I’ve always loved Kung Fu Panda. As a kid, I rewatched the first and third movies countless times, but as I got older, I started to love the second movie a lot more. The fourth one was disappointing when I saw it, to say the least. All of these movies (except the fourth one) have a special place in my heart, but it made me think: which Kung Fu Panda movie is truly the best? Before you read this article, if you haven’t seen these movies yet, I highly recommend watching them. This article will contain spoilers for all of the movies, so please watch the movies before you read!
Kung Fu Panda
The first Kung Fu Panda movie was released in June 2008. Po, the main character, starts as a waiter at a noodle shop. He works for his adopted father, who is a goose named Mr. Ping. Po is unexpectedly chosen as the Dragon Warrior over the other more qualified contestants by Master Oogway. Po then has to prove to himself and the world that he is worthy of being the Dragon Warrior.
At first, Po doesn’t know any kung fu, and he struggles to keep up with the Furious Five, the kung fu experts in the village, and Po’s teacher, Master Shifu. Po is challenged when Tai Lung, a dangerous snow leopard trained by Master Shifu, escapes from prison. Viewers learn that Tai Lung was previously trained to become the Dragon Warrior by Master Shifu, but when Master Oogway said Tai Lung wasn’t the Dragon Warrior, Tai Lung lashed out and attacked, leading to his imprisonment.
Part of being the Dragon Warrior means having access to the Dragon Scroll, which is said to contain life-altering information, and Tai Lung wants to get it and prove that he is the Dragon Warrior. Tai Lung and Po fight over the scroll, but discover that it is blank. While Tai Lung feels outraged that the scroll he worked to earn is blank, Po realizes it’s reflective, and its true meaning is to value yourself. Despite everyone’s doubts, Po rises to the occasion and defeats Tai Lung and banishes him to the spirit realm, becoming the Dragon Warrior.
Kung Fu Panda 2
The second Kung Fu Panda movie was released in May 2011. Po’s ego is challenged when he confronts his past. He sees flashes of his life before being adopted by Mr. Ping, when the panda village was attacked, and Po’s mother was killed. A peacock, Lord Shen, is the villain of the movie. His goal is to conquer China, and he does not hesitate to kill those who stand in his way, including his own parents and all of the pandas except for Po. He has a dangerous cannon, capable of destroying countless villages.
Po discovers, through the course of the movie, that Shen killed all the pandas in an effort to fight a prophecy. The prophecy predicted that an animal that was black and white would topple his rule. Po has to face his past to achieve inner peace, a kung fu technique that can redirect energy. In the second movie, Po overcomes the challenges that he and the Furious Five face by grappling with the death of his village and coming to peace with where he is in his life.
Kung Fu Panda 3
The third Kung Fu Panda movie was released in January 2016. Po discovers that the panda village survived Lord Shen’s attack. He meets his real father and tries to understand the meaning of family. He is torn between his adoptive father and biological father, and learns to accept them both. The enemy in this movie is an ox named General Kai, who comes from the spirit realm to steal the chi of kung-fu masters. Chi is the life energy of those who practice kung fu, and when it is stolen, Kai becomes stronger.
Po has to defend his village when it’s under attack by training the members of the panda village in kung fu to help him stop General Kai’s army. Po sacrifices himself when he realizes he can’t banish Kai to the spirit realm like he did with Tai Lung because Kai is too powerful, so he banishes himself while touching Kai to take them both. While in the spirit realm, Po struggles against Kai until the panda village sends their chi to Po, allowing him to triumph over Kai and escape the spirit realm. By working with the rest of the village, Po learns the importance of teamwork and the meaning of family.
Kung Fu Panda 4
The fourth Kung Fu Panda movie, released in March 2024, is extremely bad. Po has to cope with no longer being the Dragon Warrior by choosing a new one, but he refuses. The villain of this movie is the Chameleon, who can shapeshift to mimic the fighting styles of others. She wants to steal Po’s staff of wisdom, which possesses the power to bring back villains that Po has defeated. Po forms an alliance with Zhen, a bandit, who can guide him to the Chameleon. Things change when Zhen betrays him, revealing that she works for the Chameleon. Despite that, Zhen has a change of heart and saves Po, proving to him that heroes exist everywhere. Together, they defeat the Chameleon before she can complete her plan, and Po chooses Zhen to become his successor.
The fourth Kung Fu Panda movie is unquestionably the worst movie. I had the misfortune of seeing it in a theater, and I definitely would not recommend it to anyone. In a survey sent to the upper school, 33.3% of students voted that Kung Fu Panda 4 was the worst movie, which was the majority. The movie’s plot was executed poorly, and the villain was quite a letdown. In comparison to the rich characters from every other Kung Fu Panda movie, the new characters introduced in the fourth movie felt flat and one-dimensional.
Kung Fu Panda 4 had the opportunity to add to Po’s arc meaningfully. In the first movie, Po builds his confidence and learns that he can be a hero; in the second movie, he has to face his past and prove to himself that he has what it takes to be a hero; and in the third, he grapples with the meaning of family and builds the skill of working with others by training the pandas in the village. In the fourth movie, Po was supposed to grapple with letting go of the Dragon Warrior title and moving on. Unfortunately, the plot was not communicated in a meaningful way, leaving the message easily lost on viewers.
The Chameleon, as a villain, had potential as well, but she had barely any backstory, making her character feel out of place and her motivation just a mystery. Every other villain in the Kung Fu Panda movies has a fleshed out backstory and a clear motivation, but the chameleon was not memorable without a backstory, adding to why the movie fell short. Interestingly, 59% of upper school students who responded to the poll didn’t even bother to see the fourth movie, and I personally wouldn’t recommend they watch it.
A Kung Fu Panda Master?
The third Kung Fu Panda movie, in my opinion, is the most rewatchable movie of the series. The plot is engaging, the villain is good, and it brings back characters like Master Oogway while adding to the viewer’s understanding of the world with the introduction of “chi.” Kung Fu Panda 3 holds a special place in my heart for the feeling of nostalgia it brings me, but I don’t think it compares to the first and second movies. Its story and message are less impactful than the first and second. I’d argue that, while the third movie is great, the greatest of all time comes down to the first and second movies.
The first Kung Fu Panda movie is unquestionably great. The story is compelling, and its message can apply to anyone. It teaches viewers that they have to believe in themselves to be great. The movie’s message on the power of belief is impactful, and it’s communicated clearly through Mr. Ping’s speech about his soup. It’s mentioned throughout the movie that Mr. Ping’s soup has a secret ingredient, but when Po looks to him for guidance after discovering the dragon scroll is blank, Mr. Ping tells him there is no secret ingredient, and the true magic of his soup is that people believe it is special. This teaches Po the true meaning of the dragon scroll. He realizes that the scroll is not actually blank—it’s reflective; it’s meant to show the person reading it a reflection of themselves. The first Kung Fu Panda movie received the highest rating on the survey at 4.5 stars out of 5. Unquestionably, the first Kung Fu Panda movie is a perfect movie.
That said, I personally believe that Kung Fu Panda 2 is the best of the series. It’s a unique children’s movie because its villain is unquestionably evil. He has no redeeming qualities, no sympathetic motivation, and his backstory only makes him more evil. Throughout the movie, the villain is trying to actually kill the main characters and kill the entire panda village, which is pretty dark for a kids’ movie. This was a risky choice for a kids’ movie to be so dark, but I think it was executed well and makes the movie stand out against the others. Overall, the setting, storyline, and unique choices make Kung Fu Panda 2 the best of the series (in my opinion).
