Po (Jack Black)

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Po made his debut in Kung Fu Panda (2008) as an anthropomorphic giant panda who is chosen to become the prophesied Dragon Warrior. In the first film, Po is dubbed the Dragon Warrior by Master Oogway, much to the protest of Po and his fellow masters. During his training, Master Shifu and the Furious Five make no secret of their disdain for Po, assigning him rough physical activities in the hope of discouraging him. Shifu uses Po's love of food in a custom training regimen, which demonstrates Po's skill in combat. Po learns from his adoptive father, Mr. Ping, that the secret ingredient of his 'Secret Ingredient Soup' is nothing; instead, people only had to believe it was special. With this advice, Po realizes that the scroll's true empowering symbolic value is that with enough dedication, someone can make the best version of themselves. Encouraged, Po challenges Tai Lung in a climactic battle and defeats him with an improvised combat style, using his body fat as a shield. Amazed by his new talent, the Furious Five finally acknowledge Po as a true kung fu master.

In Their Own Story

In Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011), the villainous peacock Lord Shen's wolf forces perform a raid looking for refined metal to use in Shen's cannons. Po discovers that Mr. Ping, a Chinese goose, is not his birth father, but adopted him. Po is still hampered with paralyzing flashbacks, especially at the sight of the symbol on Lord Shen's plumage. Po, now able to recall all his memories of being orphaned, finds inner peace in light of recalling the happy and fulfilling life with his loved ones in the Valley of Peace. By achieving tranquility, Po defeats Lord Shen's fleet by grabbing the fired projectiles and returning them to destroy their launchers. Po saves China while cementing his reputation as one of the mightiest warriors. In Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016), Po is promoted to teacher when Shifu decides to retire. The arrival of Li Shan, Po's biological father, causes Mr. Ping's jealousy. Po decides to learn the power of chi from the inhabitants of the panda village. When Kai attacks the village with his jade army, Po grabs Kai and sends them both to the Spirit Realm, where they battle again. Li, Tigress, Mr. Ping and the other pandas use their chi to save Po, causing him to generate a dragon-shaped chi avatar to defeat Kai. In the aftermath, Oogway appears to Po and reveals that he chose Po as the Dragon Warrior because he is a descendant of the ancient pandas who helped him centuries ago and that Po is the physical embodiment of the Yin and Yang, the rightful successor. Oogway presents him with a mystical jade staff. In Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024), Po is set to become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace. In doing so, he must step down as the Dragon Warrior and find his successor. On his journey, he teams up with a fox bandit named Zhen, to defeat The Chameleon, an evil sorceress that can take the form of villains from his past, after his Staff of Wisdom. He later appoints Zhen as his successor.

Reader's Guide

Po is a rotund giant panda whose dream is to become a martial artist. His lofty ambitions are contradicted by his real-life circumstances, as he must regularly help his father to serve noodles in his restaurant. Such is his enthusiasm for kung fu, he idolizes his heroes, Tigress, Monkey, Crane, Mantis and Viper, a group of five kung fu masters trained by Master Shifu. Po's dreams of being a kung fu master clash with his personal laziness and slovenliness. He is so unfit that he struggles to climb the steps that lead to the temple in the mountains. Black described Po as a 'nerdy kid' who has a childlike obsession with kung fu, as he keeps action figures of the masters and has a knowledge of the mythology. Po is voiced in the films by American actor Jack Black. Before taking on the role of Po, he had previously voiced two animated characters: Zeke in Ice Age (2002) and Lenny in Shark Tale (2004). He was drawn to the part by DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg who told him to be himself rather than create a character. Black was convinced after viewing a short animation created for audio from one of his earlier films. He was pleased to play a superhero using his 'natural instincts'. When in the recording studio, Black was very physical while voicing the character, often performing kung fu moves and using extreme facial movements to help his performance. Po is also voiced by American voice actor Mick Wingert in various media in the franchise, including the 2011 television show Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, the 2018 television show Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny, and related video games, such as DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing.

Did You Know?

• Po is voiced in the films by American actor Jack Black, who previously voiced Zeke in Ice Age (2002) and Lenny in Shark Tale (2004).
• DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg told Jack Black to be himself rather than create a character for the role of Po.
• When in the recording studio, Jack Black was very physical while voicing Po, often performing kung fu moves and using extreme facial movements.
• Po is also voiced by American voice actor Mick Wingert in the 2011 television show Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness and the 2018 show Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny.
• In Kung Fu Panda 3, Po learns that he is a descendant of the ancient pandas who helped Master Oogway centuries ago, and Oogway reveals that Po is the physical embodiment of Yin and Yang.