MovieChat Forums > Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) Discussion > I thought the whole 'massacre/adoption/f...

I thought the whole 'massacre/adoption/fa mily' story was overdone.


Generally, i really like KFP2 (just a little less than I liked the first one).

But the whole origin/adopted/massacre story felt very forced, fake, and poorly executed.

One thing I liked about the first movie was the joke about Po not realizing that he's obviously adopted. It was sweet and showed his genuine love for his adopted father. Personally, I think this whole idea was covered adequately in the first film, but then they rehashed it and made it the focus of the sequel.

Which would have been fine if it was done well and wasn't overbearing. I liked the intro sequence very much, where it showed Shen killing the Pandas. Right in the very first minute of the movie, the entire origin of Po was already communicated to me. Shen killed the Pandas, they sent Po away (Moses style), and he was adopted by the goose.

I understood this in literally the first minute. There was no reason at all to keep coming back to this over and over, with something like 5 or 6 flashback sequences, telling me things I already know.

What they should have done is framed Po's conversation with his adopted father about his past in the light of Po becoming an adult, and the goose trying to hold on to his son. Goose's respect for his son would lead him to tell him about his true history.

Then later in the film, near the end, Po could learn that the Pandas were killed by Shen, giving him further motive to stop him. The flashbacks were totally unnecessary in my opinion.

Then I was totally stunned by the ending, which completely negates the previous development of Po. The movie establishes that Po comes from humble origins, has a genuine parental relationship with his adopted father, and became a Kung Fu Master through devotion and purity of character. It also shows the great sacrifice of the Panda parents, saving their son but dying themselves, and makes Po an instrument of POetic (couldn't resist) justice.

So why do they introduce psychic Panda-dad?! It makes no sense. This now brings Po's family back into question, a plot line that should be settled. It also makes Shen much less serious. What kind of a villain goes to massacre a village and lets, what, everyone get away? So now there's going to be lots of Pandas? This makes Po a much weaker character. Before, he was making his own destiny, now he's going to have to deal with a conflict of loyalty with a "family" he's never met.

It can only end two ways. A) Po has a new relationship with his father, discarding the previous message that a father doesn't have to be biological. B) He stays with his current father, rehashing a now 3 movie old plot line.

Either way continuing with a parental story prevents Po from becoming an adult character. He will now be relegated to a child role for another movie.

On another note, having ANOTHER Panda warrior will be boring and will make Po less unique.

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Lots to discuss. :)

On the adoption/ family issues: For a sequel, I don't think this was necessary, or a good idea to begin with. I wanted the goose Dad thing to stay a mysterious gag without a boring logical answer. Giving it a explanation seemed so unimaginative. If they had to explain it, they could've at least made a less boring/ cliche story. He was found in a crate and adopted, wow.

I agree they made things too obvious in the movie regarding the pandas and Shen. I think showing that Shen killed the pandas in the beginning was a mistake. I wish they would've avoided bringing a prophecy into the story.

I also don't quite understand the theme of 'don't let the past determine who you are' in regards to Po. If the massacre could have been interpreted as being his fault, at least in his mind, I could understand, but he was a victim. He didn't cause it. The whole 'who am I?' thing felt forced on him.

As for the ending, I understand your disappointment. I didn't like it when I first saw it either, but I believe there are far more possibilities than the two you listed. It doesn't have to rehash the father-son issues with Mr. Ping.

And as for another panda warrior.. I'm not sure about the idea. Maybe if it was done right.

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I don't think it really matters as long as it is done well, and in the case of Kung Fu Panda 2, it was done exceptionally well. It was all about Po's feelings and they felt genuine enough for me to be engrossed in the story.

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I agree with the OP on most of their points.

I am sure the reason for the "My Son is alive!" ending is because the studio felt the original massacre story line was too dark for the target audience. This just feels like a typical (American) studio mandate even if it is what the writers originally intended.

Since KFP is an animated series for kids, this is why they have to keep Po as a child so-to-speak. So, not only does he have Ping, but he now has his biological father and this means a larger extended family motif they can build on since these movies are also billed as family movies, too. Again, more marketing vs. good story telling.

I also didn't buy the "find inner peace" quest they had Po go on this time.

He was pretty much at peace until he fought Shen's henchwolves and started having flashbacks -- which makes NO sense at all -- Which seemed forced and contrived since Po had NO memory of who/what happened during the massacre.

The interesting thing is KFP2's run time is much SHORTER than the original one, too. I say this because the story just felt rushed in order to emphasize more action versus back story even though that was a major part of it.

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I think there are many possibilities with that ending, and I'm fine with it being both a cliffhanger and a hopeful scene.

"He was pretty much at peace until he fought Shen's henchwolves and started having flashbacks -- which makes NO sense at all -- Which seemed forced and contrived since Po had NO memory of who/what happened during the massacre. "

How does it not make sense? The flashbacks showed him that he DID remember some of the things that happened.

I agree the movie felt rushed, but it's run time is just about the same as the first movie actually, only a minute shorter.

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One of the things that I love about Po is that he doesn't take things too seriously and he genuinely enjoys life. When he and the Five were first leaving the village after the encounter with the wolves, he was so excited about the journey and the adventure. He'd already had one flashback, but he didn't dwell on "Where did I come from?" Instead he was joyfully on his way to the next big adventure.

The later scenes with Shen and his furrowed brow and demands of "Where did I come from?" were the only times in the movie that I furrowed my brow. Those moments took me out of the enjoyment of the story and I thought, "He wouldn't say that!" I instead could see him saying, "You know something about my past! Tell me! Tell me!"

Unlike you, I didn't mind the storyline of the massacre and adoption, but I did mind how it was presented.

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One thing I liked about the first movie was the joke about Po not realizing that he's obviously adopted. It was sweet and showed his genuine love for his adopted father. Personally, I think this whole idea was covered adequately in the first film, but then they rehashed it and made it the focus of the sequel.
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What--Po's adopted? You mean Panda's don't come from Geese? Lol

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