"Kung Fu Panda" is just as much for adults. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re looking at jokes, themes, and references from the “Kung Fu Panda” franchise that adults will appreciate more than kids.
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00:00 Use the stick, not your head!
00:02 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're looking at jokes, themes, and references from the Kung Fu Panda franchise that adults will appreciate more than kids.
00:11 I love Kung Fu!
00:18 Number 10. Furious Animal Styles
00:23 Kung Fu Panda franchise
00:25 In a world populated by animals, it's no coincidence that five of the most fearsome Kung Fu warriors are a tiger, a crane, a monkey, a viper, and a mantis.
00:36 Tiger, you need more ferocity. Monkey, greater speed. Crane, height. Viper, subtlety. Mantis, mantishy.
00:43 Each member represents a different animal style in Chinese martial arts, although the Furious Five deviates slightly from the traditional five forms.
00:51 Full split in one night. It takes years to develop one's flexibility, and years longer to apply it in combat.
01:00 While tiger, crane, and snake are among the main styles in yin-yang Kung Fu, monkey and mantis serve as alternatives for leopard and dragon.
01:08 Kung Fu Panda still cleverly works this into the plot with antagonist Tai Lung being a snow leopard, and his name translates to "great dragon" in Cantonese.
01:17 Of course, it's Po who proves himself to be the dragon warrior. Ah, yes, bear is also an animal style.
01:24 You're bluffing! Shifu didn't teach you that.
01:26 Nope. I figured it out.
01:29 Skadoosh!
01:31 Number 9. Where the egg comes from. Kung Fu Panda 2
01:35 No, we're not talking about the infamous chicken or the egg debate. Another Dreamworks movie already covered that.
01:41 If you don't have a chicken, where are you gonna get an egg?
01:43 I'm gonna chicken. That comes from the egg. Yeah, but you have to have an egg to have a chicken.
01:48 Yeah, but you gotta get the chicken first to get the egg.
01:51 When we first met Mr. Ping and Po, kids might not have asked how a goose can bring a panda into the world. Adults did, however.
01:58 Roger Ebert even made that the headline of his review for the sequel, which reveals why Po and Mr. Ping don't exactly look alike.
02:06 I just found out that my dad isn't really my dad.
02:11 Your dad, the goose?
02:13 That must have been quite a shock.
02:17 Before Mr. Ping addresses the elephant, er, panda in the room, he tries to tiptoe around Po's question with a lesson on goose anatomy.
02:26 While Mr. Ping explains that geese lay eggs, he spares Po the specifics of where the egg comes out.
02:32 Baby geese come from a little egg. Don't ask me where the egg comes from.
02:38 Dad, that's not what I meant.
02:40 Cheeky jokes aside, the film handles adoption in a surprisingly mature, touching way.
02:46 Grandmaster Oogway is full of knowledge, with some tidbits of wisdom being even more insightful than you might initially realize.
02:57 An early example is when Oogway tells Master Shifu,
03:01 One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it.
03:06 It might sound like something from a fortune cookie, but Oogway actually foretells the future with this layered line.
03:12 After Oogway has a vision that Tai Lung is coming back, Shifu sends a messenger bird to increase security.
03:18 You doubt my prison security?
03:21 Absolutely not. Shifu does. I'm just the messenger.
03:27 This decision inadvertently sets off a chain reaction with Tai Lung using the messenger's feather to free himself.
03:33 By trying to prevent Tai Lung's escape, Shifu instead released him.
03:37 In doing so, Shifu and Po are put on the path to destiny.
03:41 There truly are no accidents, as Oogway would say.
03:44 There are no accidents.
03:46 Yes, I know. You've said that already. Twice.
03:51 Well, that was no accident either.
03:54 Po might have some prognostic powers as well.
04:01 This is established in the first film's opening when Po dreams about joining the Furious Five and becoming a legendary warrior.
04:08 Even the most heroic heroes in all of China, the Furious Five, bowed in respect to this great master.
04:16 We should hang out.
04:18 Agreed.
04:19 This comes to fruition by the film's conclusion, but Po's dream reaches further.
04:24 Fitting since Jennifer Yeoh Nelson, who directed the first film's opening, went to helm Kung Fu Panda 2.
04:30 The dream culminates in Po and his new allies facing an army of wolves.
04:34 But hanging out would have to wait.
04:36 'Cause when you're facing the 10,000 demons of Demon Mountain, there's only one thing that matters.
04:43 In the first sequel, the villainous peacock Lord Shen commands a wolf army.
04:47 A bull that Po takes by the horns also resembles Kai from Kung Fu Panda 3.
04:52 When Po awakens from his dream, there's a sketch of a bull on the wall, again hinting at his future adversary.
04:58 Did Oogway teach you that little trick?
05:00 Too bad. It only works on mortals.
05:04 And I am a spirit warrior.
05:08 Po comes across several new warriors in Gongmen City.
05:15 This includes Master Kroc, voiced by Jean-Claude Van Damme.
05:19 Then we use a sneak attack.
05:21 We get inside and then...
05:23 And then you will be...
05:24 Stop!
05:25 And one thing that this martial artist turned actor is known for, it's doing the splits.
05:30 Even as an animated crocodile, Van Damme's signature move can't be avoided.
05:35 Joining the final fight, Kroc makes an epic entrance by performing a perfect split.
05:41 Master Ox, Chow, and Kroc!
05:44 Vengeance is served.
05:46 Long-time fans of the muscles from Brussels will appreciate this subtle detail.
05:50 But it'll likely serve as an introduction for kids.
05:53 And now that they've seen Kung Fu Panda 2,
05:55 the kids are ready to watch Van Damme perform more splits in Bloodsport, Timecop,
06:00 and of course, that 2013 Volvo commercial.
06:03 We bet Po could do that too, if an almond cookie was in reach.
06:07 I don't know, I was getting a cookie.
06:09 And yet you are ten feet off the ground and have done a perfect split.
06:19 The Kung Fu Panda movies are stacked with top-tier voice talent
06:23 with some actors coming from martial arts backgrounds.
06:26 Viper's a snake, which can be very deceiving.
06:28 She seems quite lethal, but she's actually quite sweet.
06:31 I'm afraid we were a little hard on him last night.
06:33 Lucy Liu, who voices Master Viper, grew up studying Kali Eskrimasila.
06:38 Michelle Yeoh, the voice of Soothsayer, has been performing her own stunts for over 30 years.
06:44 Arguably the franchise's most iconic martial arts star is Jackie Chan,
06:48 who voices Master Monkey.
06:50 Jackie Chan as Monkey.
06:52 We should hang out.
06:53 For such a big name, Chan has surprisingly few lines throughout the series.
06:57 Kids probably won't see the irony in this, although adults are surely thinking,
07:01 "Man, it must have been a quick day in the recording booth for Jackie."
07:05 They'd be correct.
07:06 For the first film, it's been said that Chan recorded his lines in just five hours.
07:11 That includes the Mandarin and Cantonese dubs.
07:14 I use it calmly with my kung fu together. I think it's really good for me.
07:19 Master Shifu!
07:20 Number 4. My Dumplings. Kung Fu Panda 3.
07:24 If you thought that Po touching upon his tenders was explicit, just wait until the third movie.
07:29 My tenders.
07:33 Arriving in the panda village, Po and his adoptive father are bombarded with questions.
07:38 The panda cubs are especially curious about Mr. Ping's physical features,
07:42 from his feet to what lies below the apron.
07:45 When Mr. Ping brings up his dumplings, adults are inclined to ask,
07:49 "Wait, do birds even have..."
07:51 What kind of panda are you? You have a funny neck.
07:54 I'm not a panda at all.
07:56 What's that? My head. What's that? My beak. What's that? My wing. What's that? My dumplings.
07:59 Before you can complete that question,
08:02 we quickly see that Mr. Ping was talking about the literal dumplings by his feet.
08:06 Oh, wait, kid. Here, sir. I packed your chopsticks.
08:09 This reveal keeps the film in PG territory, but just barely.
08:14 And for those curious about the goose reproduction system,
08:17 they do have bean-shaped dumplings within the body cavity,
08:21 creating spermatosis and male hormones. Fascinating.
08:24 Number 3. Classic martial arts movie inspiration. Kung Fu Panda.
08:29 The title might be a little silly,
08:32 but you can tell that the filmmakers possess a serious love for kung fu.
08:36 You are free to eat.
08:38 Am I? Are you?
08:40 A few moments even echo classic martial arts movies.
08:43 1979's The Fearless Hyena stars Jackie Chan as Shing Lung.
08:47 In one of the film's most colorful fights,
08:50 Shing Lung attempts to chow down while his master blocks every bite with a pair of chopsticks.
08:55 [speaking Chinese]
08:58 This mix of action, slapstick, and cuisine mirrors Po and Shifu's chopstick battle.
09:03 Po's story also shares similarity to 1978's Circle of Iron,
09:08 in which a martial arts tournament is held to see who is worthy of possessing a book of enlightenment.
09:13 Like The Dragon Scroll, the book contains no words,
09:16 only the reader's reflection, revealing where enlightenment comes from.
09:20 When they fling it open in blazing expectation of finding all the answers to all life's questions,
09:25 what do they find?
09:28 Themselves.
09:29 Number 2. Mantis the Virgin - Kung Fu Panda 2
09:33 Seth Rogen rose to fame playing Cal in The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
09:37 That makes so much sense, man. He's a virgin.
09:40 You guys are hilarious.
09:42 In Kung Fu Panda 2, Rogen's Mantis finds himself dealing with the same issue as Steve Carell's Andy.
09:48 Kind of.
09:50 Sensing the end is near, Mantis expresses regret that he never settled down with a girl,
09:55 who could eat his head.
09:57 It's slightly less gross than it sounds.
09:59 Honestly guys, I never thought I'd die like this.
10:02 I always thought I'd meet a nice girl and settle down, and she'd eat my head.
10:07 So sad.
10:08 When Mantis has a mate, it's not uncommon for the female to bite into the male's head.
10:12 The female might not always consume her mate's head.
10:15 Once she goes for the head, though, it's hard to thwart the chemistry at work.
10:19 The male doesn't need a head to finish anyway.
10:22 Since Mantis still has his head, it's safe to say he's never experienced sexual cannibalism, as it's called.
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10:53 Late parents are par for the course in animated movies, but Po's mother is just one victim in an even larger tragedy.
11:14 Believing that a panda will bring about his downfall, Lord Shen aspires to wipe out the entire species.
11:20 Watching Shen execute his devious plan, it's hard for adults not to think of ethnic cleansing and genocide.
11:27 Po thankfully isn't the only panda who survives, but what's left of his species is forced to live in hiding.
11:43 This serves as a blunt reminder that giant pandas have been considered endangered species,
11:48 although their status was changed to "vulnerable" in 2016.
11:52 While kids and adults can see that Shen is evil, only older audiences will recognize the real-world monsters he resembles.
11:59 What things did you pick up on as an older viewer? Let us know in the comments.
12:12 You wanna get something to eat?
12:14 Yeah.
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