But really the plots are not that hard to guess and this is more about the meanings of the stories. (Intended or Not) This trilogy has now become a truly great mythology tying together Family, Politics and Spirituality. Let's start with a Recap of the other movies.
Kung Fu Panda 1. The secret is yourself
Po, who is a very American goofy character played by Jack Black in a Chinese world, with the a lot of the cultural elements really being shown more than in another American Movies that try to depict China finds Confidence in himself to fight a bully. The struggle is for the Dragon Scroll, and is an internal struggle within Master Shifu's school over a title and a piece of paper that ends up being blank. Po realized the secret when within his own family, the secret of Secret Ingredient Noodle soup is revealed to him by his father (adopted as we find out in part 2 though we all know it because Po is a panda and his father is a duck.) The secret is nothing.. or yourself. Po gives Tai Lung (big Dragon) a ton of chances... but then kills him, destroys him, with with the Wuxi finger hold, which is introduced in the beginning, but is never taught to Po. Po just figured it out.
Also Po is trained through food and more through finding the power he already has with guidance by Shifu. Shifu learns a lot by having to teach him in a different way than he trained the Furious Five.
This concept of the secret is yourself is in many Buddhist stories. However, even though these stories are prevalent in Chinese culture, the idea itse;f is sort of suppressed. Kung Fu tends to be more about the system you study and even though everyone sort of acknowledges that it is the individual, the emphasis is more on the master than the student. Pushing this idea forward as the main part of the movie is extremely American.. .even though at the same time it is extremely Chinese.
Also this first movie is as much about Master Shifu's struggle within himself as it is about Po. Master Shifu's two students that are fighting for the Dragon Warrior, represent two aspects of himself.
This movie was made by Americans, for Americans.
The villain Tai Lung, is your typical Kung Fu bully. He he has a British Accent though.
Kung Fu Panda 2. Inner Peace
The secret to Inner peace is letting go of bad feelings from the past.
Again, this is prevalent in Buddhism. But even though Buddhism is a big theme in Chinese culture, revenge is and even stronger element even within Kung Fu with Buddhist origin. In fact the meaning is a little different. Re-venge means to re do vengeance, re violence. Like you are doing violence because violence was done to you. Bo Sau in Chinese almost sounds like you are balancing a scale and putting.
Kung Fu Panda 2 has the villain peacock Lord Shen who is a megalomaniac and leader of an Industrial revolution fro weapons manufacture. It has nods to the Cultural Revolution and also European Pogroms as all the Pandas are killed off (except Po) Po finds inner peace by letting go of revenge. He only fights the villain to prevent him from doing future evil. Lord Shen does not find peace and continues to try and destroy Kung Fu Panda. In the end he creates an accident which kills him. In this movie, the illain, Lord Shen, destroys himself.
Kung Fu Panda uses Tai Chi like techniques. Though again, he did that against Tai Lung as well, but his training moves even further in that direction. Po gains inner peace through extreme pain. (As opposed to Oogwei who does it by meditating for 50 years) Master Shifu does it with a combination of both.
But the idea here is that Po learns Kung Fu not so much through technique... but through life experience.
The writers go to China to discover Po's origins. This movie is still made by Americans fro Americans, but they are really making an effort to dig deeper into Chinese culture. Kung Fu Panda is very successful in China because animation is easily dubbed into Mandarin. You begin to see Kung Fu Panda like CGI cartoons that are China made..... however they are not quite as good even though they are made by Chinese, for Chinese.
The peacock is often seen as a symbol of the Qing Government, which is often the villain in Kung Fu movies.
Kung Fu Panda 3. Chi and Spirituality and Teaching
Master Shifu hands over teaching responsibility to Po so that he can master Chi. He is able to make a flower bloom by transferring energy into it.
We see Kai, (or maybe Cai) a bull, Oogwei's Brother in arms (Si Hing Dai). Kai is American in his gun slinger walk and Cowboy demeanor. He also has an American accent and a wild west type theme is played when he enters with a Chinese version of the bad guy in a Western with the walk with spurs. Not only that but his Kung Fu skill itself is not superior to Oogwei or even the Tigress. However he is able to suck the Chi out of the masters and then turn them into Jade trinkets. He then uses these trinkets like robot drones and is able to attack and do surveillance with them. Kai wants to have all the Chi in the world and be remembered and also wipe out Oogwei's memory. Mao did this.. but the consumerism and American way of the villain makes one think that this represents Capitalism, Consumerism, and the McDonaldization or the world. This Corporate Cowboy is sucking the souls, the spirits, the Chi out of everything and it is never enough.
We find out that the technique he uses was taught to him by Pandas. In fact it is a Panda specialty. Kai had taken his brother in arms, Oogwei as he was dying to be healed. The Pandas healed Oogwei. So Kai is not as evil as Lord Shen, nor is he afraid or a coward. He just got greedy.
The technique of sucking Chi that Kai uses is a nod to Cup Sing Dai Faht, used in the Proud Smiling Wanderer (Siew Ngo Gonghu)
Po goes to learn about himself with his biological father Li Shan at a secret Panda village. Kai destroys Oogweis temple and all his teachings. And sucks the chi out of everyone but Tigress, who goes to warn Po. Po must then teach the Panda's to defend themselves with Kung Fu.
Po teaches them Kung Fu, by teaching them to be themselves. They use shuttle cock, somersaulting and ribbon dancing and hugging techniques. Po teaches successfully by getting out of the way, which Tigress questions at first. But you begin to see that all these techniques can be used in combat. In fact there are nods to modern martial arts.. especially Jeet Kune Do and Bruce Lee.
Bruce Lee believed in finding YOUR techniques in Kung Fu. Linda Lee credited this with his readings of Indian Self Help authors. But Modern Shaolin Monks will tie it to Chan (Zen Buddhism) The Hugs are a lot like a rear naked choke. and the ribbon dancer who uses a ninchuck is an obvious nod to Bruce Lee.
Grace commented that the fight scenes were not as good. Indeed they move away from the classic 70's Hung Gar style sequences of the first two movies. The Villain does Chain whip.. but again he is totally American in his style of movement.
Po tries the Wuxi Finger hold on Kai but it doesn't work. He tries to tell everyone to run, then thinks of something, and Skadooshes himself while choking Kai. This is a lot like the Take downs in MMA and Jujitsu where bothe people will fall to the ground.....
And Po has actually just killed himself. They go into the spirit world. There is no doubt, whether or Not Po comes back.... he has just died, sacrificing himself for the Pandas and Tigress.
This is full of the Jesus mythology.
Interestingly in Chinese myths there is a Turtle God that is reborn as a human and sacrifices himself for the sake of a village so that it will rain. The Rain is blood red though and so the people worship him and honor him, knowing they have done wrong and that this turtle God "died for their sins"
Here Po is able to gain spirit energy from the whole village of Pandas, his adopted Father Ping, and Tigress by everyone sending their Chi into the spot where Po was.
Indeed Chinese believe that gods are gods because people bow to them.
This is combined with the transfer of Chi technique instead of using Prayer of incense. But a lot of blessings in forms of Christianity are done like this and other religious groups as well.
Can you transfer Chi as in Reki? I'll post about that and some of my experiences with that later.
But in the story not only can you do this physically, but you can reach across to the Spirit world and do this. And this is Where Po becomes the Dragon Warrior and you see his Dragon Spirit as he battles Kai.
The Dragon is a symbol of the Chinese people as they call themselves "The descendants of Dragons"
The Panda is also seen as a symbol of the Chinese people.
I suspect that when Kung Fu Panda 1 was made, they just took these two symbols at stereotypical symbols and accidentally created an opening for this great movie which works even better for China than it does for America. What I'm saying is, a Chinese American can totally yawn and call parts of Kung Fu Panda 1 stereotypical.. but good natured and at least they got the cooking right as well as some real Chinese Vocabulary thrown in there.
But Kung Fu Panda three.
This movie feels like Chinese Propaganda in theme. But American in creative vision. Mainland China could not have made this movie.... but wanted to. It was released in China and the States for Chinese New Year. This movie is for China.
And what does it say?
You can be a Panda and a Dragon at the same time. You can love your adopted father and your biological father at the same time . (Great for Chinese adoptees btw) You can have the strength of the Dragon but it doesn't mean you have to be like Tai Lung, or Lord Shen. You can absorb the fun loving side of modernity and Americanism, of overeating.. and still be the Dragon.
Kai tries to suck the Chi out of Po. Does Po win by sucking it back? In a battle of strength?
No, the answer to the Cowboy Corporate Consumerism is for Po to shoot all his Chi at him. And Kai absorbs it, at first it is great, but then it is too much, and Kai explodes and all of the other Sifus that were alive in the physical world return. (Did they die? I guess they were just trinkets so tey are just turned back.) Oogwei is released and is free in the spirit world (So he was dead, and he is still dead.along with many other ancient masters that Kai had defeated in the Spirit realm)
Po totally died though because he Skadooshed himself.
Po and Oogwei talk.
Oogwei explains why Po is the link between Kung Fu's past and it's future. Did they intend that when writing Kung Fu Panda one? I doubt it. But here is the thing. I feel like these movies have become their own thing as much as the character of Kung Fu Panda. They say something deep each time, even though the message is similar. But here you really have a modern mythology that kicks ass. China and America can be blended together in this Panda like way, it can defeat Capitalism that creates global warming not by fighting it but by the people using our resources together. Po's Chi comes from the people.
You can be a Dragon and still be the fun loving Panda.
Even when Oogwei's temple is destroyed Po has mastered more than Oogwei did and is ready to pass on the idea and teachings of Kung Fu in a modern way, by showing people how to be themselves.
Po comes back, rises from the dead and for a moment shows is god-like form. He can fly, like his adopted father Ping. Then fall sto the ground and is mortal again.
He mastered Chi and Shifu is a bit jealous at first but then asks, "Can you teach me?"
In the end, everyone is still learning traditional Kung Fu moves, and doing the shuttle cock and ribbon dancing.
As a Kung Fu teacher myself this is very moving to me and many people have talked about this balance between the American Way of teaching stuff (through sports and games) and the Chinese way (line up and follow me.) Indeed you need to find a balance. But you can actually do both, at the same time.
At the end of the movie I was moved to tears with emotion and I applauded. I wasn't the only one, but still people next to me, maybe even including my family, probably thought I was weird.
This is a long post... but still I have a ton more to say about these movies. We're not even close to being done.
I will be buying this and watching it repeatedly with Noah and Jonah.
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