Synopsis

In the Valley of Peace, a land in ancient China inhabited by anthropomorphic animals, Po Ping the giant panda is a kung fu fanatic who idolizes the Furious Five – Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Viper, and Crane – a quintet of kung fu students trained by Master Shifu, the red panda. However, Po is unable to pursue his dream of learning kung fu as he helps his adoptive father, Mr. Ping the goose, in his noodle restaurant. Grand Master Oogway, an old Galápagos tortoise, and Shifu's mentor, has a vision that Shifu's former student, the evil snow leopard, Tai Lung, will escape from prison and return to the valley to exact his revenge for being denied the Dragon Scroll, which is said to hold the secret to boundless power. Panicked, Shifu sends his messenger, Zeng the goose, with a request for the prison to tighten its security. He then holds a tournament for the Furious Five so that Oogway can identify the Dragon Warrior, the one kung fu master worthy of receiving the Dragon Scroll. While Po fails to arrive at the arena before the doors are closed; desperate to see the Dragon Warrior, Po straps himself to a set of fireworks and launches himself into the middle of the arena in front of Oogway as he points towards the Dragon Warrior. To the shock of everyone present, Oogway proclaims Po as the chosen warrior. Shifu believes that it was an accident. Unwilling to accept Oogway's decision, Shifu tries to dispose of Po with an excruciatingly harsh training regime, coupled with constant belittlement of his physique and personality. The Furious Five similarly berate Po as an enthusiast with no potential in martial art. Po considers resigning, but after receiving encouragement from Oogway, he endures his training and gradually befriends the Five with his resilience, culinary skill, and good humor. Meanwhile, Tai Lung escapes from prison, ironically picking his locks with Zeng's fallen feather, making Oogway's vision self-fulfilling. Shifu learns of Tai Lung's escape from Zeng and informs Oogway, who extracts a promise from Shifu to believe in Po, and then passes on to the heavens in a stream of peach blossoms. Still unable to grasp the basics of kung fu, Po despairingly admits that he has no chance of defeating Tai Lung; overhearing this, the Furious Five set out to stop Tai Lung themselves. However, Shifu discovers that Po is capable of impressive physical feats when motivated by food. Using food as positive reinforcement, Shifu successfully trains Po by incorporating these feats into an innovative kung fu style. The Furious Five return after being defeated by Tai Lung's nerve strikes. Shifu decides that Po is ready to receive the Dragon Scroll, but the scroll reveals nothing but a blank, reflective surface. Believing the scroll to be useless, Shifu orders Po and the Five to evacuate the valley while he faces Tai Lung. A distraught Po finds Mr. Ping. In an attempt to console his son, Mr. Ping reveals that the secret ingredient to his famous "special secret ingredient noodle soup" is "nothing", explaining that things are special when believed to be. Po realizes that this is the message of the Dragon Scroll and goes back to confront Tai Lung. Po arrives to find Shifu, despite putting up a good fight against Tai Lung, badly injured and defeated. He then becomes a formidable challenge for Tai Lung, frustrating him with confusing fighting techniques on top of his excessive body fat that renders him immune to Tai Lung's nerve strikes. Tai Lung momentarily beats Po and retrieves the scroll, but he is unable to understand it and continues attacking Po. Eventually, Po defeats Tai Lung in combat before using the mysterious Wuxi Finger Hold to vanquish him. Po is praised by the Valley of Peace and earns the respect of the Furious Five, who fully acknowledge him as a true kung fu master. Afterwards, Po returns to Shifu to acknowledge his victory. The two rest together at peace before Po breaks the moment and asks Shifu, "You wanna get something to eat?".