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A
- Absurdly Long Stairway: The stairs from the village up to the Jade Palace are epicly long. Po is twice shown having to urgently climb them only to arrive exhausted at the top, starting his long-lasting hatred of stairs.
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: The Sword of Heroes, which is said to be so sharp that you can cut yourself from just looking at it, and indeed, Po manages to do just that.
- Accidental Athlete: Po, who was previously thought to be hopelessly clumsy, inadvertently demonstrates his agility when he climbs up some shelves in order to steal some cookies.
- Acrofatic: Po, after his training, becomes just as agile and powerful as the Furious Five in spite of his weight. He even manages weaponize it against his enemies or use it to defend himself from Tai Lung's nerve attack.
- Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene: Po and Shifu's nighttime argument on the temple steps.
- Action Girl: Tigress and Viper, with different martial styles: Tigress fights aggressively with hard-hitting strikes, while Viper fights through misdirection and grace.
- Actor Allusion:
- Adaptation Expansion: The video game contains a number of scenes not present (or at least directly shown) in the movie, including an explanation of how Po learned the Wuxi Finger Hold.
- Adaptational Badass: In the video game, Shifu fares much better during his fight with Tai Lung, even managing to put him on the ropes, only being defeated with a surprise attack at the end, whereas in the movie itself he never manages to land a clear hit on Tail Lung and is on the receiving end of Curb-Stomp Battle.
- Adaptational Heroism: In the video game, Tai Lung is at first reluctant to attack Shifu when they meet again at the palace, instead simply asking to hand over the Scroll. It's after he's rebuked that he finally lashes out with an attack.
- An Aesop:
- You can improve yourself. It may take a lot of work, effort, and dedication to get there, but it is never impossible.
- There is no "secret ingredient" to greatness; real life doesn't come with cheat codes. Greatness comes from within.
- There are no bad students, only unskilled teachers.
- The best way to get revenge on your naysayers is to prove them wrong.
- Even if you don't fit the standard for what is usually required, you can still achieve your dream. All that truly matters is your determination. And the thing you might think is holding you back could be what helps you succeed and do what others haven't been able to do.
- Affectionate Parody: Of martial arts movies.
- Again with Feeling: Po realizes why the scroll is blank this way. When his adoptive father explains that there is no secret to making delicious Noodle Soup and that the only thing that makes it special is the fact that he believes it is, Po calmly states "There is no secret ingredient." He happily repeats it before rushing off to fight Tai Lung after all.
- All for Nothing:
- Shifu sends Zeng to Chorh-Gom Prison, telling him to double their protective efforts. Vachir refuses to do so, instead personally showing Zeng only the tip of the iceberg of what they have to stop Tai Lung if he tries to escape. Even if Vachir wanted to follow up on Shifu's request, Tai Lung escapes before he can make that happen.
- Shifu has had no luck grooming any of his students for the position of Dragon Warrior. Tai Lung, who had the greatest potential ends up being refused by Oogway and the Furious Five, despite years of training, are not chosen because the "universal accident" that had Po arrive during the choosing ceremony.
- Tai Lung's relentless training shaped him as the perfect physical candidate to be the Dragon Warrior but Shifu neglected his spiritual training which led to a darkness in his heart that disqualified him. Even when Tai Lung actually does obtain the Scroll, he is unable to understand the spiritual lesson it imparts, showing he was never qualified to be the Dragon Warrior even when Po tries to explain the meaning to him.
- All of the Other Reindeer: Tweaked a bit in that, long before the climax of the film, Po has already gone a long way towards earning the respect of most of the Furious Five, because of his Heroic Resolve in facing his hopeless Training from Hell without complaint. Also, he's a genuinely Nice Guy, a good storyteller, and an excellent cook.
- All That Glitters: The Dragon Scroll is said to impart enormous power upon those who read it and is the ultimate reward for the one chosen to be the Dragon Warrior. It turns out the power revealed by the Scroll is spiritual. The Scroll itself is just a shiny surface that functions as a mirror, showing the image of the person looking at it, because the power, skill and value are all within them, not the scroll. It's telling that Tai Lung exclaims at his own reflection that ''it's nothing''. The fact that Shifu also doesn't understand the meaning of the Scroll shows that he misunderstood what the Dragon Warrior is supposed to be all along. Admittedly, Po himself doesn't get it at first, either. He needs a "Eureka!" Moment from his father to realize what it means.
- All There in the Manual: The backstories of the Furious Five are not provided in the movies, but is provided in the DVD-only animated short "The Secrets of the Furious Five".
- Alternative Foreign Theme Song: The Japanese version uses "Your Seed"
by Hey!Say!JUMP as the theme song. - Analogy Backfire:
- Shifu says during the Illusion of Control scene, "But there are things I can control!" and proceeds to kick the tree, causing the peaches to fall around him. "I can control when the fruit will fall!" A late-falling peach then lands on his head.
- Oogway first says "There are no accidents" as Po is being carried off on a litter after being hailed as the Dragon Warrior. Po then falls through the litter.
- Animal Stereotypes: Played straight in some cases, subverted for all they're worth in others. Notably, Viper is the nicest member of the Furious Five, despite snakes and vipers being predatory animals.
- Animal-Themed Fighting Style: The Furious Five are a more literal case of this, as they are anthropomorphic animals whose fighting styles are based on real-life animal form martial arts. Tai Lung, who is a snow leopard, uses the leopard style. And Po, the eponymous panda, primarily uses bear style.
- Answer Cut:Oogway: [serenely] It is time.
Shifu: But who?? Who is worthy to be trusted with the secret to limitless power?
Oogway: [shrugging] I don't know!
[cut to Po clumsily weaving through the noodle shop customers] - The Anticipator: Master Shifu likely instructed the Furious Five to try to ambush him that day, but he couldn't know where or how. Nonetheless, Master Shifu easily thwarts all five forays against him, giving a critique on their technique as he does so.
- Apologetic Attacker: Viper apologizes to Po for flipping him and hurting him. He responds by laughing and asking to go again.
- Arc Symbol: Oddly enough, stairs. It's a fitting visual illustration for Po's entire character — he's so out of shape that it takes him a hilariously long time to get up any set of stairs, but he always reaches the top somehow. Each time Po has a major scene on a stairway, it marks an important milestone in his Character Development:
- Trying to climb the stairs up to the palace to get to the tournament of the Dragon Warrior. It takes him a painfully long time to climb barely a half-a-dozen steps, forcing him to leave behind the cumbersome noodle cart that was holding him back. And by the time he reaches the top, the tournament is underway and the doors to the palace are shutting.
- On his first day of "training", Shifu eventually knocks him out of the training hall and down the stairway. Tigress says if he's smart, he won't climb the stairs and come back, but the rest of the Furious Five know he will.
- Later, he tries to flee the Jade Temple when he learns that Tai Lung has escaped from prison and is headed his way, but Shifu stops him at the stairway. The two of them share an emotionally charged argument, where Po manages to leave Shifu speechless when he points out that neither of them think he'll ever be able to be the Dragon Warrior. This is our first big bombshell about how complex a person Po really is, where it's shown that his self-loathing runs far deeper than simply "not being able to do Kung Fu."
- Finally, he climbs the stairs again in the climax to rescue Shifu from Tai Lung. He's still badly out of breath this time — but he wins the fight with Tai Lung anyway, because at this point he's learned that becoming a master of Kung Fu doesn't rely on physical strength alone.
- Arc Words: "There are no accidents."
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Tai Lung. Also, Tigress; there are plenty of parallels between her and Tai Lung, which is why Shifu is so harsh towards her.
- Artistic Age: Type 2; Given that these are animals, it's hard to determine anyone's specific age. According to Secrets of the Furious Five and the sequel, Tigress and Crane are mentioned to at least be in their 30s or 40s, so it's safe to assume that other members of the Five and Po are about the same. The sequel confirms Po's age. Po was a baby when Shen massacred his home village 30 years ago, so he's 31, give or take a year. However, the third film has Mr. Ping mention that he hid the truth from Po about his adoption for 20 years.
- Artistic License – Biology:
- All of the various characters seem to have around the same level of physical strength, despite being radically different species. Mantis is portrayed as having Super-Strength as he is able to bear the weight of an entire rope bridge and his four allies and Tai Lung.
- Po claims he doesn't have claws or any other natural weapons. Pandas, like all bears, have claws, as well as teeth, and can be very ferocious animals when provoked. Bears Are Bad News applies to pandas as well.
- Tai Lung has too many incisor teeth.
- This film may be about Talking Animals, but the fact remains - snow leopards are physically incapable of roaring. They make squeaky yowling noises instead.
- Artistic License – Physics: Mantis seems to be given Super-Strength as he is shown performing feats of strength that would be impossible for a human-sized kung fu master, let alone an insect only a few inches tall. However, the biggest license is taken when he supports the bridge during the fight with Tai Lung. Regardless of his level of strength, he simply does not have the mass to be able to hold the bridge aloft.
- Art Shift: The introduction scene uses a significantly different art style than the rest of the film.
- Ascended Fanboy: The whole story is built around kung fu fan Po becoming a kung fu master himself.
- Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: Oogway dematerializes in a cloud of peach blossoms petals.
- Ass Kicking Pose: All over the place, but a subtle, easy to miss example gives you an early glimpse of how Tigress will act towards Po. After he crashlands in the Jade Palace, the POV shot from Po shows the Furious Five all looking at him with looks that are a mix of confusion and concern... except for Tigress, who looks like she's about to cold-cock him.
- Ass Kicks You: When Tai Lung and Po finally meet, Tai Lung mocks him in precisely this manner. "What are you going to do, big guy? Sit on me?" This is exactly what happens when the two are tumbling down the long stairs from the temple.
- Audible Gleam: Somehow, the final dumpling has this when Po finally wins it.
- Autopilot Artistry: When Po tries to focus on learning kung fu the traditional way, he simply isn't good at it despite his efforts. However, one morning Shifu discovers Po performing some incredible physical feats in order to get food concealed in high cupboards and shelves. Po initially dismisses this, saying he was just looking for comfort food and didn't even realise what he'd done, but this leads Shifu to realise he can train Po; he just has to adjust his training methods to best suit the student. Shifu later lampshades this:Shifu: When you focus on kung fu, when you concentrate...you stink. But perhaps that is my fault. I cannot train you the way I have trained the Five. I now see that the way to get through to you, is with this.[pulls out a bowl of dumplings]
- Awesomeness Is a Force: The former Trope Namer. Its over-exposure can cause blindness.
B
- Badass Adorable: Baby Tai Lung and Tigress.
- Badass Boast:
- Also qualifying as an Insult Backfire is Po's "I'm not a big fat panda... I'm THE Big Fat Panda!"
- Shifu's first line is both an insult and a Badass Boast. Five kung-fu masters ambush him from different directions...Shifu: Well done, students! — if you were trying to disappoint me!
- Badass Crew: The Furious Five, naturally. The bridge fight with Tai Lung shows just how well-earned their title as the top kung fu masters of China are.
- Bait-and-Switch:
- Referenced in Po's quote at the top of this page: what looks to be a moment of awesomeness instead falls flat, literally... Only to be Doubly Subverted when, just as he's about to get up and go home, the firecrackers have a delayed ignition.
- The second day of Po's "training" starts off with Shifu and the Five thinking Po has quit (much to Shifu’s and Tigress’s pleasure) when they discover that his room was empty. When they get to the Training Hall, they're shocked to find that Po actually woke up earlier than everybody else to get started on that day’s training (and somehow got himself stuck in the device used to hone flexibility).
- At the end, when Shifu is lying wounded on the ground and slowly closes his eyes:Shifu: Thank you, Po. Thank you... thank you...
Po: ...No! No, Master Shifu, don't die!
Shifu: [suddenly opens eyes] I'm not dying, you idiot! - Our first glimpse of Mr. Ping is the shadow he casts on the ground. The way the shadow is shaped is a clear outline of a panda head, but then the scene reveals that he is a goose, and the shadow is formed by him and the objects he's holding.
- After a depressed Po is not motivated by Mr. Ping calling them "noodle folk", he says "Honestly, sometimes I can't believe I'm actually your son." When Mr. Ping looks sheepish and says he going to tell Po "something he should have told him a long time ago", the audience is fully expecting a reveal about Po being adopted. Instead, he gives him the secret of his Secret Ingredient Soup.
- Bait-and-Switch Comment:
- Shifu on his first assessment of Po.Shifu: When you focus on Kung Fu, when you concentrate... you stink.
- Crane frees Po after he gets caught trying to do the split.Crane: Don't mention it. Ever.
- Shifu on his first assessment of Po.
- Bait-and-Switch Silhouette:
- In Mr. Ping's first scene, Po comes downstairs with a shadow resembling a panda on the floor in front of him. The camera then shows that the shadow is from Mr. Ping holding a bunch of pots and bags in front of himself, which he puts aside to reveal to the audience that Po's father is actually a goose.
- After the final battle, Po walks toward the crowd surrounded by a dust cloud so that his silhouette matches the legendary warrior from his opening dream, complete with a rounded hat and a cape billowing in the wind. After the dust clears, it turns out he has a wok as his "hat" and an apron as his "cape".
- Battle Cry:Po: GET READY TO FEEL THE THUNDER!
- Bears Are Bad News: Inverted. Po is a giant softie and thinks he'd make an incompetent fighter because he's a panda. Justified, in that Tai Lung's first response to finding out a panda is the Dragon Warrior is to mock him. Apparently, the idea is commonplace in this world. Until Po beats up Tai Lung, that is.
- Because Destiny Says So: The reason Shifu gives when he finally decided to train Po. Of course, the reality is quite different, given he wasn't so receptive in the beginning.
- Behind the Black: When Shifu reveals to Po and the Five that Tai Lung has escaped, neither Shifu or the Five notice Po sneaking out of the room in plain sight.
- Beware the Silly Ones: Po is a compassionate guy who can make awesome noodle soup and has a sense of humor. Tai Lung finds out just how dangerous a panda can be in combat after he taunts Po about "sitting" on him.
- Beyond the Impossible: When Tai Lung escapes, there's a moment where he jumps on falling rocks at a rate faster than at which they're falling, and fighting against gravity. This allows him to reach the prison's stalactites, and the dynamite attached to them. Vachir goes This Is Gonna Suck.
- Be Yourself: The lesson of the Dragon Scroll is the epitome of this principle which is the true heart of all styles of Kung Fu. One masters a style of Kung Fu that resonates best with one's true self. Shifu failed as a teacher to train Po in the hard styles of the Furious Five, but succeeded when he trained Po using food as the motivator. Po succeeded in Kung Fu when he stopped trying to imitate the Furious Five and developed his own "panda style". The Scroll had a mirror surface showing the image of the person looking at it, because the power, skill and value are all within them, not bestowed by the Scroll.
- Big Damn Heroes: Po's arrival just when Tai Lung is about to kill Shifu. Simultaneously played straight and parodied (he arrives just in time... but is almost completely exhausted from running up the many stairs to the Jade Palace).
- Big Eater: Po, of course, but Shifu is not far behind. During Po's training montage, you see him pack away a large amount of food in only a few seconds.
- Big Shadow, Little Creature:
- When Po says, "Hi Dad", the camera shows a panda-shaped shadow, but it turns out to be Ping, a duck — the panda shadow was caused by a sack he was carrying.
- When Po returns from his fight with Tai Lung, he seems to be dressed exactly like the Dragon Warrior Po from his fantasy. No, just a wok on his head and table clothes draped on him.
- Big "WHAT?!": Oogway selecting Po to be the Dragon Warrior results in this trope ensuing from several different parties: Po himself, the Furious Five, Shifu, and Mr. Ping all get a turn to react.
- Bilingual Bonus:
- Every ideogram which appears.
- Oogway is Chinese for "turtle". (Making the character "Master Turtle")
- Shifu is Chinese for "teacher/father". Since he is a red panda he couldn't be called "Master Panda".
- Tai Lung means Big/Great Dragon, which just shows how much ambition Shifu placed in his student/adopted son to be the Dragon Warrior.
- Chorh-Gom Prison's name is Cantonese for "Sitting in prison" or just "In prison".
- Blank Book: The Dragon Scroll. Since this is Kung Fu Panda it's actually a Type 4. The Dragon Scroll has a reflective surface that hides a Secret Test of Character; only people who could look at themselves and believe they are truly special are able to achieve greatness.
- Both Sides Have a Point:
- Oogway and Shifu have a discussion about how control is an illusion. Oogway uses the peach tree as an example: you cannot control when the fruit will bloom, or how fast they will grow. Shifu counters that you can decide when to pluck the fruit, and plant the seeds. Oogway wins the argument by saying certain things are fixed, no matter how much control you exert on the tree, you can't make it bloom anything but a peach. This leads to the paradoxical lesson, you're able to gain more control over life when you accept those things that are beyond your power.
- During their fight, Tai Lung and Shifu bring up legitimate points about their behavior. Shifu points out that Tai Lung didn't have to give into wrath and betray his master or the Valley of Peace. Tai Lung retorts that he spent his life pleasing Shifu and training for hours to earn a destiny he ultimately couldn't claim. Shifu concedes that he was more in the wrong when Tai Lung wins the fight.
- Break the Haughty: Tai Lung gets one over the course of his life. He's raised by a doting kung fu master, who told him he was destined to be the Dragon Warrior. Then Oogway denies him, and he gets locked up after trying to take the scroll by force. Even though he makes his escape and defeats Shifu's new students, Tai Lung finds out the scroll has nothing but a reflective surface. Then he gets thrashed by an amateur panda who turns all his attacks against him and gives him the Wuxi Finger Hold.
- Brief Accent Imitation: Po imitates Master Shifu's voice when doing an impression of him after he's cooked dinner for the Furious Five. It's funny enough to get most of them (except Tigress) guffawing.
- Brutal Honesty: When Po points out that Shifu tried to get rid of him ever since he came to the Jade Palace, Shifu admits it, saying that he was.
- Bullet Time: Played straight as often as it is parodied.
- Bullying a Dragon: Vichir harasses Tai Lung by telling him he's not getting what drove him to villainy and nonchalantly stomping on his tail to see how apparently "weakened" he is. It ends as well as you'd expect.Vachir: Hey, tough guy! Did you hear? Oogway is about to give someone the Dragon Scroll, and it's not gonna be you.
Zeng: What are you doing? Don't make him mad!
Vachir: What's he gonna do? I've got him completely immobilized. [Deliberately stomps on Tai Lung's tail and laughs it off] Oh, did I step on the widdle kitty's tail? Aw.
Zeng: [after watching Tai Lung barrel his way through all of Chorh-Gom's security measures and guards and landing right in front of him] Can we run now??
Vachir: [basically peeing his pants] Yes. - Butt-Monkey:
- Po, for most of the movie. He gives the "Butt Monkey Ball" to Tai Lung near the end of the film.
- Appropriately, Monkey also gets the most Butt Monkey moments out of all the Furious Five.
C
- Call-Back:
- Po raids Monkey's almond cookie stash after Shifu tells him where Monkey hides it. During the end credits, Monkey is confused at finding his stash empty as Po stands in the hallway nearby with almond cookie crumbs on his mouth indicating that Po continues to raid the cookies.
- Also during the end credits, Zeng attempts to fix the Urn of Whispering Warriors which Po accidentally broke upon entering the Jade Palace.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Near the end of the movie, Tai Lung gives Shifu one, basically calling him out saying "I spent my life training for a goal you said I was destined for but didn't have the authority to actually grant." Shifu apologizes for his mistakes he made raising Tai Lung but Tai Lung declares that he doesn't want an apology and proceeds to strangle his former master, claws raised.Tai Lung: I rotted in jail for 20 years, because of your weakness!
Shifu: Obeying your master is not weakness!
Tai Lung: You knew I was the Dragon Warrior! You always knew. But when Oogway said otherwise, what did you do? What did you do?! NOTHING!
Shifu: You were not meant to be the Dragon Warrior! That was not my fault!
Tai Lung: [furious] Not. Your. Fault?! Who filled my head with dreams?! Who drove me to train until my bones cracked?! Who denied me my destiny!? - Call to Adventure: Hilariously played with. Po jumps at the call, then stays on even as everyone mocks him, then runs screaming from the call, saying he isn't the Dragon Warrior, when he realizes that he'll have to go up against Tai Lung.
- Captain Obvious: Tai Lung fills this role nicely when he meets the Dragon Warrior and learns he's a panda.Tai Lung: [to Shifu] He's a panda! [to Po] You're a panda!
- Carnivore Confusion: About the only foods shown in the movie are noodles, peaches, almond cookies, soup, and dumplings. The subject of meat (felines are obligate carnivores) never comes up as Tigress is shown eating tofu. According to Word Of God, all the animals are vegetarians which is necessary in this world to avoid a Sapient Eat Sapient scenario.
- Cassandra Truth: Everybody, up to and including Po himself, believed that Oogway selecting him as the Dragon Warrior was a complete accident. However, "There are no accidents." Cue Po actually going from a kung fu fanboy to the Dragon Warrior.
- Cats Are Mean: Tai Lung, a snow leopard who represents Leopard Kung Fu, and Tigress, who represents the more strength-oriented Tiger Kung Fu.
- Centipede's Dilemma: Initially, Po can't do the most basic kung fu maneuvers but can perform impressive feats of acrobatics while trying to get food. Fittingly, when it's pointed out to him he's ten feet off the ground in a perfect split he falls flat on his face.
- Chef of Iron: Once Po is trained, he's a Type 1.
- Chekhov's Gun:
- During the acupuncture scene, Mantis points out that he can't do the procedure correctly because Po's body fat keeps getting in the way. This protects Po when Tai Lung tries to utilize a Pressure Point attack against him.
- The recipe for "Secret Ingredient Soup", which Mr. Ping promised to reveal to Po actually provides Po with the answer to the Dragon Scroll: there is no secret ingredient, it's what you do yourself to make it good.
- The Wuxi Finger Hold, which is held by Shifu against an intimidated Po, is the very kung-fu move the latter uses to defeat Tai Lung
- Chewing the Scenery:Tai Lung: Our battle will be legendary!
- Chilly Reception: Oogway's selection of Po was not initially accepted by any of the other masters and they made no secret of their disdain (Tigress especially), but Po warms up the atmosphere in due time with his humor and cooking.
- The Chooser of the One: Master Oogway chooses who becomes the Dragon Warrior.
- The Chosen One: The Dragon Warrior is the mystical kung fu master who will bring peace to the valley (and to Shifu as well, as it turns out). Half this movie is dedicated to whether or not Po really is the right Chosen One.
- Citywide Evacuation: Towards the film's end, the Furious Five evacuate the Valley so they won't be in Tai Lung's warpath when he arrives.
- Color Motif:
- Word Of God says the color gold was used to symbolize heroism in the film and Po's training sequence is tinged with gold. Tai Lung's eyes are also gold — because in his eyes, he is the hero of the story. The same applies to the gold-eyed Tigress, who was supposed to be chosen to become the Dragon Warrior until Po came along.
- Word Of God says that green represents wisdom (the reason why Po's eyes are green: he has the capacity for great wisdom). In the film's color theory white, orange and brown represent honor, energy and dedication (the reason why Shifu's design incorporates all three, "to visually support [his] character traits").
- Combat Pragmatist:
- The Five ambush Tai Lung on the bridge, gang up on him from every direction, tie him up, cut the bridge, and drop him into the gorge. They straight up try to end the fight as quickly as possible, because he's that big a threat.
- Po uses anything he comes across in the final battle, from noodles, bent over trees, woks, roof tiles, bamboo sticks to his opponent's own tail.
- Comfort Food: Po eats when he's upset, which he admits himself.
- Conveniently Empty Building: The film takes the time to justify this trope. Realizing they can't help him stop Tai Lung, Shifu commands the students to do the next best thing, and organize the evacuation of the town. When Po and Tai Lung tear their way through many buildings in the final battle, there's no collateral damage to worry about.
- Covert Pervert: In the scene when Tigress performs a split and breaks the plates that Shifu throws as a demonstration of flexibility, Po's reaction is one of Nerdgasm and when Tigress lands in front of Po, his face implies that he might well be admiring her ass.
- Creative Closing Credits: Done in the same fashion as the opening sequence. First it's the animated cast, then pictures depicting slices of their lives after the end of the movie. Some are heartwarming.
- Cue the Sun: As the morning sun comes up, Shifu discovers the solution of how to train Po. It's also dawn when Po shows up to face Tai Lung and defeat him.
- Cynical Mentor: Shifu became this after Tai Lung's turn to evil.
D
- Darkest Hour: All the heroes have a soul-crushingly heartrending night when Master Oogway, the one who stopped Tai Lung before and the only one who has faith in Po as the Dragon Warrior, dies, leaving Master Shifu with a seemingly impossible promise to train the fat panda, while Po now fully realizes how hopeless he truly is on top of his profound self-loathing that even Shifu cannot alleviate while Tigress and the rest of the Five feel no other choice but to defy their master and set out to stop Tai Lung themselves despite his prohibition.
- Dead Hat Shot: The last we see of Vachir is his golden horn cover landing in the snow.
- Deadly Dodging: Po dodges a bite from Tai Lung, getting him to bite his own tail instead.
- Death Course: The training dojo includes a wide variety of deadly obstacles that the Furious Five use for their daily training. When Po tries it on his first day, he's quickly pulverized.
- Defrosting Ice Queen:
- Tigress is rigid, tough and disciplined due to Shifu being her Cynical Mentor after Tai Lung turned evil. We see a sign of her softening when she gives a smile to the Furious Five after they decide to follow her and take on Tai Lung together. As she accepts that Po has earned the role of Dragon Warrior that she thought she was being prepared for and that Master Shifu has obtained peace over his failure with Tai Lung, she herself is able to mellow even further.
- The male equivalent with Shifu. He only starts smiling after doing the When You Snatch the Pebble test with Po, and comes back smiling and able to exchange playful jokes with Po.
- Department of Redundancy Department: The opening has Po narrating that "Legend tells of a legendary warrior whose kung fu skills were the stuff of legend," as well as mentioning the "most heroic heroes of China" and the "thousand demons of Demon Mountain".
- Determinator:
- For most of his training, Po refuses to give up no matter how badly he's beaten to a pulp or insulted by everyone around him, until he comes to feel that even "the greatest kung fu teacher in all of China" couldn't make him anything more than just some ordinary schmuck.
- Tai Lung hasn't given up on claiming the Dragon Scroll after twenty years of imprisonment.
- Deus Exit Machina: The main reason Master Oogway dies is so he's not available to use his nerve attack to deal with Tai Lung because he knows that Shifu won't successfully train Po as the Dragon Warrior as long as he never forgives himself for Tai Lung’s rise to villainy and keeps relying on Oogway.
- Did You Think I Can't Feel?: Po's Rage Against the Mentor speech to Shifu at the stairs. Underneath Po's jovial facade is a panda with self-loathing, who was greatly hurt by abuse and insults, including those Shifu threw at him in order to get him to leave. Shifu didn't realize the depth of Po's feelings and desires until this point leading to a My God, What Have I Done? moment... which is subtly shared by Tigress who was eavesdropping on the conversation.
- Died Happily Ever After: Played straight with Master Oogway. Parodied at the end with Master Shifu, who ends up surviving his fight with Tai Lung but was exhausted from doing so.
- Disability Immunity: Po is so chubby that Tai Lung's pressure-point attacks don't work on him, only succeeding in tickling him.
- Dislikes the New Guy: The Furious Five and Shifu dislike Oogway's decision to select Po as the Dragon Warrior.
- Distant Reaction Shot: The ultimate defeat of Tai Lung isn't shown directly, but from afar people are shown as seeing a big explosion. Could also be a Gory Discretion Shot, considering that Shifu said that the hardest part of the Wuxi Finger Hold was cleaning up afterward.
- A Dog Named "Dog": The Furious Five are only ever called Tigress, Viper, Crane, Mantis, and Monkey. Although, given that Shifu tends to call Po "Panda", they might actually have names...
- "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: Jack Black sings "Kung Fu Fighting" with Cee-Lo Green during the end credits.
- Don't Think, Feel:
- As Shifu explains to Po, when he concentrates on doing Kung Fu he stinks, but when he takes his mind off of it (like when he wants food) he shows a great deal of natural skill and potential. All that was needed was for it to be unlocked and grown.
- The reverse is true, too. Shifu admits that he was trying too hard to train Po as he did the others, and that he had to take a non-traditional route with Po.
- Doorstop Baby: Tai Lung was found by Shifu at the door of Jade Palace.
- Double Don't Know: How Shifu responds to Po's Armor-Piercing Question of just how he intends to turn a clumsy, overweight panda into The Chosen One. It's fairly well-executed: an agitated Shifu shouts the first "I don't know", takes a moment to calm himself, then repeats it in a much more resigned tone.
- Do Wrong, Right: Shifu forbids the Furious Five from engaging with Tai Lung, but after watching Shifu fail to explain how he can make Po into the Dragon Warrior, Tigress goes off to stop Tai Lung herself. She is quickly pursued by rest of the Furious Five only to be told they don't want to stop her but that they are coming with her.
- Dragons Up the Yin Yang: The Dragon Scroll, which is held in the jaws of a giant dragon statue. The taijitu also appears as The Pool of Sacred Tears, as well as the symbol on the back of Oogway's cloak.
- Dramatic Thunder: Occurs during the messenger's flight to Tai Lung's prison, and his flight back from it. Again during the fight between Tai Lung and Shifu.
- Dramatic Wind: After the climactic fight, Po walks toward the crowd surrounded by a dust cloud so that his silhouette matches the legendary warrior from his opening dream, complete with a rounded hat and a cape billowing in the wind. It's Played for Laughs because the wind that billows his cape does not disturb the dust cloud at all and it stops the instant he emerges from the dust to reveal a wok as his "hat" and an apron as his "cape".
- Dramedy: For all the humor and action, there is a powerful theme about family and heroism in the story.
- Dreaming of Things to Come: The movie intro has Po dreaming of himself being an uber-awesome legendary kung-fu warrior, who is a respected friend of the Furious Five. After defeating Tai Lung, Po emerges from the dust casting a silhouette that resembles his dream warrior image only to be confronted by the Furious Five who bow in respect and call him a master.
- Dream Intro: The intro starts with Po being an uber-awesome legendary kung fu warrior and then Po wakes up, revealing that that was just a dream and he's just the son of a noodle cook.
- DreamWorks Face: Look at the poster.
- Dying Moment of Awesome: Oogway's ascension to the Spirit Realm is marked by a storm of petals carrying him into the air.
