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| “ | Shifu: Do you want to learn Kung Fu? Po: Yeah. Shifu: Then I AM your Master. |
„ |
| ~ Shifu offering to train Po, and his most famous quote. |
| “ | If you only do what you can do, you will never be more than you are now. | „ |
| ~ Shifu to Po. |
Master Shifu is the deuteragonist of the Kung Fu Panda franchise.
He was the student of the late Master Oogway and the trainer to all the greatest warriors in China, including Po (the Dragon Warrior), the Furious Five. He is also the adoptive father of Tigress and Tai Lung.
He is voiced by Dustin Hoffman in the films, and by Fred Tatasciore in the TV series and video games.
Personality[]
Master Shifu was seen as a loving father and devoted teacher to a young Tai Lung when the cub first showed up. But, after he has to give up Tai Lung, he became distant, a firm and harsh taskmaster, and somewhat insensitive toward his new students. It wasn't until he expected to depart from his students one last time that he confessed he was proud of them all, including Tigress, who especially sought to earn his approval. Since Po's heroism in becoming the Dragon Warrior, Shifu has let go of his bitterness and attained inner peace.
He also appears to have a bit of a devious side, and before befriending Po, was shown to have a cruel sense of humor. This was shown from the moment Shifu met Po, as he seemed to take delight in trying to drive the amateurish panda away, slowly turning up the heat with every challenge he gave Po and chuckling to himself at his incompetence.
Shifu also exhibits sarcasm. This is seen when he reprimanded the Furious Five to be "doing well if they were trying to disappoint him" when they failed to defeat him in a training session earlier in the first film. He also regarded the existence of a "Level Zero" when Po failed at his first day of training.
He was also very objective in terms of loyalty to his master, following Oogway's every word closely. He exhibited this when he did nothing regarding his master's rejection of his beloved student Tai Lung as the Dragon Warrior, and also when he was forced to fight (albeit halfheartedly) Tai Lung when he tried to steal the Dragon Scroll for himself. Despite his obedience, however, he does sometimes question his master's actions and wisdom, such as when he try to deny Oogway's claim that Po was truly capaple of being the true Dragon Warrior. This strong sense of loyalty and objectivity eventually proved to be one of his strongest characteristics, as seen when he decided to believe and train Po to become the Dragon Warrior due to Oogway's final directions before passing on.
Meditative, perceptive, and creative, Shifu approached kung fu and teaching with dynamism. These traits effectively enabled him to see the key to training Po, as seen when instead of reprimanding the latter regarding his "food outbursts", he simply used this knowledge to develop Po's instinctive "food skills" into tremendous kung fu strength, thus paving the way for Po to defeat Tai Lung and ultimately lending a hand in bringing peace to himself.
Despite his former hardened heart, Shifu does have a sense of humor. In the credits of the first film, he is seen laughing at the way Tigress was acting, due to seeing that she attempted to try Po's cooking and had a noodle hanging on her lip. He was even able to chuckle at the name Taotie gave to Crane when he was brainwashed, which was "El Storko".
Since the events of the first film, Shifu seems to be a much warmer and more understanding master. He has started to show a gentler nature reflecting that of Oogway's. His attitude also changed drastically towards Po—while Po's antics still perplex and frustrate him, he seems to have faith in the panda and a growing confidence in his abilities after underestimating him so many times. For instance, in Secrets of the Furious Five, without previous warning he assigned Po to teach the introductory class to kung fu for young children, expecting him to struggle at such a mature task, only to find the panda excels at it. Furthermore, when he assigned Po to host, cook for, and basically direct the preparation for the refined Winter Feast, he exhibited great pride in him when the task was done.
Shifu still seems to struggle with the "illusion of control", as first mentioned by Oogway in the first film. He wanted everything to run perfectly for the Feast, seemingly adamant that the duties and traditions of kung fu were above all others in a warrior's life. And, just when Shifu was praising Po on such exemplary preparation for the Winter Feast, he was beyond shocked when the panda suddenly took his leave. This was followed by a moment of panic when he saw that the smooth course of the evening would have been disrupted, and soon believed that it was seemingly ruined. It wasn't until he went down to the noodle shop and saw the joyous gathering for himself that he came to appreciate Po's unusual decision.
Yet, while still holding firm to the (formal) traditions of the Feast, Shifu's devious side is still apparent—this time, in favor of aiding Po rather than torturing him. This shows when Shifu prompted Po to recite the opening words of the Creed of the Masters, to which Po couldn't bring himself to do from the guilt of leaving his father. Shifu then quietly mentioned to him that he had a feeling he would forget the words, so he wrote them on Po's napkin.
Since Shifu's final confrontation with Tai Lung, he has shown to have become emotionally healthier, as indicated by his straightened posture and his more calm attitude after years of bitterly hunching over when on his feet.
Abilities[]
Small, fast and cunning, Master Shifu is an extremely talented warrior. As the master of the Jade Palace, Shifu's abilities could possibly rival those of his own master Oogway, who was considered by many to be the greatest master in kung fu history. Although Tai Lung defeated him a second time during their rematch, Shifu was able to hold him off long enough for Po to arrive and defeat him.
Possessing the knowledge of many kung fu styles, and being able to use paralyzing nerve strikes that block the chi in an opponent's body and disable them, Shifu is a force to be reckoned with. Shifu is also known for his amazing sense of hearing, possibly due to his large ears. In the first film, he was able to hear Po ransacking in the barracks kitchen all the way from Peach Tree Hill.
Though the Wuxi Finger Hold is said to be Shifu's signature move, he has never been seen fully using it, only having readied it once as a threat to Po. However, a common move of Shifu's involves leaping up at his attacker and rapidly kicking them; then, while they are recovering, grabbing the attacker and flinging them away. He did this twice in the first film, when he sparred with Po and when he fought Tai Lung.
History[]
Early years[]
It is known that Shifu departed his family to dedicate himself entirely to the duties of kung fu. However, in Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, Shifu explained that he and his father had traveled to other villages to sell fake amulets ever since he was a young boy. One day, his father dropped him off at the Jade Palace, promising to return in five minutes. Shifu waited for him until nightfall, when eventually Master Oogway found him and took him in, making him a student at the Jade Palace.
Training[]
Shifu underwent kung fu training under Oogway's instruction as a member of the Former Furious Five—alongside Fenghuang the owl, Rooster, Elephant, and Snow Leopard. It is presumed that the Five eventually disbanded and went their separate ways some time after Fenghuang turned to evil and fled after failing to defeat Oogway.
After becoming a master, Shifu became overwhelmed by the mass of new responsibilities that was placed upon him. As a result, Shifu became internally unbalanced (or, as Shifu himself stated, "trapped in transition"), and at one point, this resulted in him getting beaten up by a dummy on a rope. The stress soon became too much for Shifu and he removed his master's robe, preparing to quit kung fu and return to his old life. However, Oogway stopped him and kindly proceeded to teach him "hing kung", a discipline aimed at balance. Shifu succeeded in this training and learned an important lesson: true balance is attained not by allowing the weight of the world to control you, but by becoming weightless and taking control of the world. Shifu would then go on to teach this discipline to his future student Po.
Arrival of Tai Lung[]
It was presumably some time after becoming a master that Shifu had heard the cries of an infant outside the palace gates, where he discovered an abandoned snow leopard cub in swaddling cloth. He adopted the cub and granted him the name Tai Lung, loving him as if he were his own son and fulfilling the role of both father and teacher. He raised Tai Lung and trained him kung fu. Seeing his natural and perfect skills in kung fu, Shifu believed Tai Lung to be the prophesied Dragon Warrior, constantly praising the young leopard's continuous efforts and apparent skill, thus unknowingly boosting Tai Lung's growing pride. When the time came many years later, Shifu presented his prize pupil to Oogway for judgment. The old master, seeing darkness in Tai Lung, disappointed them both when he said that Tai Lung could never be the Dragon Warrior.
Enraged and feeling betrayed by Shifu's reluctance to speak up in his defense, Tai Lung went on a furious rampage across the Valley of Peace, ravaging the Valley and its citizens before rushing back to the Jade Palace to take the Dragon Scroll by force. Shifu tried to stop Tai Lung and defeat him, but at a crucial moment, he hesitated, unwilling to deliver a critical strike against the son he raised and loved. Paying for his hesitation, Tai Lung knocked Shifu aside with a crushing blow to the hip, and leaped up towards the Dragon Scroll, only to be disabled by Oogway's paralyzing strikes, which immobilized him.
Suffering a shattered right hip and a broken heart, Shifu bowed to the wishes of Oogway and oversaw the construction of the Chorh-Gom Prison in the frigid outskirts of Mongolia, the sole purpose of the prison to hold one prisoner, Tai Lung, where Tai Lung had spent twenty years of his life in payment for his crimes against the Valley of Peace. Bitter of heart, Shifu left Tai Lung under the watchful eye of Commander Vachir and the Anvil of Heaven, and would not to see Tai Lung again until a full two decades later.
In Secrets of the Furious Five[]
It is unknown when and where exactly Shifu gained the members of the Furious Five, with the exception of Tigress, whom he took in as a child after being recruited by the matron of the Bao Gu Orphanage to help her control her temper and destructive strength. Utilizing domino tiles, Shifu set to work taming the cub's untrained power, attempting to teach her grace and gentleness. Finally, it paid off, and young Tigress learned the control she needed to safely interact with the other orphans. When the adoption day came, however, the adults were still afraid of her and wouldn't take her, much to her disappointment. It wasn't until the day's end when Shifu appeared once again, taking Tigress with him back to the Jade Palace and starting her training in the Tiger Style of kung fu.
Unwilling to make the same mistake he made with Tai Lung, he became distant and closed off to his students, driving them with vigorous training inside the newly-revamped Training Hall—the most challenging training hall ever designed so far. His distant attitude upset Tigress, who constantly craved his approval and drove herself to earn it by becoming the unofficial leader of the Furious Five. Tigress, however, never forgot her master's love and care for her and continues to look up to him as a master, even if he is her adoptive father.
In Secrets of the Scroll[]
Shifu continued to oversee Tigress' training, but was dissatisfied by her inability to replicate his style of Kung fu, though Oogway attempted to convince him of the foolhardiness of expecting Tigress to be just like him. Just after one training session, the pair were approached by Master Mongrel, who warned them of the approach of Boar, a villain who was defeating Kung fu masters left and right. Shifu prepared to face him, only to end up with food poisoning due to a poorly prepared order from Mr. Ping's Noodle shop. Left unable to fight, Shifu reluctantly dispatched Tigress to recruit four warriors to fight against Boar. As she was departing, Mantis arrived to give Shifu medical attention via acupuncture.
Due to a mixup, Tigress ended up recruiting four individuals other than those Shifu had sent her to find: Crane "the Cleaner," Monkey "the Comedian," Viper "the Dancer," and finally Mantis "the Doctor", which resulted in Shifu judging his pupil's effort to be a failure and the four "warriors" to be unworthy to defend the valley. However, his illness left him unable to fight against Boar, or to intervene when Tigress and the others stood against him themselves. To his utter surprise, the unlikely band of heroes managed to triumph, saving the valley of peace from Boar. Cured of his illness by Oogway, Shifu set to work helping Tigress develop her own style of Kung fu, welcoming the other four as his pupils as well and becoming the Furious Five.
Kung Fu Panda[]
Shifu was seen in a training session with the Furious Five until Master Oogway summoned Shifu in the first place. Oogway told him he had a vision of Tai Lung returning to the Valley of Peace. In alarm, Shifu sent a messenger goose by the name of Zeng to Commander Vachir, with a letter ordering double security in hopes of preventing the vision from coming true. Master Oogway announced that it was the time to choose the Dragon Warrior now, and advised Shifu to prepare his students for the tournament that would take place for the purpose. Acting as the announcer on the day of the tournament, Shifu introduced each member of the Furious Five to the crowds that gathered to view the event, unmindful that the time of the choosing would be interjected by the presence of an obese panda named Po, a noodle maker's son who accidentally shut out of the tournament and was looking for any means to get inside the arena to watch. When Po crashed the ceremony by landing in front of Oogway, just as the tortoise raised his hand to point out the Dragon Warrior, Shifu was outraged.
He believed that Oogway was about to point to Master Tigress, and felt infuriated that a "flabby panda" who appeared seemingly by accident was chosen over his own foster daughter (Who he secretly hoped would be the Dragon Warrior). He was determined that he would prove that Po wasn't the true Dragon Warrior by testing him; if the panda bowed under the stress and left by the next morning, it would only prove it. However, Po proved to be enthusiastic and determined, even under Shifu's sharp verbal barbs and his constant amateurish behavior, only serving to make Shifu become even more harsh in the hope that he would discourage Po from staying. It was two days into the test, and the upset Shifu desperately meditated for inner peace. He was disturbed by Zeng soon enough, who just arrived back from Chorh-Gom Prison with ominous news: Tai Lung escaped and came back, just as Oogway foresaw. Agitated, Shifu sought out Master Oogway under the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom, relaying the bad news. Oogway accepted the news calmly, saying that he had faith in Po as the Dragon Warrior and silently admonished Shifu, telling him to be patient and nurture the panda instead of offering harshness.
Seeing petals surrounding him, he noticed his time had come, and that Shifu would have to continue his journey without him. Oogway disappeared in a shower of peach petals and light as he passed on, leaving Shifu with his beloved peach-wood staff and a mountain of a problem to deal with. Realizing Po was really their only hope in defeating Tai Lung, he went back to the barracks (noticing Po disrespectfully making fun of him and the Five laughing in a disrespectful manner) and announced the news of Tai Lung's escape and Master Oogway's demise to the Furious Five and Po. The news instantly set them in an uproar, making Tigress and the other Five leave the palace to try and stop Tai Lung on their own while Shifu attempted to stop a panicking Po from departing. This led to an argument with Po, who reminded Shifu that he was trying to get rid of him since he showed up. Shifu admitted this, but pointed out that Po would have chosen to stay despite this. However, in doing so, Shifu learned that Po had a more profound handicap: He was burdened with a deep self-loathing and considered himself a fat failure. Faced with a student so physically and spiritually burdened, Shifu began to share Po's doubts that he could train him into the Dragon Warrior soon enough.
The next morning, Master Shifu came back from his vigil under the barren peach tree, only to discover that Po hadn't left after all and tore apart the kitchen and eating everything in sight in his agitation — and performing some tricks that should have been beyond the panda's abilities as he tried to reach food that was hidden or out of reach. Realizing that the key to teaching Po was through proper motivation (food), he proceeded to take Po to the Wu Dan Mountains and lifted the giant panda's spirits by simply asserting he had faith in him for the attempt. With that accomplished, Shifu began training Po in the art of Kung Fu in an entirely new way, climaxing in a fight of "keep-away" with a dumpling. When Po eventually bested Shifu at the game, and demonstrated his emotional growth by declining to eat it as a sign of his overcoming his psychological dependence on food, he knew that Po was ready to receive the Dragon Scroll and revive the unlimited power that came with it.
Upon returning to the Jade Palace, Shifu and Po were terrified to find that the Furious Five would have been badly beaten by Tai Lung, and were all paralyzed except for Master Crane, who was left to carry them back home as a warning. After reversing the nerve strike effects on his students, Master Shifu reassured them all that even though Tai Lung would have gotten stronger, the Dragon Warrior (Po) would beat him by attaining the power from the Dragon Scroll. However, upon opening the scroll, it was revealed that it was blank. With nothing else left to do, Shifu told Po and the Furious Five to evacuate the Valley. He would stay behind and hold off Tai Lung long enough to make sure everyone would be safe, even though he knew that the price would cost him his own life. Preparing himself, he awaited Tai Lung's arrival, and when the leopard showed up, the two of them engaged in violent combat.
The fight was evenly matched for a while, until Tai Lung renewed his vicious attacks on the aging master, screaming accusations and tortures before demanding to be told of how proud Shifu was of him. Badly wounded and defeated, Shifu knew that this was his one last chance at making amends with his former son and student, and apologized; telling him he was proud of him indeed, and that Shifu's pride would have blinded him to what Tai Lung was becoming. After a moment of clear indecision, Tai Lung hardened his heart and grasped his master by the throat tightly, proclaiming that he wasn't after an apology — he still wanted the scroll. Upon seeing the scroll missing, the snow leopard nearly strangled Shifu before the timely arrival of Po rescued him.
Resting all during the ensuing battle that resulted in Po utilizing the legendary Wuxi Finger Hold on Tai Lung, Shifu was mistaken by Po to pass on, but he merely found peace after confronting his greatest mistakes. In the aftermath of the great battle, Shifu has found it in himself to let go of his bitterness, and is slowly but surely opening himself back up to his students while continuing Po's training.
Kung Fu Panda 2[]
At the beginning of the film, Master Shifu summoned Po to the Dragon Grotto, where he was seen meditating. Once Po had arrived, Shifu started their lesson off by demonstrating one of Master Oogway's final teachings about Inner Peace. By using slow Tai chi movements, Shifu took a small water drop that dripped from one of the cave's stalactites and carefully moved it onto the leaf of a nearby plant without breaking the droplet. Po was amazed by this technique, and Shifu stated how inner peace allowed one to do the seemingly-impossible. He continued by explaining how inner peace could be achieved through various ways. He shared with Po that he had learned it through pain and suffering, which he said he endured from the events with Tai Lung and Oogway's selection of Po as the Dragon Warrior, calling it "the worse day of his life." But then he added that he eventually came to realize that it wasn't Po that was the problem, but instead within himself.
When he allowed himself to come to that realization after Po had defeated Tai Lung, he was able to "harness the flow of the universe" and achieve inner peace. Just as he and Po were about to begin practicing the lesson, Tigress arrived with news of the Musician Village being raided by wolves. Shifu allowed Po to go with the Furious Five and protect the village.
After returning the next day, Shifu read to them a message he received from Gongmen City, stating how Master Thundering Rhino had been killed by a weapon that "breathes fire and spits metal". Shifu immediately feared this was the work of Lord Shen, and that he and his weapon must be stopped or it would be the end of Kung Fu. He then told Po to take the Five and travel to Gongmen City to stop Lord Shen and destroy the weapon. But when Po hesitated, asking Shifu how Kung Fu could stop something that stopped Kung Fu, Shifu again reminded him that "anything is possible when you have inner peace." And with that, Po left with the Five.
Later, while meditating in the grotto again, Shifu sensed something was wrong and nearly collapsed just after Po had been blasted back in Gongmen City. Though he wasn't seen doing so, he traveled to the city and convinced Masters Storming Ox and Croc to leave their cell and help Po and the Five fight against Lord Shen and his forces. All three Kung Fu Masters did so, and with their help, Po and the Five were able to fight off a good majority of Shen's forces. But their success convinced Lord Shen to ruthlessly fire one of his cannons at the wreckage of boats the Masters had created, which exploded everything and everyone in front of him. The Masters were all left floating on pieces of the remaining wreckage in the harbor, all hope seemingly lost. Shifu saw Po climb up onto a piece of floating timber and face Shen's fleet, seemingly trying to sacrifice himself to save his friends.
He was then astonished when he saw that Po was instead using the movements of Oogway's teaching of inner peace to catch Shen's cannonfire and redirect it back towards his fleet. After Po defeated Shen, he congratulated Po on finding inner peace "at such a young age", which he added sourly. But Po then told him he had a great teacher. He then attempted to hug Shifu, only for his master to mysteriously reappear behind him. Shifu and the other Masters stayed for the city's celebration and watched as fireworks decorated the golden sky.
Kung Fu Panda 3[]
He returns in the third film where he tells Po he must master chi. Later while Po is away learning Chi to stop Kai, Shifu becomes one of Kai's Jombies, along with Monkey and Viper. After Po defeats Kai, Shifu and the other kung fu masters Kai had Jombiefied over the years turned back to normal.
Kung Fu Panda 4[]
Shifu is first seen summoning Po to the Jade Palace to inform him that he needs to choose someone to succeed him as the Dragon Warrior while he becomes the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace. During the tournament, Shifu is frustrated that Po chose himself instead one of the candidates and advises him to ask The Universe. After Po takes Zhen to prison, Shifu believed that Po isn't taking his job seriously and that The Chameleon should be handles by The Furious Five or someone else and asks Po to focus on finding a successor but it ends up with him getting left and handcuffed with a prison guard. During the adventure, two identical imaginary versions of Shifu tell Po what to do when he is clueless. After The Chameleon's defeat, Shifu is shocked to find out that Po chose Zhen as his successor and becomes grumpy, after this he meditates under the peach tree but gets annoyed by many inner Pos. In the credits scene where Po gets knocked on the ground, Shifu appears smiling in front of him as it shows that he has accepted Po's decision.
Trivia[]
- Jack Nicholson, Willem Dafoe, John Lithgow, James Woods, Hugh Laurie, the late James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Christopher Lloyd, Tim Curry, Ralph Fiennes, Christopher Walken, Jude Law, Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, the late Alan Rickman, the late Christopher Lee, Lance Henriksen, the late John Hurt and Ricardo Montalban were all considered to voice Shifu.
- According to Animator - Kevin Maclean, MaryAnn Malcomb and Gabriele Pennacchioli (showreel) - Christopher Lloyd was originally cast as him.
- Shifu was originally called George.
- In Chinese, Shi-Fu literally means "Master", making his name a tautology.
- Originally, Shifu was going to die at the beginning of the 4th movie. However, his voice actor, Dustin Hoffman, insisted that he would still be alive.
External Links[]
- Shifu on the DreamWorks Wiki
- Shifu on the Kung Fu Panda Wiki
- Shifu on the Pure Good Wiki
[]
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