Kung Fu Panda 2 is a 2011 American computer-animated martial arts comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film is the sequel to Kung Fu Panda (2008) and the second installment in the Kung Fu Panda franchise. It was directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson (in her feature directorial debut) and written by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger. The film stars Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, James Hong, and Jackie Chan reprising their character roles from the first film, with Gary Oldman, Michelle Yeoh, Danny McBride, Dennis Haysbert, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Victor Garber voicing new characters. In the film, Po and his allies (Tigress, Monkey, Viper, Crane, and Mantis) travel to Gongmen City to stop the evil peacock Lord Shen from conquering China, while also rediscovering Po's forgotten past.
The film was released in theaters on May 26. The Rotten Tomatoes critical consensus says it "offers enough action, comedy, and visual sparkle to compensate" for its familiar plot. It grossed $665 million worldwide against its $150 million budget, becoming the highest-grossing film directed by a female director until Frozen (2013), as well as the highest-grossing film solely directed by a female director until Wonder Woman (2017). It is also the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2011, and the highest-grossing animated feature film of the year. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 84th Academy Awards, losing to Rango. Nelson became the second woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, after Marjane Satrapi for Persepolis (2007). It was followed by Kung Fu Panda 3 in 2016 and Kung Fu Panda 4 in 2024.
Plot[]
Years prior before Po became the Dragon Warrior, the peacock rulers of Gongmen City invented fireworks for peaceful purposes, but their son, Lord Shen, discovered that the gunpowder used in firecrackers could be used as a weapon. Worried by Shen's obsession, his parents consulted a soothsayer, who told them that if he continued too far down this path, he would be stopped by "a warrior of black and white." Overhearing the prophecy, Shen deduced that the warrior would be a panda, and led his wolf army to exterminate the local panda village. Horrified by the genocide, Shen's parents banished him. In the present, Shen and his army raid villages for scrap metal, hoping to build cannons which Shen can use to conquer all of China.
Meanwhile, Po is enjoying his new life as a Kung Fu Master alongside the Furious Five, though Master Shifu warns him he has not yet achieved inner peace. When the wolf army raids another village, Po and the Five intercept them; however, a symbol on the leader’s armor which resembles a red eye gives Po a flashback of his mother. Po questions his father Mr. Ping, and the goose reveals that he found Po as an infant in a shipment of radishes outside his restaurant. When no one came forward to claim the cub, Mr. Ping adopted Po as his son. Po and the Five are dispatched across the sea to Gongmen City next, after learning Shen killed Master Thundering Rhino, a regent of the city, with a cannon. Shen imprisons the other regents, Masters Ox and Croc, and takes over the city. However, the soothsayer constantly reminds him of the prophecy.
Upon arrival at Gongmen City, Po and the Five free Masters Ox and Croc, but the duo refuses to help, believing kung fu died with Master Rhino. Po and the Five feign surrender to Shen, secretly replacing Master Mantis with a dummy. The real Mantis frees the others once they are inside the palace; they destroy one cannon, but Po sees the same familiar symbol on Shen's plumage, which distracts him long enough for Shen to escape and destroy Gongmen Palace with his cannonade. Once the Masters are safe, Tigress demands answers, and Po reveals he has remembered Shen was there the day he last saw his biological parents. Tigress sympathizes but fears Po's lack of focus will get him killed. The Five abandon Po for his safety, and proceed to Shen's cannon factory with the intent to blow it up.
However, Po follows and confronts Shen, inadvertently spoiling the plan and allowing the Five to be captured. Shen lies and says Po's parents hated him, and shoots him with a cannon. Badly wounded but alive, Po floats downriver and is rescued by the soothsayer. She tells him about the panda genocide, and encourages him to embrace his past. Po, finally achieving inner peace, is able to recall that his father went down fighting, while his mother hid him in a radish crate and drew off Shen's army so he could survive. Rejuvenated, Po returns to Gongmen City, where Shen is sailing downriver with his cannons and army. Po frees the Five, and with the help of Masters Ox, Croc, and Shifu, they are able to wreck the foremost ships and prevent the army from reaching the harbor. Lord Shen fires a cannon, killing some of his own soldiers, to clear the way.
Po stands alone against Shen, using his newfound inner peace skills to deflect all the cannonballs shot at him back at the fleet, destroying it. Po offers mercy to Shen, but Shen rejects it and attacks Po with a spear. This accidentally severs the lines holding up one of the cannons, and it falls onto the ship, killing Shen. Po is congratulated by Shifu and the Five; returning to the Valley, Po reaffirms his identity as Mr. Ping's son, and his love for his adopted father. Meanwhile, at a secret panda village in the mountains, Po's biological father is revealed to still be living, and senses his son is still alive.
Voice cast[]
Main article: List of Kung Fu Panda characters
- Jack Black as Master Po, a giant panda and the Dragon Warrior
- Liam Knight as Baby Po
- Angelina Jolie as Master Tigress, a South China tiger and the leader of the Furious Five
- Gary Oldman as Lord Shen, a power hungry red-and-white peacock
- Michelle Yeoh as Soothsayer, a wise, old goat
- Seth Rogen as Master Mantis, a Chinese mantis and a member of the Furious Five
- Lucy Liu as Master Viper, a green tree-viper and a member of the Furious Five
- David Cross as Master Crane, a red-crowned crane and a member of the Furious Five
- Jackie Chan as Master Monkey, a golden snub-nosed monkey and a member of the Furious Five
- James Hong as Mr. Ping, Po's adoptive Chinese goose father
- Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu, an elderly red panda and Po's wise master
- Dennis Haysbert as Master Storming Ox, an ox and kung fu master
- Jean-Claude Van Damme as Master Croc, a saltwater crocodile and kung fu master
- Victor Garber as Master Thundering Rhino, an Indian rhinoceros and kung fu master
- Danny McBride as Wolf Boss, a Eurasian wolf with one eye and the leader of Shen's army
- Fred Tatasciore as Li Shan (credited as "Panda Dad"), a giant panda Po's biological father
- Lauren Tom as Market Sheep
- Conrad Vernon as Boar
Soundtrack[]
Main article: Kung Fu Panda 2 (soundtrack)
Kung Fu Panda 2 is the soundtrack of the film of the same name, collaboratively scored by Hans Zimmer and John Powell and originally released on May 24, 2011.