The following is a list of characters from the DreamWorks animated film media franchise Kung Fu Panda. The franchise includes four films (Kung Fu Panda, Kung Fu Panda 2, Kung Fu Panda 3, and Kung Fu Panda 4), a series of shorts and television specials, three television shows (Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny and Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight), a series of digital comics, and multiple video games.
Protagonists Po
Master Ping Xiao Po (Birth name: Lotus) (voiced by Jack Black in the films, TV specials and The Dragon Knight, by Mick Wingert in TV series, and by Eric Loomis in the games) is the main protagonist of the Kung Fu Panda franchise. A kung fu fan and giant panda working at his adoptive father's noodle restaurant, Po is chosen by Grand Master Oogway as the legendary Dragon Warrior, a decision that angers Shifu and the Furious Five. When Tai Lung escapes from prison, Shifu uses food to motivate Po into mastering kung fu. He battles Tai Lung in combat, defeats him using the legendary Wuxi Finger Hold technique, and is declared a master.
In Kung Fu Panda 2, Po learns that he was adopted by Ping as a baby (voiced by Liam Knight) after Lord Shen committed a massacre against the giant pandas. The end of the film reveals that Po's biological father Li Shan is still alive, and he reunites with his son in Kung Fu Panda 3. When the undead warrior General Kai steals the chi of the other kung fu masters, Po and Li create an army from the remaining giant pandas. After defeating Kai, Po has a spiritual reunion with Oogway, who informs Po that his journey as the Dragon Warrior has come full circle. He returns to the mortal world with his extended family. Kung Fu Panda 4 sees Po having to choose a new Dragon Warrior to take his place, as he is to ascend to his new spot as the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace. Po struggles with the choice, as he is afraid of giving the Dragon Warrior title away. On his quest to defeat the Chameleon, Po befriends a thief named Zhen, who initially works for the Chameleon, but her friendship with Po causes her to defect. Seeing her change her ways inspires Po to finally accept that things change, and in the end he accepts his new post, and chooses Zhen as his successor.
Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, which occurs between the first and second film, shows Po's greater development as a kung fu warrior and master after defeating Tai Lung, while the follow-up series, Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny, takes place after the events of the third film and shows Po in a mentor role to four young pandas. Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight, also takes place after the events of the third film and shows Po in a journey to protect four legendary and powerful weapons from two English weasel magicians who intend to use them to take over the world. Po also appears in all short films and specials, as well as the video games.
Shifu Master Shifu (voiced by Dustin Hoffman in the films and TV specials, and Fred Tatasciore in the TV series and video games) is a red panda, the headmaster of the Jade Palace, and the trainer of the Furious Five. He joined the palace when his father, the con artist Shirong, abandoned him there. Later in life, Shifu adopted Tai Lung, and he did not acknowledge his own role in the snow leopard's turn to evil until after Po was deemed the Dragon Warrior. Although Shifu initially doubts Po's potential in kung fu, he later trains Po to help him defeat Tai Lung and become a kung fu master.
After Tai Lung's defeat, Shifu becomes a more relaxed master to Po and the Five. By the time of the third film, he has retired from active teaching in order to focus on learning how to use chi, and he passes on the instructor mantle to Po. When Kai attacks the Jade Palace, Shifu is turned into a jade soldier and a member of Kai's army, but he is returned to normal when Po destroys Kai in the Spirit Realm. In the fourth film, Shifu tells Po that he will become the spiritual leader of the Valley of Peace. In the ending, he helps Po and the Furious Five train Zhen for the next Dragon Warrior, despite his reservations about her past.
Furious Five
The most skilled warriors in China, they are homages to the Five Animals Southern styles of Chinese martial arts: crane, viper, monkey, mantis, and tiger. In the Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness episode "Owl Be Back", it is revealed that different incarnations of the Five had been defending the Valley of Peace for centuries.
Tigress Master Tigress (voiced by Angelina Jolie in the films, Tara Strong as a cub in the first film and Secrets of the Furious Five, and Kari Wahlgren in Legends of Awesomeness, silent cameo in end credits of Kung Fu Panda 4) is a female South China tiger who is the leader of the Furious Five. She was initially the most resentful of Po when he was chosen to be the Dragon Warrior instead of her, and the most vocal in her contempt. When Tigress overheard Po telling Shifu that he would never be able to defeat Tai Lung, Tigress took it upon herself to intercept the leopard, and managed to counter most of his attacks. When Po defeats Tai Lung, Tigress is very impressed, and the first to acknowledge him as a master of kung fu. As the film series progresses, Tigress grows closest to Po among his friends in the Jade Palace.
Tigress' backstory is largely revealed in a series of television specials. In Secrets of the Furious Five, it is revealed that she was an orphan living in the Bao Gu Orphanage, feared by the other children for her strength, and she taught herself control by learning to play dominoes. Despite this breakthrough, the adults who came to adopt the orphans were still afraid of her, so Shifu decided to adopt her. In Secrets of the Scroll, it is revealed that Shifu disapproved of her aggression and strength, wanting her to emphasize his control and precision. Oogway, on the contrary, encouraged Tigress to be herself.
Viper Master Viper (voiced by Lucy Liu in the films and short-films, Legends of Awesomeness, silent cameo in end credits of Kung Fu Panda 4) is a female green tree viper with two small lotus flowers on top of her head. Viper is the most outwardly compassionate member of the Five, and is the only one not to mock Po when he first joins the Jade Palace.
In Secrets of the Furious Five, she is revealed to be the daughter of Great Master Viper, who relied on his venomous fangs to protect the village where they lived. The Great Master hoped that his daughter would carry on his legacy, but he discovered that she was born without fangs. Viper instead took up ribbon dancing at a young age, and showed a proficiency for it. When a gorilla bandit came to the Autumn Moon Festival and shattered the Great Master's fangs using venom-proof armor, Viper used her dancing to tie the bandit up in her ribbon. Only then did her father accept his daughter becoming a warrior on her own terms. Years later, she managed to grow a pair of small, blunt fangs.
Monkey Master Monkey (voiced by Jackie Chan in the films, and James Sie in Legends of Awesomeness, silent cameo in end credits of Kung Fu Panda 4) is a male golden langur with a thick Chinese accent who is the second-in-command of the Furious Five and the most humorous of the Five. He was the first to recognize Po's determination, and the first to refer to Po by his name. Unlike the other members of the Five, Monkey prefers to use a weapon in combat, and the staff that he uses is associated with the legendary Monkey King Sun Wukong.
Monkey has an older brother, Wu Kong, who is the self-proclaimed "King of Thieves", and their mother died from shock and grief of seeing her sons fight. Nevertheless, Monkey was an adolescent trickster, who humiliated the members of his village with pranks. Oogway put an end to Monkey's trickery, using his shell to hide from his attacks, and the tortoise encouraged Monkey to use his skills for good, putting him on the path to kung fu mastery.
Mantis
Master Mantis (voiced by Seth Rogen in films and Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers, and Max Koch in Legends of Awesomeness) is a male Chinese mantis and the smallest of the Five. He is, however, the strongest proportional to his size, and can move at superhuman speeds. When Po's girth was cited as a reason why he could not be a kung fu master, Mantis was the first to decide that size did little to define a warrior. In the fourth film, he is mentioned to be in a relationship and has avoided his head being eaten by his partner as part of the courtship ritual.
Crane Master Crane (voiced by David Cross in the films and Amir Talai in Legends of Awesomeness, silent cameo in end credits of Kung Fu Panda 4) is a male black-necked crane and the most patient of the Five. He serves as a scout and lookout in combat situations, as well as a means of transport for the other members of the Five. Should any of the Five fall from a great height, Crane will appear to break their fall.
Before joining the Five, Crane was the janitor at the Lee Da Kung Fu Academy, where he was looked down upon due to his slender build. However, Mei Ling, the top student, saw the skills that Crane used when cleaning the academy, and convinced him to try out for the school. While his nerve got the better of him at first, Crane soon gained the confidence to pass the obstacle course and gain admission into the academy. Between the events of the third and fourth films, Crane was crowned the king of the crocodilians.
Oogway Grand Master Oogway (voiced by Randall Duk Kim in the Kung Fu Panda and Kung Fu Panda 3, silent cameo in Kung Fu Panda 2, television specials, and Legends of Awesomeness, Greg Baldwin in the video games, and Piotr Michael in The Paws of Destiny), was an elderly Galápagos Tortoise, the senior headmaster of the Jade Palace before Shifu, and the creator of kung fu. Highly venerated for his wisdom, knowledge, and experience, Oogway was considered by many to be a sage. He was known as the greatest kung fu master in history, with no other reputation surpassing his. In the first film, he is the one to choose Po as the Dragon Warrior, much to everyone's surprise, and his warmth and acceptance of Po serve as a foil to the strict and abrasive Shifu. He dies and ascends to the Spirit Realm in the first film, but appears in the DreamWorks intro taking Moonboy's Spot on The DreamWorks logo sitting on the crescent moon where Moonboy usually sits before the title card for the film appears again in flashback cameos in the second film.
In the third film, while meditating in the Spirit Realm, Oogway is attacked by his former friend, Kai, who steals his chi and escapes the realm. After Po defeats Kai, he meets Oogway in the Spirit Realm, where Oogway explains to Po that on the first day they met, he saw both the future of kung fu in Po, as well as the past. He sensed that Po would be the one to unite them both and become his true successor. He then presents Po with his staff, to which he was hesitant to accept, before Po returns to the mortal realm.
Zhen