Post created by Anna
The giant panda, a universally beloved bear species, known for its unique black and white markings and bamboo-rich eating habits, is probably given its best animated portrayal in Dreamworks’ Kung Fu Panda. The film relays the story of comical Po, who begins his journey as an apprentice noodle-maker and kung-fu fanatic. When he is suddenly granted the opportunity of a lifetime to train under kung fu master Chi Fu (a red panda), Po must overcome the barriers that come with being an inexperienced and seemingly unqualified candidate to be recognized as “dragon warrior.” Eventually, Po learns to harness his unusual physicality and upbringing, using the talents that others once saw as hindrances to kung-fu mastery, defeating Tai Lung: a fierce kung-fu fighting snow leopard, and ultimately restoring peace to his valley. Since Kung Fu Panda is the kind of humor-driven, kid-friendly movie whose animal characters are anthropomorphic spin-offs of the real ones, the film is understandably not always the most accurate in its renditions of different species. Let’s take a look at what giant panda characteristics Dreamworks successfully retained in its all-too-relatable protagonist, Po.
In terms of appearance, Dreamworks is spot on. Po’s black fur on his ears, eye patches, muzzle, legs, and shoulders is typical of pandas. Scientists are actually not sure why a panda has this unusual coloration. Whether they’re meant to provide camouflage while among dense patches of bamboo, accentuate social cues, allow pandas to identify one another, or enable them to maintain an even temperature, there is no conclusive explanation for this phenomenon (though Po would credit his natural attractiveness). As far as body composition goes, males weigh an average of 300 pounds. Po’s husky build certainly reflects this. And although his slumped over sitting posture seems like it would be an animator's attempt to make the character more human-like, pandas often resemble how humans sit on the floor--a position that leaves their front paws free to grasp bamboo stems while their hind legs lay stretched out before them.
Another success for Dreamworks was their decision to enlist a snow leopard to be Po’s nemesis. In the wild, snow leopards actually share some of the same habitats as pandas and prey on cubs. Despite Po’s claim that stairs are his worst enemy, pandas have no natural enemies as adults, so a snow leopard comes as close as possible to being one. And though Po’s body-slamming and quick-footed movements may be a little extreme for the average giant panda, they can, in fact, fight back when provoked. Despite their seemingly podgy makeup, pandas are capable of protecting themselves as well as most other bears. They can defend themselves against most predators by using their large molar teeth and strong jaw muscles which are normally used for crushing bamboo. Pandas are also skilled at climbing, making Po’s ten foot scamper up to Monkey’s almond cookies not such an impossible feat.
A panda’s insatiable appetite is a hallmark of the species and is certainly given the attention this trait deserves in the development of Po. The average panda eats an alarming twelve hours every day--in other words, they spend roughly half their life eating. 28 pounds of bamboo support the panda’s daily nutritional needs, with birds and rodents supplementing their omnivorous diet. Though egg rolls and noodles might not be on the plate, Po’s obsession with food could hardly have been overstated. And even though Po spends the remainder of his non-eating hours practicing kung-fu, giant pandas primarily devote their off-hours to sleeping and resting when not caring for young. It might have been too crude to include in Po’s heroic narrative, but it is worth mentioning that the typical panda has to find time in their schedule to dispose of all those leafy, fibrous stalks sooner or later (yes, pandas continue to defecate during periods of rest). Interestingly, scientists have found a way to gauge the time a bear spends at a particular rest site from the correlation between number of hours and quantity of droppings.
A panda’s isolationist behavior, however, is perhaps a more noteworthy attribute than its defecation habits--though this remark is open to debate--that was rather conveniently ignored by Dreamworks producers. Wild pandas reside in the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests of southwest China’s Yangtze River Basin. Despite Po’s social nature, adult giant pandas are generally solitary, communicating occasionally by scent marks, calls, and periodical meetings. They may form communities of seven to 15 individuals that occupy a particular territory; however, these groups contain far fewer pandas than the village that Po was raised in and eventually returns to. Also characteristic of their solitary lifestyle is the lack of visual signals a panda can procure. Their faces are round and inexpressive, a sharp contrast from Po’s ever-changing demeanor. Their tails are stubs. They have no crest or mane to erect, nor ears to cock forward or flatten. The fog-enshrouded, thickly forested bamboo groves that pandas call home limit sight to short distances, inhibiting the evolution of visual accessories among pandas. Pandas rely on vocalizations and scent markings as their dominant forms of communication.
Although Dreamworks may have left out particular panda idiosyncrasies that may have rubbed audiences the wrong way or made for a much different plot, that which they could make more realistic, they often did. A number of Kung Fu Panda’s design elements indicate that animators were interested in creating a character whose differences were highlighted--the qualities assumed to be distinctly panda in nature. Po’s “flabby” physique, unusually relaxed posture, and eating habits all reflect this desire on the filmmakers part to create an animated panda that shared as many of its wild counterparts’ traits as possible. Though some panda qualities were intentionally avoided, Po is panda enough for most audiences--a beloved character that makes us appreciate pandas all the more.
Works Cited
“Giant Panda.” National Geographic Society. 2020.
“Giant Panda.” World Wildlife Fund. 2020.
“Asia Trail: Giant Panda.” Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. 2020.
“Panda’s Natural Enemies.” World Wide Fund For Nature. 2020.
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