	  	 
Merlin 	  	  	  Eric Idle 	  	  	  	 
Sir Lancelot 	  	  	John Krasinski 	  	  	  	 
Mabel 	  	  	Regis Philbin 	  	  	  	 
Pied Piper 	  Cameo 	  	  	Jeremy Steig 	  	  	 
Kitty 	  	  	  	  	Salma Hayek 	  	 
Humpty Dumpty 	  	  	  	  	Zach Galifianakis	  	 
Bookstore Clerk 	  	  	  	  	  	  	Marissa Jaret Winokur
==References==
==External links==
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Category:2000s comedy films
Category:2008 films
Category:American comedy films
Category:American films
Category:Computer-animated films
Category:Children's fantasy films
Category:DreamWorks Animation films
Category:Animated features released by Paramount Pictures
Category:English-language films
Category:Fictional martial artists
Category:Fictional pandas
Category:Kung fu films
Category:Films featuring anthropomorphic characters
Category:Films set in China
Category:American animated films
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