Po

“

Am I the son of a panda? The son of a goose? A student? A teacher? Turns out, I'm all of them. I am the Dragon Warrior.

— Po

”

Master Po Ping was born in a remote farming village populated entirely by pandas. There he grew up happily with his biological mother and father, until one day the village was invaded by an evil, power-hungry peacock named Shen, who sought to avert a prophecy by eliminating any threat to his rule. As his wolf followers slaughtered the pandas and destroyed the village, Po's mother fled with her son, while his father stayed behind to try and fight them off. As the wolves quickly started to close in on her, Po's mother managed to temporarily elude the wolves and found a crate of radishes, which she hid her child in. Mother and son shared one final moment of farewell before his mother caught the attention of the wolves and lead them away from him, sacrificing her life for her son. The crate Po was in was eventually shipped far away to a village in the Valley of Peace, where the owner of a noodle shop, Mr. Ping, found the baby panda. Though hesitant to get involved at first, the goose felt pity for the infant and brought him inside where he fed him and gave him a bath, and as he continued to care for him, he grew to love the cub. Eventually realizing that no one was looking for the child, Mr. Ping decided to adopt him, giving him the name "Po" and raising him as his own son.

Po had grown up into an adventurous dreamer who hoped to become a Kung Fu legend some day, on par with the Furious Five, whom he idolized. However, he didn't think he could pursue his dream, as he was an out-of-shape panda who worked at a noodle shop, which Mr. Ping enthusiastically expected him to some day run in his place. Though Po showed little interest in continuing this family tradition, he complied, not wanting to let his father down. At heart, Po was a huge fan of Kung Fu, as his room was decorated with posters and action figures of the Furious Five, and he would imagine himself as an unbeatable warrior who would fight alongside them. Po knew, in detail because of this, many things about Kung Fu, from techniques to various weapons and legends. Although this encyclopedic knowledge showed Po as somewhat of an expert on Kung Fu, it was only in the form of a fan who fantasized he could be part of it, not as someone who had any real experience. It was seemingly by mistake, then, that he was chosen to become the Dragon Warrior.