Dreamworks has released some great stand-alone films over the years, but they also have a
pretty amazing track record for their sequels.
Kung Fu Panda quickly became a Dreamworks favorite, gaining not only two sequels but
a few collections of short stories.
The characters have grown on us, and while some have fallen from grace, others have risen
up and proven they’re worthy of praise.
I'm Brad with WickedBinge and this is Kung Fu Panda: Good to Evil.
As always, we'll be breaking things down into three sections: The Good, The Grey Area, and
Bad to Evil.
As usual we’ll be starting with the good.
Beginning with the most pure and working our way down...
Starting off with the most good, we're going to give the gold medal to Po's Mother.
Not a strong warrior, but still tremendously brave.
She fled when her clan was being hunted down, trying to save her young son.
We don't know much about her, but we do see that she lost her life hiding Po away.
She spent her last moments with her son trying to comfort him before her death and then led
the enemy away so Po wouldn't be discovered.
For that reason, we give her the honor of most good character.
Second on our list is Oogway.
A teacher of Kung Fu, he's a fun character.
Wise and patient, he evens out Shifu's short temper and always offers advice.
He comforts Po when the panda is feeling like an outcast in the first movie and goes on
to help Po return to the physical realm.
He was a mighty warrior during his life, learning all he could from all sorts.
He's fiercely protective but knows when others are becoming crazed and need to be stopped
such as in the cases of Tia Lung and Kai.
He doesn't turn on Shifu when the other shows weakness towards Tia Lung, knowing how attached
the two had become.
Even when facing Kia, though he's a merciless fighter, he's shown as civil and not consumed
by hatred or disgust.
Coming in third for our Bronze of Good, we have Po.
Well-meaning and passionate, he does his best.
When starting off learning kung-fu, he's a mess but still pushes through in spite of
being mocked and beaten up.
He has nothing but respect for Shifu and the Legendary Warriors even when he overhears
them mocking him.
When finding out he's adopted, he doesn't turn on the one who raised him.
He forgives his father for lying to him about learning Chi and he steps up to teach the
panda village how to defend themselves against Kai.
He pushes himself against every enemy he faces, putting his life on the line even when he
knows there's a chance he'll fail.
Even in his fights, he approaches each challenge with a sense of humour that catches the enemy
off guard.
What makes him a great and relatable hero is that he's very aware of his faults and
seeks out ways to better himself.
He gets frustrated, but he always finds a way to make it work.
Next on our list, we have to have Shifu.
A brilliant master, he tends to be merciless in his training.
Not just of Po, but towards everyone.
He holds a lot of regret for how he raised Tai Lung, blaming himself for not seeing how
dark the other was becoming, and makes it a point to not make the same mistake again.
He stays behind to fight Tia Lung, knowing there would be a slim chance for survival,
even apologizing to Tia Lung in what he thought were his last moments.
As the series continues, he shows to have more of an understanding not just towards
Po, but all his students, becoming more approachable and more encouraging.
Next is Tigress.
Shifu's top student from an early age, we learn through the shorts that she started
her life as an outcast at her orphanage.
She's loyal to Shifu and the Jade Palace since he was the one that taught her to control
her strength so she could play with the other children.
She does eventually grow to be bitter, being the brunt of Shifu's anger when he refuses
to show her affection after the way Tia Lung turned out.
It resulted in her becoming the incarnate of anger and disappointment herself, and we
see more of her abrasive nature during the first movie.
As things continue, she becomes attached to Po the same way she is to the rest of the
fighters.
She expresses sympathy when Po finds out he's adopted and she escapes Kais' rampage to go
warn the village.
She has a soft spot for kids, and even offers to help Po find his handmade dolls after his
father accidentally sold them.
Moving onto Viper.
She's sweet, scolding- or...hissing, rather at the other legendary fighters when they
insult Po.
She does take part in beating the stuffing from our favourite panda, but given her background
and how she continues to treat him when not in training, it's easy to believe that she
did genuinely think chasing Po away was for his safety.
When we hear how she got into kung fu, we learn that she did so to protect her father.
She had lived most of her life sheltered and learning dance to make her family happy since
she was born without venom.
But took up the task of protecting her family when her village was attacked.
There's also a hint in the closing credits of the first movie that she may like Po as...more
than a fellow fighter but we won't open that can of worms.
Mantis is next on our list.
The next fighter to officially warm up to Po, helping him with his injuries.
He tries to be a little more sensitive to Po's plight as they begin to grow close, though
some of it is with Viper's scolding.
He even tries to console the panda, telling him Shifu believed in tough love.
He teases others... only sent out on the scouting mission with Crane because he teased the other
fighter for being sent on the errand.
Though his eagerness to fight led to both of them being caught by Kai, it was done with
good intentions.
Speaking of, next we have Crane.
A little more distant than the other fighters, he isn't exactly cruel to Po.
He seemed to pity him more than anything when they first met.
Which makes sense.
When we see his backstory, we see Crane was a simple janitor.
He was mocked and pushed around, only seeing his potential when forced into a situation
where he had to defend himself.
He shows a lot of impatience towards others in general, which can make him hard to get
close to.
Monkey is up next on our list.
Voiced by the legendary Jackie Chan, we actually don't hear much from him.
We learn that he was an aspiring comedian, laughing at everyone for nearly everything.
He delighted in pranking people and we learn that much of it came from him being mocked
as a child.
He still jokes around in the movies, coming off as comedic in many interactions.
Next, we have Mr Ping, Po's adoptive father.
A business owner, he does sometimes take advantage of his son's fame to sell more food, but he
can't really be blamed too much since it can't be easy to stand out as a noodle shop.
He took in Po after finding him abandoned and spent every day after that raising him
as his own.
He expresses jealousy when Li shows back up, sneaking into Po's bag to follow them to the
village.
He has a heart-to-heart with Li, accepting that Po needs both of them to have the confidence
he needs to face Kai.
And that wraps up The Good…
We’re now entering the Grey.
These characters aren't exactly bad, but they don't show many heroics while on-screen and
make some questionable choices.
This is The Grey Area.
Next, we have to mention The Farmers that are shown briefly in the third movie.
Only shown for a short time, we don't have a lot to go on, but it is worth noting them.
They directly interact with Kai, so they give a good representation of how the public reacted
to conflict with all these different enemies.
They don't know who these villans usually are.
They only know that it puts their lives and their livelihoods at risk.
They freeze in terror seeing Kai, but immediately relax at the mention of their proven heroes.
They aren't bad really, but they unknowingly encourage Kai's anger and insecurity and don't
participate in any heroics.
After the farmers, we have The Masters all ranked together.
Of course, being Masters in kung-fu, they are strong leaders and protectors.
We see many of them become victims in the conflict as they fight to protect the citizens
relying on them.
So why are they not in the good part of the list?
Well, since they're all being ranked together, they are dragged down by two particular Masters
in the second film.
These two actually fight Po so they can stay in jail, stating the only heroes outside were
dead ones.
Of course, facing an enemy with an unfamiliar and powerful weapon is going to be nothing
short of terrifying, but the people relied on them and they were hiding away to save
themselves.
They do come around in the end with Shifu's encouragement but let's be honest.
Shifu would be way scarier to tell no than Po.
We have to put Li, Po's biological father, up next.
A father that had been in mourning over his wife and son before receiving his message
from the universe that Po was alive.
He went on the hunt to find Po, but his intentions were a bit selfish.
We can sympathize with Li wanting to reconnect with his long lost son, but Li even admitted
that he led Po away to keep him from harm rather than teach him to control his chi as
he led Po to believe.
He comes around eventually, teaming up with Mr Ping and helping to defend the village.
He even encouraged the other pandas to save Po and bring him back from the other realm.
Mei Mei is next on our list.
She has a weird vibe to her.
She doesn't understand personal space, but she's not a bad panda.
She's a passionate performer who takes to Po right away.
Luckily they don't end up together, but she takes Po's advice when he teaches her to fight.
She puts her whole self into everything she does which can make her overwhelming but it's
also admirable.
Next, we're going to bunch the remaining pandas of the village together.
They also take to Po's teaching once they realize Kai is coming for them.
They aren't developed much, but we learn a few things.
They can be lazy, but they accept Po right away.
They don't judge him for doing things differently, instead just asking him a bunch of questions.
Next is the messenger Zeng.
A nervous wreck and often the bearer of bad news.
He's the one sent to warn about increasing security and is spared by Tia Lung so he can
warn Shifu of his escape.
He doesn't do anything heroic, simply trying to do his job and begs the commander to just
follow Shifu's advice and keep a better eye on their prisoner.
Speaking of, up next is Commander Vachir, the rhino lead of the prison in the first
movie.
Proud and pretty arrogant, he takes the opportunity to show off the measures the guards go through
to keep Tia Lung in place.
He refuses to admit defeat when things are going out of control, still keeping the messenger
close by so there weren't any openings being made.
Soothsayer is next.
Now there will be some that say she should be higher on this list.
She worked for the royal family in the third movie, foreseeing Shen's defeat to a panda.
She's a sassy character when interacting with Shen in the first half of the film.
As we get to know her, she shows to be sympathetic to Shen and tries to reach out to him.
She attempts consoling him when he expresses his parents hated him and then goes on to
save Po.
She understood that Shen had gotten to the point where he couldn't be redeemed and showed
wisdom helping Po instead.
She stayed in the sidelines waiting for Shen's defeat for a large portion of the film, allowing
him to get away with a lot.
She was initially determined to help him give up his evil ways, and it wound up not helping
Shen in the least.
Now we go to the most disgraceful of the movies and those that have committed the worst deeds.
These are The Bad and The Evil.
Now, we have to mention them briefly.
The Wolves in the second movie have to be next.
Working for Shen, they terrorize the villages to steal more metal for the master plot.
They carried out Shen's order of killing all the pandas in the land and show no concern
over who else they hurt in the process.
They're vicious and offer no mercy, relishing in being feared by everyone as they order
the citizens to hand over food and whatever else they want.
Tia Lung takes the Bronze Medal of Evil.
He's a great villain to watch, so why is he ranked third?
Well, it's easy to see the internal conflict he goes through.
He was raised by Shifu to think he was destined to be a great warrior, snapping when he felt
he was denied the future he earned.
He worked hard for his dream, only to be told that he wasn't good enough.
That would be frustrating for anyone, but it doesn't justify his attacking of the village.
He felt betrayed by Oogway and Shifu, but we see a moment of hesitation during his final
confrontation with the creature who raised him.
It was also heartbreaking to see his desperation and confusion when he didn't see anything
in the scroll.
He didn't want to accept Po's explanation because it only validated that Oogway was
right to deny him being the Dragon Warrior.
Kai takes the silver medal of evil.
We have to place him lower than Tia Lung because he causes a lot more damage and is much more
ruthless.
Where Tia Lung shows to hesitate when attacking Shifu, Kai doesn't care who he has to take
down.
He went after an entire village of pandas, including men, women and children just to
absorb their chi.
He attacked Oogway who was once his closest friend.
He even went after all the masters to take their strength.
He was obsessed with being seen as great and fearful, taking it as an insult when the farmers
and Legendary Fighters don't know who he is.
He's not trying to seek revenge exactly, only attacking to gain fame and glory.
He's a selfish and short-sighted character.
Taking the gold medal of evil we have the villain of the second movie Shen.
First off, we have to give props on actually seeing an avian villain in a movie, let alone
one that's as ambitious as Shen.
Even before he's cast out from his homeland, he's shown to suffer from delusions of fame.
His home was known for their amazing fireworks, and Shen saw it as a potential weapon.
He delighted in having others fear him and actually believed his parents would be proud
of hearing that he killed all the pandas he could find.
He shows a soft spot to Soothsayer, letting her go since she tried reaching out to him.
During his fight with Po, he actually has a moment where he pleads to know how Po found
peace.
It's always unsettling seeing an antagonist speak civilly with the hero in their final
moments on screen.
Shen was charismatic and knew everyone's weak points.
He showed no sympathy to Po, terrorized countless people to build his weapons, and turned something
of joy into something of horror.
Truly a worthwhile foe.
But what do you guys think?
Who do you think are the most good and evil characters in Kung Fu Panda?
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