The Beauty of Kung Fu Panda

foreign as a film nerd I'm frequently asked what film sparked my love for the medium in the first place and I can confidently say that the first film I was ever obsessed with Was Kung Fu Panda I was about nine years old when it got released and I just begun taking martial arts myself so it really was a perfect storm of sorts there was a short behind the scenes style documentary made to promote Kung Fu Panda and no word of a lie I must have watched that documentary at least 40 times before the movie dropped in theaters it was to the point where I was literally quoting Tai long in the theater before he could even say the lines I don't want your apology I want my scroll I'd Mudder under my breath as my parents looked at me bewildered as to how I knew what he was going to say but as an adult who now looks at film with more scrutiny I can say that Kung Fu Panda Still Remains as a beautiful story regarding self-love and acceptance that has stood the test of time and truly has something for audiences of all ages the Thematic core of kung fu pandas the concept of dreams and desires Poe our main character desires to leave his life as a noodle maker behind and dreams of becoming the Dragon Warrior their first shot of the film is quite literally a dream sequence of Poe as the Dragon Warrior the Furious 5 especially Tigris also dream of becoming the Dragon Warrior Master Shifu once dreamed that his student in Thailand was also destined to become the Dragon Warrior and Tai long now has a burning desire for revenge against his former Master for being denied his destiny almost every main character has some kind of dream or desire that ties to the illustrious title of Dragon Warrior you see being named the Dragon Warrior is akin to being the chosen one or being named the strongest it's a title that many characters chiefly Tigris and Tai long have worked towards becoming their entire lives and then a panda comes falling out of the sky and seemingly by mistake is picked by masterugley to become the Dragon Warrior naturally or cast of characters are not quick to accept this Master Shifu makes it his life's mission to get Poe to quit his training Tigris is feisty and aggressive towards Poe and Tai long even laughs when he first comes face to face with Poe believing there's no way a panda could be the Dragon Warrior now it would have been very easy for Poe to quit he even contemplates it for a while but Master Oogway gives him some words of wisdom which sway his mind and heart in his resolve you are too concerned with what was and what will be there's a saying yesterday is history tomorrow was a mystery but today is a gift that is why they call it the present it's words of wisdom from Oogway teach Poe an important lesson about dreams you see the beauty of a dream isn't in reaching your final destination the beauty is in the journey itself and each step along the way that got you there so rather than worrying about whether or not you'll achieve your dream one day you have to focus on the present and the current step that you're on this is why Poe refuses to quit no matter how many times Shifu berates him no matter how many times he's knocked down no matter how many steps he has to climb he'll keep going our main antagonist Tai long shares Poe's dream he was taken in by Master Shifu as a child was trained loved and nurtured to become the Dragon Warrior for most his life to him becoming the Dragon Warrior was his Destiny and was owed to him and when he was denied the dragon scroba masterugway he lashed out with an outrage and tried to take the scroll by force reaching the final destination of his dream became the only thing Tai long could see and this is why uguay chose Poe over him rather than accepting he wasn't ready yet continuing on his journey to his goal Tai long tried to take a shortcut while Poe refused to quit it continued to persevere when parliamentylog finally clashed in the third Act of the film Tai long does eventually get his hands on the dragon scroll but it's empty or is it you see to tie long the dragon scroll is empty but it is truly he himself who is empty he had made getting the dragon scroll into his entire life's purpose when in reality he had everything he ever needed to become the Dragon Warrior inside him all along he just could never see it because he was too fixated on the scroll as an object that would complete him you see Pope beats Tai long not because he's a better fighter not because he's stronger not because he's faster Poe wins because he accepts and Embraces who he is and uses his unique quirks and strengths poets fell out of place his entire life like you didn't fit in but just as his father tells him that there's no secret ingredient to his noodle recipe Poe understands that he doesn't need some material object to complete him or achieve his dreams he knows that if he believes in his heart that he's the Dragon Warrior then he is truly the Dragon Warrior that is the moral of the story and that is the secret that the dragon scroll held there is no missing key separating you from your dreams you don't need to change who you are fundamentally you simply just need to believe in yourself and work towards your dreams and one day you can achieve them all in all while this film might be a fun kids movie on the surface Kung Fu Panda is a beautifully constructed story that has a powerful message regarding acceptance and self-love which is why this film sparked my interest in the medium when I was nine years old and still resonates with me as an adult all these years later thank you for watching this breakdown of Kung Fu Panda's narrative if you enjoyed it and are interested in further explorations of screen stories please feel free to drop a like And subscribe

Channel: Screened Stories

Views: 284

Keywords: Kung Fu, Kung Fu Panda, Po, Tai Lang, Shifu, Kung Fu Panda 1, Kung Fu Panda 2, Kung Fu Panda 3, Dragon Warrior

Id: I2c4bD8xZbc

Length: 5min 40sec (340 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 28 2023