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| “ | You don't belong in the Jade Palace. You are a disgrace to Kung Fu and if you have any respect for who we are and what we do, you will be gone by morning. | „ |
| ~ Tigress to Po |
| “ | That was pretty hardcore. | „ |
| ~ Tigress to Po |
Tigress is the leader of the Furious Five and the deuteragonist of the Kung Fu Panda franchise. She is the master of the Tiger style of kung fu, the adoptive daughter of Shifu, and the adoptive younger sister of Tai Lung.
She is voiced by legendary actress Angelina Jolie who also voiced Lola from Shark Tale and played Fox in the 2008 film Wanted, Maleficent in the live-action movie of the same name and Kari Wahlgren in Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness also voices Mina Monroe from Bunnicula, Celty Sturluson from DRRR!!, Nova from Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! and Jamie from The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature.
Biography
Beginnings
In the Kung Fu Panda series
Kung Fu Panda
Despite all the progress she achieved over the years, Tigress still felt the need to prove herself to Shifu, and saw her chance one day when Master Oogway had a vision of Tai Lung breaking out of prison and returning to the Valley to get the Dragon Scroll. Alarmed, Shifu (acting on Oogway's suggestion) announced a tournament to declare who the Dragon Warrior would be out of the Furious Five.
On the day of the tournament, each of the Five publicly exhibited their talents one at a time, with Tigress performing last. Before she had the chance to start, Oogway sensed the presence of the Dragon Warrior, and it was time for the choosing. It appeared that Oogway was about to point at her — until a fat panda named Po seemingly fell out of the sky and landed right in front of Oogway's pointing claw.
Confused, Tigress asked if the old tortoise was pointing at her, but Oogway was convinced that Po had been chosen by the universe, and the panda's appearance was not by accident. He proclaimed the panda as the Dragon Warrior — much to Tigress' and Shifu's horror, and as Po was carried off to the Jade Palace, Tigress apologized to Shifu for failing him. The diminutive red panda stopped her, saying that if he hadn't made the panda quit by the next morning, then it was he who failed his students.
Through the rest of the day, Shifu did his best to discourage Po and try to make him leave. He tried to intimidate him by showing him the Training Hall and allowing the panda to be humiliated in front of the Five. The derision that Shifu felt was echoed by Tigress herself; she was offended that "a fat, flabby panda" like Po would be chosen over a loyal student like herself, and she made sure that Po knew her opinion of him—going as far as to scathingly tell him that night that he was a disgrace to kung fu and that, if he respected the martial arts or the Five at all, he would be gone by morning.
To her dismay, Po didn't leave the next morning, and he still wanted to learn kung fu. Attempts were made throughout the day to discourage Po and make him quit, but he persevered and made it through the second day—even after sparring with most of the Five and literally being thrown out by Shifu and tumbling down the steps of the palace. While most of the Five grew to be impressed at the panda's indefatigable tenacity, Tigress simply conceded that Po was there to stay whether she liked it or not. While Po received acupuncture from Mantis and Viper, Tigress confided to Po the story of Tai Lung and Shifu's role in his life, while also hinting at her own past, that she never received the same love that Shifu once showed for Tai Lung.
Later on, Po began opening up more to the Five while preparing noodle soup for dinner which, to their delight, was among the most delicious dishes they've ever eaten —— save for Tigress, who remained distant and ate tofu instead. The peaceful atmosphere was shattered, however, when Shifu arrived to bring them terrible news: Tai Lung had indeed escaped prison, and to make things worse, Oogway had just passed away. Tigress begged her master to let the Five and herself stop Tai Lung, stating it was what he had trained them for. Surprisingly, Shifu said that it wasn't her destiny to defeat Tai Lung. He was now convinced that it was Po's job to stop Tai Lung after all, and nothing she could say would change his mind.
Tigress leaping to action to fight Tai Lung.
However, Po had run away in fear of his upcoming challenge, and she secretly followed Shifu when he chased after him to bring him back. There she overheard Po admitting his own lack of confidence, seeing neither he nor her master had a solution on just how Po could possibly defeat Tai Lung. She decided to try to stop Tai Lung herself, immediately setting out on her own. To her surprise, she found that Viper, Mantis, Monkey, and Crane had followed her, and they stated that they wanted to help her in her endeavor.
Traveling as fast as they could, it took days to intercept Tai Lung at the Thread of Hope, a network of rope bridges that connected the mountain tops, Tigress finally able to meet the snow leopard face to face in combat. When asked where the Dragon Warrior was, she tried to imply that she herself was the Dragon Warrior, but Tai Lung was not fooled, and a battle ensued, which was made difficult by the rope bridge itself as well as Tai Lung's great strength and skill. Tigress worked together with the others, displaying her greatest strength as a team leader/player, and she and her comrades managed to overpower the snow leopard in a stunning show of strength and cunning.
At first, they assumed that they had vanquished him completely, but sure enough, Tai Lung reappeared, swinging back from the opposite peak with the ropes from the now-destroyed bridge, and landing behind the startled team. Taking advantage of their unpreparedness, Tai Lung used a technique that Shifu hadn't taught them: chi blocking. Jabbing each of the Five in vital pressure points, he paralyzed them all—with the exception of Crane, whom he had left unparalyzed so he could carry the defeated warriors back to the Jade Palace as a warning; that he could defeat the strongest warriors in China.
It was with great shame that Tigress faced Po and Shifu when released from the effects of the chi block back at the Jade Palace, feeling that she had failed Shifu. He quietly rebuked her, telling her she could have been killed, but he added that Tai Lung's attempt to strike fear into their hearts wouldn't work: he had been busy training Po while the Five were absent, and he felt that the panda was now ready to receive the Dragon Scroll. Wasting no time, they all assembled in the Palace, where Shifu retrieved the scroll and proceeded to give it to Po. Upon opening it, Po relayed a most surprising bit of information: the legendary scroll, thought to endow the Dragon Warrior with unlimited power, was blank.
There was nothing else that could be done; Shifu ordered the Five and Po to evacuate the Valley in a last ditch effort, while he stayed behind to stall Tai Lung as long as possible. He expected to die during the battle, and his parting words to them were the ones that Tigress had always longed to hear from her master: that he was proud of them and that he was honored to be their master. The dismal feeling that everyone felt as they left had to be pushed aside once they started gathering the villagers. Tigress fell into her role as leader and began to lead the evacuation in spite of her sadness. After leading the populace to the surrounding mountains through the stormy night to morning, she and the Five were stunned as they witnessed a bright wave of light and energy coming from the middle of town.
Tigress bowing to Po
Deciding to go back, they discovered that Po had fought Tai Lung and defeated him with the legendary Wuxi Finger Hold. Amazed, Tigress finally let go of her pride, realizing that she had been wrong about the panda, and she approached Po and bowed to him with a smile, honoring him for the first time as a kung fu master and the true Dragon Warrior.
Kung Fu Panda 2
Tigress and the others of the Furious Five were first seen in the Jade Palace's Training Hall encouraging and supporting Po in his endeavor to stuff forty bean buns into his mouth, something she would normally have grimaced at or refused to take part of before.
Later, Tigress learned that a village of musicians was under attack by a pack of wolf bandits set on stealing all the metal they could find. She immediately alerted Po of the matter, also telling him not to take any snack stops, and the six set out to the village to fight off the bandits. When Po was temporarily dazed by the sight of an emblem on one of the wolf assailant's armor, she attempted to intercept the wolf's hammer blow, but was too late and she and Po were knocked aside. As the wolves escaped with most of the town's metal, the concerned Tigress asked Po what had happened to him, but he didn't answer her and instead ran off.
The next day, Shifu informed Po and the Five of Master Thundering Rhino's death at the hands of Lord Shen, and tasked them with traveling to Gongmen City to destroy the weapon responsible — one that he described as being able to "breathe fire and spit metal". They set out to do so, but were stopped by Mr. Ping, who has packed bags for Po's journey. After being slightly amused to see Po's action figures of herself and the rest of the Five, Tigress saw the goose was worried and assured him that Po would soon return before she left with the others.
On the last night of their journey, Tigress was awoken when Po had suffered a nightmare. Concerned, Tigress followed him outside and helped him relieve his frustrations by sparring with him. Tigress told him about her harsh training exercises in her youth, and how her "hardcore" style allowed her to ignore pain. Po then shared with her how he had recently learned that Mr. Ping was his adoptive father (though this hardly surprised Tigress). When Po commented on his slight envy over Tigress' "hardcore" ability to ignore emotional pain, Tigress was taken aback. However, she didn't have time to say anything before arriving at Gongmen City.
Tigress and the others snuck into the city and evaded more of Shen's wolves when they found Masters Storming Ox and Croc in Gongmen Jail. After unsuccessfully trying to convince them to escape and aid them in their mission, they were discovered by Boss Wolf and attempted to intercept him before he could alert Shen. Although Tigress was able to help Po catch up to him, they ended up being ambushed and were quickly captured.
Tigress and the others were brought before Shen himself in his ancestral palace. But while Po was speaking to him, Viper successfully picked the lock on Tigress' cuffs, allowing her to help free the others and destroy Shen's cannon. However, Tigress was surprised when she saw Po once again dazed by the pattern of Shen's feathered tail, allowing the peacock to escape. Now under assault from the rest of Shen's cannons, she took matters into her own hands as she reached the bottom of the tower and quickly scouted the area outside, deftly defending herself and her friends from a hail of fire arrows from the wolves. Deducting an escape route, Tigress led the others to safety by scaling the outside of the falling tower and springing off it over the wall bordering the palace grounds.
Tigress prepares to spar with Po.
Returning to the jail to hide, she angrily confronted Po over why he let Shen escape, as well as almost getting them all killed in the bargain. When he refused to answer, she ordered him to stay in the company of Storming Ox and Croc, thinking that Po was not capable of completing the mission due to his unspoken hindrance. Po was adamant upon going with them however, leading the two to spar once more.
Tigress had swiftly subdued Po and again demanded to know the truth. Po finally admitted how he remembered that Shen was present the night his biological parents abandoned him, and he needed Shen to tell him what happened despite all odds thrown against him, finally commenting that Tigress wouldn't understand due to her being too hardcore. Tigress lunged at Po, supposedly infuriated by his remark, but to the surprise of everyone else, she hugged him and told him that she did understand. Nevertheless, she gently told Po to stay behind, as she didn't want to see him be killed.
Tigress and the rest of the Five made their way over to Shen's refinery where they intended to ignite powder kegs around the factory to destroy it. However, much to her shock, she saw that Po had disobeyed her and was confronting Shen alone. Fearing for Po's safety, she and the others quickly doused the fires to the powder kegs and they began to make her way towards the two in order to protect Po, fending off Shen's elite soldiers along the way. Unable to reach him, she watched in horror as Po was blasted out of the factory and into the river by Shen's largest cannon. The Five were subsequently captured. Fearing that the worst had happened to Po, Tigress felt she had failed him.
The Five were shackled securely to the flagship of Shen's veritable armada of cannon-armed ships as they began their traverse down the river to the harbor. Shen mocked them for their sadness over the "death" of Po and bragged about how he would kill them and their "precious kung fu" upon reaching the harbor; Tigress snarled back, but was unable to resist in any way. Monkey was the only one of the chained Five that seemed to retain any fighting spirit and looked to Tigress for support, but she merely responded with a defeated expression. She was further disgusted by Shen's lack of concern for the well-being of the bystanders witnessing the event by blasting away a bridge to clear a path, which led her to call him a coward.
She was perhaps the most astonished when Po revealed himself to be alive and rescued her and the rest of the Five. She and the others managed to fight their way along Shen's fleet with the assistance of Croc and Ox, who were freed and accompanied by Shifu. The nine kung fu masters proceeded to destroy much of the fleet, blocking the way to the harbor with their own boats. Shen fired his cannon at Po, but Tigress managed to knock him aside and was blown into the river along with the other masters.
Wounded and floating on a piece of driftwood, Po waded towards her and gripped her limp paw. She feebly lifted her head, but was too weakened to say anything. Tigress then watched helplessly as Po stood upon the wreckage of an overturned boat, facing the remaining cannon-armed fleet on his own. As the first shot was fired, she, along with every other witness, was astounded when Po deflected the projectile and every other one that Shen fired, even going so far as to knock some back at the fleet. After the flagship's destruction, she witnessed Po's final battle with Shen, and the lord's defeat at the hands of his own work.
Tigress commenting Po's work by calling it "hardcore"
After the battle, she helped Po out of the water and onto a dock, commenting his work as "pretty hardcore." She was surprised once more when Po hugged her in a manner similar to how she did in the prison—so much so that she didn't have time to react before he was enthusiastically greeted by the rest of the Five. Along with the rest of Gongmen City, she watched as the burning remains of Shen's flagship set off a fireworks display.
Kung Fu Panda 3
Tigress is first seen with Po and the Furious Five ordering food from Mr. Ping's noodle shop. After traveling to the Training Hall, she and the other members of the Furious Five are noticeably shocked when Shifu announces that he will be teaching his last class, and even more startled when Shifu states that training will now be in the hands of the Dragon Warrior. During training, Po's inability to teach causes Tigress, along with the other members of the Furious Five to be injured.
Later, she is seen fighting with the Furious Five the jombies that Kai sent to find Oogway's students. She stays behind with Monkey, Viper, and Shifu, while Crane and Mantis are sent to scout for Kai's location, and Po travels with Li Shan and Mr. Ping to the Panda Village. After Shifu, Viper, Tigress, and Monkey engage in a battle against Kai, she evades being attacked in order to warn Po that Kai is coming for the pandas. Seeing Po training by himself in order to defeat Kai, she confronts him and tells him that Kai can only be defeated by a master of chi. Po tells her he had an alternative plan: using the Wuxi Finger Hold on the spirit warrior. However, Tigress reminded that Kai had an army of Jombies who act as his eyes and ears, making it impossible to sneak up on him. Li Shan then appears along with Mr. Ping, and urges Po to teach him along with the others Kung Fu.
Afterwards, she assists Po in training of the pandas, but is confused, as his teaching method is encouraging them to do their everyday activities as their training.
When Kai arrives, Tigress and the pandas of the village afterwards hold off the Jade Zombies while Po attempts to use the Wuxi Finger Hold on Kai. After it fails, Po uses it on himself, taking him and Kai back to the Spirit Realm. Using what she learned from Po and about who she is, Tigress along with Li, Mr. Ping and the pandas are able to use their chi to rescue Po in order for him to defeat Kai once and for all.
Personality
Tigress is the strongest and boldest of the Furious Five. She is noted to have the typical qualities of a hero: overachieving, brave, fearless, and willing to do anything to save the day. The one exception to her willingness, however, was to believe in Po, whom she thought was a joke. But even the strongest can be wrong, and Tigress learned that destiny sometimes arrives in unexpected ways. Since the events of the first film, she has been unwaveringly loyal to Po and what he represents as the Dragon Warrior. But underneath her stoic, iron-jawed exterior is a warm compassion that others seldom see.
She is generally friendly, but the least sociable of the Five, and can be very intimidating at times due to her incredibly serious and direct demeanor. In many scenes of the first film in which the other four of the Furious Five and/or Po were joking or having fun, Tigress would often remain quiet and withdrawn. At the time, it was strongly believed, by Shifu and herself, that Oogway was about to choose her as the Dragon Warrior before Po's entrance, despite Oogway's statements. As a result, Tigress bitterly resented Po for thwarting her dream, and was the most vocal of the Five in her contempt for the panda and his perceived lack of respect for kung fu, even while her comrades grew to respect him, perhaps still believing she was the Dragon Warrior.
Trivia
- In the third film, Tigress is the only member of the Furious Five to not be turned into a Jombie by Kai.
- Many fans of the series suspect Tigress to have romantic feelings for Po.
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