The film series Kung Fu Panda is, arguably, one of DreamWorks’ most popular series. This action-packed trilogy follows the story of Po the panda who has always dreamed of being a master of kung fu as he finally gets a chance to strive for these dreams. It’s funny, heartfelt, and an overall exciting adventure.
Ever since the first movie’s release in 2008, the universe has expanded in several different ways, including some TV specials and shorts, and even some entire series. More recently is the announcement of the continuation of the movie series, with Kung Fu Panda 4 currently set to release in March 2024. As the franchise continues to grow, remembering all the characters can become a little confusing. Luckily, this guide should help you clear up any confusion you might have.
13 Jack Black as Po
The main character, Po, is mainly voiced by Jack Black, though you can also find Mick Wingert taking up the title role. Po starts as a simple waiter in his dad’s noodle shop who dreams of a bigger life. He accidentally stumbles into that life when, through a series of unfortunate events, he is chosen to be the town’s fabled Dragon Warrior, a master of kung fu who will help save and protect them all.
He isn’t treated well at first as everyone at the Jade Palace believes he was chosen by mistake, but he slowly befriends the other warriors in the Furious Five and earns the respect of his teacher. Then, Po goes on to save them all and become the warrior he always dreamed of, becoming an official part of the warrior team and continuing with them to put an end to more and more dangerous foes.
12 Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu
Dustin Hoffman and Fred Tatsciore bring Master Shifu to life, a red panda that runs the Jade Palace and trained the Furious Five. Shifu seemed the most adamant against Po’s place as the Dragon Warrior in the beginning, and as a result was extremely hard on him in training. When he gave Po a second chance, however, he began to see the true potential in him and managed to teach him everything he knew in order to stop the bad guys.
Shifu became a more relaxed teacher after facing his own problems in the first movie, and by the third, retired as he passed the training mantle onto Po, knowing he had no further teachings for him and also wanting to learn the ways of chi for himself.
11 Randall Duk Kim as Grand Master Oogway
Grand Master Oogway, voiced by Randall Duk Kim and Greg Baldwin, is the reason Po found himself in this life in the first place. This elderly Galapagos Tortoise was once considered the greatest Kung Fu master in history and was the headmaster of the Jade Palace before Shifu, but unfortunately, his old age meant not everyone believed his decision to claim Po was the Dragon Warrior was sane.
Still, he stood firm and encouraged Po to continue while he was the only one who believed in him, and helped push Shifu in the right direction as well before he passed on into the spirit realm. Without Oogway, it’s unlikely Po would have ever become the kung fu master that he is, and the bad guys would have won the day against the Furious Five alone.
10 Angelina Jolie as Tigress
Tigress is brought to life by Angelina Jolie and Kari Wahlgren. She’s a South China tiger and leads the Furious Five, meaning everyone thought she was going to be the Dragon Warrior. This also made her the most resentful when Po was given the title instead of her. She even goes as far as to believe she and the rest of the Five could take the villain of the first movie on alone, only to find they were proven wrong.
After Po’s victory, she’s the first to acknowledge him as a master and quickly becomes one of his closest friends throughout the other movies. Though their relationship had a rocky beginning, it’s abundantly clear that they overcame this quickly and their friendship is now hard to beat.
9 Jackie Chan as Monkey
Monkey is voiced by Jackie Chan and James Sie, and is a golden snub-nosed monkey and often the comedic relief character. Despite all the Five feeling contempt at an outsider earning the Dragon Warrior title, Monkey was the first to accept Po and see his determination. This led to him being the first to befriend him, as well as the first to use his real name.
One thing that makes Monkey stand out over the others is that he prefers to use a weapon in combat, fighting with a staff rather than his fists, which is a reference associated with the legendary Monkey King Sun Wukong. He’s second in command among the Furious Five and would be the one to take over if anything bad ever happened to Tigress.
8 David Cross as Crane
Voiced by David Cross, Crane is a black-necked crane. He’s the most patient of the Five, leading to him being the first one to really hear Po out on account of not wanting to kick him out of his room while he clearly needed to talk. He’s also an invaluable member of the Five, often serving as a scout and lookout thanks to his ability to fly, which is unique among the group.
His flying also lets him transport the other members of the Five when and if necessary, and he tries his best to break the fall of any of his friends falling from a great height before they hurt themselves. While not present much more than that, the team definitely wouldn’t be the same without him there.
7 Seth Rogen as Mantis
The smallest member of the Furious Five is Mantis, brought to life by Seth Rogen. Don’t underestimate him because of this, however. He’s the strongest member proportional to his size and can fight a grown animal just like all the others. He’s also impossibly fast, making him a tough opponent in a fight.
Mantis was important to helping Po find his self-worth. When Po’s girth was criticized, and thought to be a detriment to the fact that he could ever become a Kung Fu master, Mantis was quick to point out that size didn’t define a warrior, as he himself proved. In fact, it could also be used to one’s advantage. Though he didn’t realize it, he was the driving force that helped the others begin to see past Po’s problems and into his true potential.
6 Lucy Liu as Viper
Viper is voiced by Lucy Liu and is a green tree viper. She’s most recognizable for the two small lotus flowers on top of her head that almost look like hair buns. Despite being a venomous snake, Viper was actually born with ineffective fangs and had to compensate for it in other ways. Her strength and precision helped her overcome this obstacle. She’s also the most compassionate and kindest member of the Five, as she is the only one that never openly mocked Po when he first joined, even if she might have felt the same way as the others in the beginning. Even so, she doesn’t get as much screen time as many of the others as the story focuses on them over her.
5 James Hong as Mr. Ping
Mr. Ping is a Chinese goose voiced by James Hong and owns the most popular noodle shop in the area. He’s also Po’s adopted father, as he found him as a baby in one of the shop’s radish crate deliveries and felt it was a sign. Mr. Ping has always worried over Po no matter what he does in life, but he supports him regardless and is an ecstatic father. Even after Po finds out he was adopted their relationship doesn’t change.
The only moment anything ever strains their relationship is for a moment when Mr. Ping found out Po’s biological father was still alive and was worried about losing his son, but Po would never forget the father who raised him no matter what.
4 Ian McShane as Tai Lung
Tai Lung is a snow leopard and the villain of the first movie, brought to life by Ian McShane and Andre Sogliuzzo. He first began his training at the Jade Palace after Shifu adopted him. Because he was so powerful, and because he held a special place in Shifu’s heart, Tai Lung thought he was destined to become the Dragon Warrior.
However, Oogway sensed the darkness within him and refused, sending Tai Lung into a rage as he tried to force his hand and take the scroll for himself before Oogway overcame him and he was imprisoned. After 20 years he finally managed to pick the lock and escape from prison, immediately launching back into his attempt to steal the scroll for himself again but stopped this time by Po, who had finally realized his destiny as the Dragon Warrior himself.
3 Gary Oldman as Lord Shen
Gary Oldman voices Lord Shen, a leucistic peacock who serves as the second movie’s villain. He became interested in gunpowder at a young age and began to wonder how it could be used in warfare. His parents were rightfully concerned and visited the Soothsayer to ask about him, who says if he continues down this path he will be stopped by a warrior of black and white.
Shen overheard the conversation and assumed his enemy would be a panda, so in an attempt to stop this from happening he ordered a panda massacre before he was disowned and exiled. Thanks to this move from his parents, he became resentful and started a plan to take over China with his gunpowder weapons. His attempt to circumvent the Soothsayer’s words from coming true, however, only resulted in Po coming after him as the warrior of prophecy intent on stopping him.
2 Fred Tatasciore and Bryan Cranston as Li Shan
We meet Li Shan, voiced by Fred Tatasciore and Bryan Cranston, at the end of the second movie, and see him as a recurring character in the third. He’s a giant panda and Po’s biological father who had presumed Po was dead with the other pandas killed in Lord Shen’s initial attack. He had lived in a secret refuge all this time and urged Po to come and stay with the other pandas once they reunite.
However, he’s so desperate to reunite with his son that he lies to him in the village and risks the lives of the other kung fu masters along the way as Po is not there to stop the villain from capturing them. Even though he made a poor choice, Li Shan is still excited to see his son again and begins to eagerly support him in everything he does.
1 J.K. Simmons as Kai
Kai, a bull voiced by J.K. Simmons, is the third movie’s villain. Originally a friend to Grand Master Oogway, he was taught the secret ways of chi and became power-hungry with the knowledge. Instead of using this power to give people chi, he learned how to take it and tried to use it for himself before Oogway banished him to the spirit realm.
While there, he collected the chi of every Kung Fu master to end up in the spirit realm before finally facing Oogway down again and gaining enough chi to return to the world of the living. There, he began to assault the world and steal more chi from living Kung Fu masters, turning them into jade warriors to fight in his army to take over the world. It’s up to Po to try to save them all, who is still in a battle with his own feelings over meeting his biological father.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
