Secrets of the Furious Five (2008)

Master Shifu instructs Po to teach an introductory Kung Fu lesson to a group of rambunctious bunny children. Po tries to teach the kids that combat is only part of what Kung Fu is about, as its true meaning is “excellence of self.” To illustrate his point, he explains the Furious Five’s individual backstories, and the basic philosophical concepts that enabled them to be great Kung Fu masters.

Mantis, as a youth, was a petulantly impatient warrior, prone to jumping to conclusions and making impulsive decisions. Eventually, this habit got him captured by Crocodile bandits. The long wait Mantis was forced to endure in his prison taught him patience, and he was able to use this to play dead long enough to ambush his captors.

Viper, the daughter of Great Master Viper, was born without venomous fangs. Her father, who relied on his venomous bite to protect the village, believed she could never be a warrior like him, causing Viper to grow up shy and timid. One night during a festival, Great Master Viper encountered a gorilla bandit, and broke his fangs on the gorilla’s special snake-proof armor. Seeing her father in peril, Viper found the courage to fight the bandit and defeat him with her ribbon dancing skills.

Crane was the self-deprecating janitor of a Kung Fu academy, until the star pupil Mei Ling encouraged him to seek enrollment. Crane’s lifelong belief that he was too skinny to be an effective Kung Fu warrior caused him to lose his nerve at the tryouts; however, when he accidentally stumbled into the intense obstacle course to determine eligibility, he discovered the confidence to use his skinniness as an asset and pass the test.

Tigress was an orphan, and unfairly isolated as a ‘monster’ because of her lack of control over her ferocity and strength. At the behest of the orphanage staff, Master Shifu arrived to teach her the discipline she desperately needed to control her movements. Eventually, the other children trusted and even befriended her. Despite this breakthrough, no adult would consent to adopt her, so Master Shifu took her in as his student and foster daughter.

Monkey was humiliated in his youth, and grew up tormenting his village with pranks as revenge. Many challengers attempted to drive him away, but Monkey would always remove their pants to humiliate them. Master Oogway, who had a shell instead of pants, was able to subdue Monkey, and saved Monkey from being crushed by a column knocked loose in their brawl. Noticing Monkey’s reaction to being cared about, Oogway told Monkey he could stay in the village as long as he would show others the compassion he so greatly desired himself.