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| “ |
| We are noodle folk. Broth runs through our veins! |
| —Mr. Ping to Po, Kung Fu Panda |
Mr. Ping is one of the supporting characters in the Kung Fu Panda franchise. He is Po's adoptive father and the owner of his noodle shop business Dragon Warrior Noodles and Tofu in the Valley of Peace.
Mr. Ping discovered Po when he was a young cub, and soon after adopted him. Coming from a line of noodle chefs, Mr. Ping considers his work deeply fulfilling and wants to teach his son everything about noodle-making, hoping that Po would take over the family business after him. However, he has since accepted the differing ambitions of his son, and is proud of his son's role as the Dragon Warrior.
Biography[]
Earlier years[]
Pirating[]
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This section contains non-canon details from The Dragon Knight. Information in this section conflicts with the original established film canon. |
Thirty years ago, prior to becoming a noodle-maker and the owner of his restaurant, Mr. Ping was once a fearsome pirate named "the Soul Reaper" who worked together with his captain, the pirate queen Forouzan, as her first-mate. However, he is also her first love, in which they are engaged. Together, they became the most fearsome to ever sail the Seven Seas. Mr. Ping and Forouzan were unstoppable in their raids, in which they plundered every town they came across. The duo were also undefeated and always managed to escape, even from the Knights of Medieval England.
However, everything changed when their pirate ship was steered into a fleet of English ships. While their ship was sunken and Forouzan managed to survive, Mr. Ping was nowhere to be found. A surviving crew member claimed that he had gone overboard and was lost at sea. Forouzan was devastated over the apparent loss of her first-mate and first love. However, unbeknownst her, Mr. Ping managed to survive. Arriving in China through unknown means, he gave up his life of piracy and opened his noodle restaurant, becoming its proprietor in the process.
Finding Po[]
Young Mr. Ping finding baby Po
One day, while gathering a new shipment of vegetables he had ordered, Mr. Ping found a baby panda in one of the shipment's radish crates. Surprised, he looked around and waited for someone to come find the infant. When no one came, he turned to bring in the cabbages. But after hearing the child cry, he decided to keep the child until someone came looking for him. Quickly finding out that the infant was too big and heavy for him to carry, he led him inside his shop with a trail of dumplings. He bathed him, fed him, nurtured him, and grew to love him until he came to realize that no one was coming for the child. He then made a life-altering decision: to raise the child as his own son. Mr. Ping then named the baby panda "Xiao[7] Po" (小宝?).[8]
A portrait of young Po and a younger Mr. Ping
Since then, Mr. Ping had raised Po in the noodle shop, teaching him all he knew as a noodle-maker and hoping that one day, his adopted son would take over the restaurant just as he did from his own father. It never bothered him when Po broke a plate or messed up an order, because to him, his son was a hero.[9] Until the events in the second film, neither he nor Po ever brought up how different they were from each other, because despite their physical differences, they loved and respected each other.
In Secrets of the Scroll[]
Mr. Ping explained to a teenage Po that he needed him to get vegetables further away in the south thanks to Boar destroying the usual route he takes. While gone, he allowed Po to be in charge of the noodle shop. However, Po ended up poisoning Shifu and forcing Tigress to recruit warriors in his place. Mr. Ping returned from his journey, laughing about Shifu being poisoned by "some idiot cook", oblivious to the fact his son was the one who did so. He was proud of Po being the chef despite of the mess he had made, and he dismissed Po's notions about taking a different career. He made him take out the trash, which caused Tigress to switch the scroll with the names of warriors with the scroll that had Po's other career options.
Later, when the village was being evacuated, Po confessed to his father he poisoned Shifu. This didn't bother Mr. Ping, however, saying it would be good publicity. He ordered Po to gather some mushrooms, causing the teenage panda to witness the Furious Five defeat Boar. This in turn inspired his admiration for the Five, as well as his love for kung fu.
In Kung Fu Panda[]
Mr. Ping speaking with Po in the shop's kitchen
One morning, Po was late getting up for work and made a series of noises in his room. When he finally came downstairs, Mr. Ping asked his son as to what was happening. Po claimed that he was having a dream about noodles. This excited Mr. Ping, believing that Po finally had the "Noodle Dream", a clear sign that he would eventually take over the restaurant. Po unenthusiastically put it down as "no big deal" and asked his father if he ever wanted to do anything else besides make noodles. Mr. Ping admitted that when he was "young and crazy", he dreamed of running away to make tofu, but gave up on it because it was a "stupid dream".
Mr. Ping urging Po to get back to work
That same day, a tournament was announced across the Valley of Peace to be held at the Jade Palace, where Master Oogway would choose the Dragon Warrior. As Po urged all of the restaurant's patrons to go watch, Mr. Ping saw the event as a great opportunity to sell noodles. Knowing that everyone in the Valley would be there, he gave Po the noodle cart. But some time later, Mr. Ping discovered that Po had abandoned the noodle cart at the bottom of the stairs and found him seated in a chair with lit fireworks tied to it. He attempted to stop his son from performing such a dangerous stunt, but Po insisted that he wanted to see the Dragon Warrior. Mr. Ping was confused and reminded him that he just had the Noodle Dream, but Po confessed that he lied. As the rockets were about to ignite, Po exclaimed, "I love kung fu!" However, the rockets failed to go off and he fell down, depressed and miserable. Though sympathetic and disappointed, Mr. Ping handed Po his apron and suggested that they get back to work. Then suddenly the rockets went off, launching Po high into the sky before he fell down into the arena. After that, Mr. Ping manages to enter the arena just in time to see Oogway select Po as the Dragon Warrior, much to his great surprise.
Mr. Ping telling Po the "secret ingredient" to his soup
A few days later, as the Valley was being evacuated in response to the return of Tai Lung, Mr. Ping packed up his restaurant to restart elsewhere, deciding that diced vegetables would be his new trend. To his joy, Po returned as well, with the Dragon Scroll in hand. Mr. Ping noticed how depressed his son was and tried comforting him with talk of noodles again. Po replied by saying that sometimes he couldn't believe he was actually his son. Surprised at this, Mr. Ping then decided to reveal the secret ingredient to his secret ingredient soup: "nothing". He didn't need to add anything to plain, ordinary noodle soup — he only needed people to believe that it was special. Po then opened the scroll, looked at its blank, reflective surface, and realized that there was no secret ingredient to the mastery of kung fu. His father's advice gave him the courage to go back to the Jade Palace and confront Tai Lung.
Mr. Ping proudly hugging his son
At Po's triumph over Tai Lung, all of Mr. Ping's doubts of his son's destiny vanished as he proclaimed his pride in Po to the entire Valley as they embraced. Furthermore, the end credit graphics indicate that Po kept close in touch with his father to the point of temporarily assuming the restaurant's cooking on occasion while Ping established a friendship with the panda's other father figure and master, Shifu. and was seen outwitting Shifu in a Chinese chess match.
In Kung Fu Panda Holiday[]
Mr. Ping and Po in the "Noodle Dream"
The special opened up with Mr. Ping having his cherished "Noodle Dream", in which he and his son Po made an incredibly delicious noodle soup and served it to a rabbit customer. But suddenly, it turned into a "Noodle Nightmare" with the appearance of an incredibly large version of Tai Lung. Po defeated the snow leopard once again, but left his father, declaring that neither he, nor evil, takes a holiday. As he pleaded his son not to go, Mr. Ping's oven came alive and snatched at him like a frog. This moment of shock caused Mr. Ping to wake up, crying out in anguish. Po, bursting into his room, assured his dad that it was only a dream and that he wasn't going anywhere.
Shifu speaking to Po about the Jade Palace's holiday preparations
Afterwards, that same morning, Po and his father went downstairs, and Po came across the sun-lantern he made when he was a cub. Mr. Ping said that he opened the box the previous summer just to look at it. Then Master Shifu came into the restaurant to say good morning and assign Po to host the annual Winter Feast celebration at the Jade Palace, which is a highly ritualized formal occasion exclusively for the masters of kung fu. Mr. Ping became depressed when Po quickly forgot about their holiday traditions, before Po then rushed off to help the Furious Five defeat a group of boar bandits.
Po presenting to his father the Golden Ladle
When Po learned that he couldn't invite his own father to the feast, he figured that he could hire him as the feast's chef, thus solving his dilemma. Even though Po presented his father the opportunity to cater the feast with the Golden Ladle, Mr. Ping was adamant that he must stay at his restaurant for the lonely people who have nowhere else to eat for the holiday (and who also pay extra).
Mr. Ping and Po cooking holiday noodle soup
Mr. Ping had continued preparing for the Feast at the shop all by himself, struggling to do so with all the various things to accomplish. But later on the night of the feast, Po had returned to the shop to help his father. Once together, Mr. Ping apologized for being unfair to Po about his larger responsibilities and they prepared their food with polished skill to make the informal dinner a success from the start. Soon, the Furious Five and all the visiting masters, moved by Po's loyalty, arrived to participate in the festivities with the townsfolk.
In Art of Balance[]
Mr. Ping is concerned when Po begins suffering from tiredness due to lack of balance between his kung fu duties and his job at the restaurant.
During one busy day at the noodle shop, Mr. Ping is approached by an antelope named Kuo, who had just been hired by Po to work at the restaurant after expressing great interest in the job. While impressed by Kuo's skill in chopping vegetables, Mr. Ping refuses when the antelope inquires about one of his special recipes. While walking away, Mr. Ping does not notice Kuo glaring at his back.
Mr. Ping later finds Kuo searching the shop for the recipes, and again refuses when he demands to know their location. Angered, Kuo threatens Mr. Ping with a knife, and soon after Po returns to find his father bound and held hostage. It is revealed that Kuo blames Mr. Ping's successful business for his own failures, and believes that the goose's recipes are the key to his own success. Po attempts to reason with Kuo, but the enraged antelope attacks, only to be beaten by Po's newly-acquired balancing skills. Po unties his father while Shifu stops Kuo from escaping, and Mr. Ping thanks his son for saving him.
In Legends of Awesomeness[]
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This section contains non-canon details from Legends of Awesomeness. Information in this section conflicts with the original established film canon. |
Mr. Ping in Legends of Awesomeness
Mr. Ping makes frequent appearances in the series, and there are a few where he plays a significant role.
In "Master Ping", after a fight between Po and a trio of brutish pigs (Bao, Tsao and Lao) leads to the destruction of Mr. Ping's restaurant, Master Shifu allows the goose to take up residence in the Jade Palace. It isn't long until Mr. Ping's bossy, intrusive habits cause problems for the palace residents: the loud nasal sounds he makes when he sleeps keeps everyone else awake, he uses the jade tortoise as a giant noodle pan, and eventually transforms the hall of warriors into his own restaurant, with the Furious Five and temporarily Master Shifu as its waiters. While speaking with a customer, Mr. Ping actually proclaims that he "runs the place". Unfortunately, the pig trio from earlier happen to arrive at that very moment, having decided to find Shifu and make him teach them the secret kung fu moves. Hearing Mr. Ping's "run the place" comment, they immediately assume that he is the master they are looking for.
Shifu eventually tires of the goose's behavior, and arranges for him to be sent to a community home. When Po reluctantly breaks the news to his father, Mr. Ping is outraged, but leaves anyway. He is swiftly abducted by the trio and brought to their home. When his attempts to convince them that he is not Master Shifu fails, Mr. Ping then tries to teach them the Chao Wa Punch Kick, accidentally succeeding. Luckily Po manages to track his father and the trio down, but too late to stop them from learning the powerful move and using it to battle the panda. As Po is about to be overwhelmed, Mr. Ping manages to defeat the trio with the very kung fu move he taught them. After apologizing to Po and the other kung fu masters for his behavior, Mr. Ping returns to his newly rebuilt noodle shop.[5]
In "Love Stings", Mr. Ping is outraged when Po ditches their plans to cook mooncakes in order to play dizzy kung fu. In an attempt to gain more freedom, Po searches for potential girlfriends for his father. Mr. Ping rejects them all, and reveals to a surprised Po that he already has a girlfriend. Po's pleasant surprise turns to horror when he quickly discovers that said girlfriend is none other than Scorpion, Po's old enemy. Blinded by love, Mr. Ping refuses to listen to Po's warnings, and requests that the panda not reveal to the other masters that Scorpion is back in the valley.
For his father's sake, Po puts up with their relationship, up until the mid-autumn festival. Having had helped Mr. Ping with the mooncakes, Scorpion allows Po to try one. Just as Po begins to believe that Scorpion may have reformed after all, Scorpion reveals her true intentions: to poison everyone in the valley with her mooncakes. Having just ate a mooncake, Po is immediately reduced to a dizzy, delirious state, and Scorpion locks the panda in the basement just before Mr. Ping arrives. After he asks where Po is, Scorpion lies that Po wants nothing more to do with his father, saddening the goose. At the festival, Mr. Ping is horrified when his mooncakes take effect, incapacitating everyone in the valley. Fortunately Po manages to escape from the basement, and uses his condition to defeat Scorpion with dizzy kung fu. As she lies incapacitated on the ground, Mr. Ping dumps her for deceiving him and endangering his village.
The next day, father and son share quality bonding time as they administer antidote soup to everyone in the valley. Po takes note that his father has some lady admirers in their restaurant. Mr. Ping only nudges his son, saying that this may be a good dynasty.[2]
In "Qilin Time", Mr. Ping tells of how he was a little boy and went to Xin Xau forest against his parents's wishes. He got lost and encountered a creature known as the Qilin, then escaped. Since that day, no one believed him. He soon takes Po to the forest to find the creature and bring it back to the village. Soon, Po doesn't believe his father and no one wants to eat at the Noodle Shop. By the time Po believes him, Ping refuses to accept Po's story, until he saves both his son and the Qilin from General Tsin. The duo then use the Qilin to get back Mr. Ping's customers.
In Kung Fu Panda 2[]
After Po's success and fame as the Dragon Warrior, Mr. Ping continued to work at the noodle shop. But being proud of his son, he made a few changes to his business, marketing on Po's success by renaming the shop and creating a theme related to the Dragon Warrior, noodles, and tofu.
Po asking his father where he came from
After Po had a flashback of his mother, he asked Mr. Ping where he came from. Trying to make an excuse, Mr. Ping said he came from an egg and insisted that Po "[not] ask [him] where the egg comes from." But once he noticed how Po saw through the excuse, he reluctantly admitted that Po was adopted. Mr. Ping continued to explain how he found him in an "empty" box of radishes outside the shop. After a while of waiting for someone to come, he eventually decided on two things: to make his soup without radishes, and to take him in as a son, commenting on how "both [his] soup and [his] life had been that much sweeter." However, Po was unsatisfied, wondering how he could've ended up in that box. Mr. Ping reminds him that though his story may not have such a happy beginning, he is currently living out a happy life now.
Mr. Ping later heard about Po's mission to travel with the Furious Five over to Gongmen City to stop Lord Shen's weapon, and had already packed Po's things by the time he arrived back at the shop. Mr. Ping made an effort to try and pack things that would remind him of their relationship; these included Po's favorite foods, his Furious Five action figures, and portrait paintings of moments he considered precious (much to Po's embarrassment and Monkey's amusement). This was all done out of Mr. Ping's own worries, hoping that if Po indeed found where he came from, he would still find it in his heart to return. Still feeling that sense of worry that this might be an adventure his son may never return from, he tried pleading Po not to leave, but Po insisted that he discover where he came from and fulfill his duty as the Dragon warrior. As Po takes his traveling pack, Tigress assures Mr. Ping that Po will return, and Mr. Ping stood in the middle of the village road and sadly watched as Po and the Five departed.
At the end of the film, Mr. Ping was seen dealing with a pig mother and her son, who insisted that they see the Dragon Warrior for the child's birthday. Mr. Ping politely apologized as he told them Po wasn't present because of the mission that he and the Furious Five were given to save Gongmen City and China, but the pig's son is still not happy. The mother unwillingly suggested they returned some other time to see him, but a worried Mr. Ping, terrified and upset for the well-being of his only son, finally broke down in tears and answered that he doesn't know if Po will be returning or not. But just a moment later, Po appeared at the shop's entrance with a crate of radishes under each arm, much to the delight of Mr. Ping and the customers. He then asked him if he saved China, to which Po confirmed and additionally added how he also discovered where he came from.
Father and son reunite
Mr. Ping, worried that Po might consider leaving again, stared at his son in terror, until Po then declared that he was his son. Relieved that Po still accepted him as a father, both father and son share a hug in acceptance of one another. Mr. Ping then offered to cook for Po, but Po offered to cook as well as his way of thanking his father for raising him. But Mr. Ping insisted on cooking and he happily walked into the kitchen with his son.
In Kung Fu Panda 3[]
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At the start of the film, Mr. Ping serves Po and the Furious Five, who order two Justice Platters from him.
Later on,Mr. Ping finds Po in the noodle shop taking a bath with his action figures. Guessing that Po was troubled, he tried to press his son for an explanation. After Po accidentally added szechuan peppercorn to the bath instead of bath salts, Po confided in Mr. Ping regarding his insecurities about becoming a teacher and whether it defined him as the Dragon Warrior. Only catching the first half, Mr. Ping became excited, predicting that when Po eventually becomes master of the Jade Palace, he could sell noodles in the lobby. Rushing to expand his franchise, Mr. Ping rushes Po out the bath.
Suddenly, a pig bursts in, announcing that someone is breaking the record of eating dumplings of Po. Mr. Ping and Po rush to the restaurant floor and are shocked to see that the challenger is another panda, who introduces himself as Li Shan and is looking for his son. Both pandas become slow on the uptake before happily embracing themselves as father and son. Po then introduced Li to Mr. Ping, who happily hugged him, thanking him for taking care of his son. Getting jealous, Mr. Ping tries to dispute if Li is actually Po's biological father, but the pandas were too busy learning to "belly gong". Mr. Ping soon interposed himself in a painting that included Li and Po and pointed out that Po was supposed to be the only panda left. Li reveals that there are more of them in a secret village of pandas in the mountains and that was received by a message of the universe that led him to the Valley, which the crowd was quick to accept. As Li and Po leaves the noodle shop and Mr. Ping is worried and feels that he is not Po's father anymore.
Later on in the day, Mr. Ping furiously chops up vegetables, venting his frustrations with Po growing close to Li, when suddenly Po crashes on the floor, fighting a trio of jombies. Po grabbed a pan as an improvised weapon but Mr. Ping pleaded him not to use the good pan and instead exchanged it with a ladle. Mr. Ping soon ducked as Po, Viper and Tigress used the Dumplings of Doom maneuver to subdue the jombies. Suddenly, an ominous voice issues from the jombies' mouths, vowing to take all the kung fu masters' chi, identifying himself as Kai. When the masters expressed confusion, the jombies turn into jade statuettes and fly off.
Mr. Ping accompanied Po, Li, the Five and Shifu to the Jade Palace, where Shifu finds a scroll written by Oogway, revealing that Kai was once his brother-in-arms five hundred years ago and that pandas were once masters of chi. As the tale ended stating if Kai escaped the Spirit Realm, he could only be stopped by a true master of chi. Li offered to teach Po how to master chi if he accompanied him back to the panda village. Not wanting his son to leave again, Mr. Ping pleaded with the others to open another scroll and find another solution. However, as Shifu supported Li's offer, Po reasoned that joining Li could help stop Kai and help him rediscover what it was to be a panda.
Afraid that Li was going to steal Po from him, Mr. Ping secretly stowed away in Po's backpack. When he was discovered midway through their journey, Mr. Ping claimed he followed to ensure that Po wouldn't go hungry in case the pandas don't have food he likes. Li tries to politely decline his company, stating that the pandas can't share the village's location with outsiders, but Mr. Ping insisted he was trustworthy, recalling how he raised Po for twenty years before telling him he was adopted. That seemed to satisfy Li, who remarked it would be mean to make him fly back; Po hadn't realize his adoptive father could fly before Mr. Ping reminded he was a bird after all.
When they arrive at the secret village, Mr. Ping is surprised by the number of pandas living there. As the pandas roll down to the hill to the dinner table, Mr. Ping found their means of travel ridiculous, before Po unsuccessfully attempts to roll himself. Mr. Ping soon joins the pandas at dinner, at which the kid pandas, having never seen a non-panda before, start pestering him with frivolous questions, before Mr. Ping served Po his dumplings. Subsequently, the dinner was entertained by Mei Mei, who dragged Po into her dance performance; when Po begged his fathers for help, they both declined.
The next morning, Ping carrying a bowl of dumplings and calls Po to eat but then runs off to see this in an area where pandas roll. Subsequently Ping enters the kitchen and finds baby pandas getting into all sorts of danger that he was forced to save them from, but then gets nostalgic when the pandas proclaim their love for noodles, which reminded him of Po.
As night fell, the festivities are interrupted by the arrival of Tigress, who informed everyone that Kai attacked the Valley and had taken the chi of every master in China. Mr. Ping panicked, asking the status of his restaurant, to which everyone looked at him in awkward silence. Worse of all, Li confesses to Po that he lied to him about knowing the secret of chi, believing he was saving Po from Kai. Though Mr. Ping pleaded with his son to flee, Po was determined to stay, and began training himself to fight Kai.
Worried, Ping visited Li in his hut with dumplings and tells him that was not the only one lying to Po and was worried that Li remove Po from his life. However, now he realizes that it's not wrong for Po to have two loving fathers in his life. However, Li believed he had irreparably shattered the bond he had with Po for lying to him, but Mr. Ping assured him that Po would find it in his heart to forgive him as Po forgave Mr. Ping for lying about him being adopted. Handing Li the painting they made back in the Valley, he reminded that Po was confused and that to save the world, he needed the support of both his fathers to succeed.
Mr. Ping and Li soon rallied the pandas to help Po fight Kai, but Po was least convinced of their fighting skills. But when Li insisted they could be just like him, Po found the wisdom that enabled him to teach, teaching all the pandas to use their normal activities to exemplify their best selves.
During the battle against Kai and his jombies, Li and Mr. Ping created a bamboo replica of Master Flying Rhino's armor and used frying pans to fight against a jombie Shifu. As they watch Po roll down the hill to engage Kai, both fathers proudly proclaim in unison, "That's our boy!" However, Po soon learned that the Wuxi Finger Hold doesn't work on Spirit Warriors like Kai. When all seemed lost, Po wrapped himself around Kai and used the Wuxi Finger Hold on himself, sending the two to the Spirit Realm, leaving a series of petals shaped in the image of yin-yang. Realizing that Po was fighting a losing battle in the Spirit Realm, Li rallies everyone to channel their chi into Po, giving him the power to destroy Kai and restore the kung fu masters to normal. Po returned some time after, hovering in the air in regale attire, holding the Staff of Wisdom given to him by Oogway; the effect didn't last long and Po dropped to the ground in his usual attire. Mr. Ping and Li then happily embrace their son, the former pleading him never to disappear in petals ever again.
Everyone later returns to the Valley of Peace, where Mr. Ping sets up his noodle cart in the Palace Arena, as Po teaches everyone how to channel their chi, at which Mr. Ping joins in.
In The Paws of Destiny[]
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This section contains non-canon details from The Paws of Destiny. Information in this section conflicts with the original established film canon. |
Mr. Ping first appeared in "A Fistful of Herbs", when he came to see Po's performance. At first, he shows a bit of grudge to Li Shan, but after some time, he supports Li Shan to harness his Chi. In the course of the series, Mr. Ping also helps Po and the Pandas fought Jindiao.
In The Dragon Knight[]
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This section contains non-canon details from The Dragon Knight. Information in this section conflicts with the original established film canon. |
In the first season of Dragon Knight, Mr. Ping first appeared in the first episode, he is the one who told Po that the emperor was taking away his title of Dragon Master. He later being questioned by the Emperor about the whereabout of his son and incarcerated in the prison. He later meets Po in the prison and escape together. At the end of the first season, Mr. Ping followed Po, the Wandering Blade and Rukhmini in search of the four Tianshang Weapons.
In Kung Fu Panda 4[]
 **SPOILER ALERT!** Plot and/or ending details follow below.
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Coming soon!
| End of spoilers. |
Personality[]
| “ |
| Mr. Ping: In honor of my son, free tofu dessert for everybody! [The shop crowd cheers.] Mr. Ping: --with purchases. [The shop crowd groans.] |
| —In the noodle shop, Kung Fu Panda 2 |
There are three things in his life that Mr. Ping loves over anything else: his son, noodles, and tofu. He is usually happy, funny, humble, and takes pride in his business running the Noodle Shop. In the first film, he is delighted by the prospect of Po being next in the family tradition to own the restaurant after him, though fails to notice Po's obvious lack of enthusiasm to do so. Even though Po chooses to pursue kung fu, Mr. Ping is still very proud of him and comes to accept his son's destiny as the Dragon Warrior.[10]
Mr. Ping's nightmare
He enjoys the Winter Festival holiday in Kung Fu Panda Holiday, celebrating by cooking and hanging decorations, being particularly fond of a sun-lantern Po made when he was a cub. Even though Po continues to work at the Noodle Shop, Mr. Ping may worry about Po leaving him some day, as seen in his nightmare. In the special, he also shows compassion for others when he turns down the high honor of preparing a feast at the Jade Palace so that he can cook for the neighborhood and give any lonely people a place to stay. It is also partly because of his sympathy that Po was inspired to believe in himself and understand the symbolic meaning of the Dragon Scroll, as Mr. Ping offered him the secret ingredient to the restaurant's soup, which was nothing but one's own belief in it being special.[4]
Po has pointed out that his father is "a little hard to live with", as Mr. Ping has displayed signs of being unwittingly bossy and intrusive, likely stemming from his experiences in managing his restaurant. This was seen in the episode "Master Ping" from Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness while the goose was staying at the Jade Palace as a guest, and had turned the place into his temporary noodle shop, ordering Shifu and the Furious Five around and making them into servers. When he was kidnapped by a trio of pigs and called out on his behavior by Po, Mr. Ping realized the error of his ways and became more humble.
In the same episode, Mr. Ping also showed a mild disdain for kung fu, considering it boring and pointless compared to noodles. This was most evident when Shifu demonstrated the powerful Chao Wa Punch Kick on the training dummy. Rather than being impressed, Mr. Ping disrespected the move by calling it a lot of work and suggested simply hitting the opponent with a stick, much to Po's dismay. Mr. Ping would later be proven wrong when he discovered that the technique results in the opponent being completely frozen, something a stick would never be capable of. After using the same move to protect his son from Bao, Mr. Ping admitted that kung fu was actually very useful (though still not as good as noodles).[5]
Mr. Ping has also been known to be a canny, if a bit opportunistic, business owner since the events of the first film. This was shown in Kung Fu Panda Holiday when Mr. Ping explains to Po that he can't leave the restaurant because the lonely people need a place to call home for the holidays (and also charge them extra for it).[4] Similarly, in Kung Fu Panda 2, he offers "free" tofu dessert for his customers, but only with purchases.[8]
Abilities[]
Mr. Ping chopping vegetables in Kung Fu Panda
Although Mr. Ping doesn't fight, he is very skilled in making noodle soup. He comes from a long line of noodle makers; Po and noodles are all that he cares about. Although, once Po became the Dragon Warrior and Mr. Ping changed the name of his restaurant to capitalize on Po's fame, he also began fulfilling his own dreams. Mr. Ping mentioned in the first film that he thought of running away when he was younger to learn how to make tofu, but didn't because it was "just a stupid dream." Because of Po's success in his dream, he has now begun selling tofu in his shop, thus fulfilling a dream he always had.
In the Kung Fu Panda credits, Mr. Ping is shown to be incredibly skilled at Chinese chess, beating even Master Shifu.
Mr. Ping uses techniques similar to when creating noodle soup. This helped him to make the noodles much faster than before.[4] Mr. Ping has a mastery over Chinese culinary arts, to such a degree that they appear to mimic kung fu fighting styles. His speed, agility and proficiency with bladed tools are unparalleled in such a case. He also has a heightened sensory system, enabling him to deduce what's wrong with his food, simply by either by looking it for a few seconds, smelling it or tasting it. This allows him to perfect his cooking.
Mr. Ping has also shown in "Master Ping" to be able to perform a kung fu move after only seeing it once, much like Po.[5] This shows his rapid adaption skills. He even used his rapid learning to learn how to master Chi-based capabilities.
While defending the secret Panda Village against Kai's invasion, he and Li formed a defensive weapon called "Double Dad Defense" using kitchen equipment and bamboo sticks.
Relationships[]
Po[]
| “ |
| Po: I know who I am. Mr. Ping: You do? Po: I'm your son. [They embrace each other in a hug.] Po: I love you, Dad. Mr. Ping: [choked with tears] I love you too, son. |
| —Po reuniting with his father, Kung Fu Panda 2 |
As his adoptive father, Mr. Ping loves Po more than he loves his noodles. Even though he is a little old-fashioned and maybe a bit naive to his son's wishes and adult responsibilities, he does love his son dearly and would do anything to make him happy. He gave Po his posters, swinging stars and action figures out of love and encouragement that his son could lead a normal and happy life.
Mr. Ping's biggest fear is that, someday, Po will no longer need him and leave. However, Po is a loving son who treasures his dad too dearly to leave him. This led to some friction with Po being host of the Winter Festival and Mr. Ping declined his son's offer to have him cater it in favor of his own profitable event at the Noodle Shop on the same night. As it turns out, both found their separate commitments dispiriting struggles, but Po returned to the shop mid-through the feast with the Masters out of loyalty to his father where Mr. Ping apologizes for being unfair to his son and his obligations as the Dragon Warrior. With his son's help, the shop's event is a rousing success that draws all the Masters to join them.[4] Afterward, Po moves to the Jade Palace barracks satisfied that his father is at peace with his calling.
Po greeting Mr. Ping in Kung Fu Panda 2
This relationship was tested in the second film, when Po finally found out the truth about his origins. However, as he remembered the good times he had with Mr. Ping, he realized how much his dad loves him despite their differences and a difficult undertaking. Upon his return to the Valley, Po returns to his dad's noodle shop and lovingly acknowledges his importance and love to him.[8]
Scorpion[]
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This section contains non-canon details from Legends of Awesomeness. Information in this section conflicts with the original established film canon. |
| “ |
| Mr. Ping: [To Po] Just look at her, isn't she beautiful? And those eyes, all those gorgeous eyes... [Po starts gagging.] Mr. Ping: And that exoskeleton! |
| —Upon first revealing to Po his relationship with Scorpion, Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness |
In "Love Stings", when Po noticed his father may be lonely since he moved out, he tried to get his father a girlfriend but his father acted rudely to them all. He revealed to Po that he already had a girlfriend, who happened to be Scorpion, much to his horror. He initially thought she brainwashed her, but the two tried to convince him otherwise. The two acted very lovey-dovey to each other, and Ping liked the allure of a "forbidden relationship" since Scorpion was banished from the Valley of Peace. Po tried to accept the relationship for his father's happiness, until he learned she was using Mr. Ping to help make poisoned moon cakes to take over the Valley. Mr. Ping then broke up with her, saying she was a cruel, evil mastermind, and that they should see other people.
Gahri[]
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This section contains non-canon details from Legends of Awesomeness. Information in this section conflicts with the original established film canon. |
When Gahri was kicked out of Fung's gang, Po left him with Mr. Ping, who reluctantly took him in. However, after seeing how hard-working and capable he was, he decided to take him on as a waiter for his restaurant. He was very pleased by how good a waiter Gahri was, especially in comparison to his son and how he could see lots of his dishes. He even told Po he considered adopting Gahri as his son, much to Po's jealousy. However, he told Po that he still loved Po the most as he was his true son. Gahri also grew to like Mr. Ping as his friend to the point where in the same episode, when Mr. Ping was accused of stealing a priceless vase, Gahri lied that it was a forgery to save Mr. Ping. Even though he quit, Mr. Ping bore him no ill will and told him there will always be a place for him at the noodle shop, which Gahri was happy about, parting on good terms.
Li[]
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This section needs revising. The content below could use some extra attention. You can help by editing it! |
| “ |
| Mr. Ping: I'm pretty sure he said his name is Li. Li: You... Come here! [He hugs Mr. Ping.] Thank you, thank you for taking such good care of my son. Mr. Ping: Your son?! Now hold on just a minute. [to Po] How do we know this... stranger is even related to you? |
| —Upon meeting each other in the noodle shop, Kung Fu Panda 3 |
At first, when Li and Po reunited, Mr. Ping immediately recognized Po was Li's long lost son. When Po and Li realized that though, Mr. Ping refused to believe it because he was scared of losing Po. As Po and his father left to spend time together and Po wanted to show Li the town and make him proud, Ping mentioned he was already proud of Po. He even snuck his way in Po's luggage so he could join them on their journey to the panda village. Li allowed him to come despite the fact the place was supposed to be secret. When Po rejected Li as his father after he learned Li lied about teaching him how to use chi so he could take Po to the village where he would be safe, Mr. Ping comforted him, saying that he felt Li would steal Po away from him but he realized that having Li in Po's life didn't mean less of Po for Mr. Ping but more love for Po and that as his dads they needed to support Po during his fight against Kai. He also said that Po would surely forgive him, as Mr. Ping had also hid the truth from Po for twenty years about being his father and Po managed to forgive him. The two fought together against the jade zombies and worried over Po when he sent himself and Kai to the spirit realm and were overjoyed when he came back.
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This section contains non-canon details from The Paws of Destiny. Information in this section conflicts with the original established film canon. |
In Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny, the relationship between Ping and Li is explored a little more, although in the beginning Ping and Li did not want to become friends, even arguing, at Po's request, Li wanted to try to make friends with the goose, Ping, although at first he did not want to accept it, in the end he also wanted to make friends with Li knowing that he mentioned that they are like family because they share the same son: "Po". Even as Li mentioned once, Li and Ping share the same room and bed when they sleep.
Clothing[]
Mr. Ping wears a simple red robe with light yellow lining, and a gold-colored belt with wave designs on it (though this was replaced by white lining and a black belt in Kung Fu Panda Holiday to create a Santa Claus-esque image). He is usually seen donning a hat made to look like a bowl of noodles, seemingly made of fabric and balls of yarn, with a pair of chopsticks attached. He also wears bead-like rings on his ankles.
In Kung Fu Panda 2, when Mr. Ping explains to Po about his adoption and flashes back to approximately twenty years ago, Mr. Ping is shown wearing a shiny purple overcoat paired with a long braid tied behind his head, all rather than his customary noodle shop robe and hat seen in the first film. Character designer Nicolas Marlet explained this look as a representation of Mr. Ping's "young and crazy days" when he discovered baby Po.[11]
In Kung Fu Panda 4, Mr. Ping wears his blue and red hat.
Trivia[]
- Mr. Ping's voice actor is James Hong. "Hong" (traditional Chinese: 鴻?; simplified Chinese: 鸿; pinyin: hóng) is Chinese for "eastern bean goose."
- Mr. Ping has been the only character so far with the same voice actor throughout the entire Kung Fu Panda franchise.[6]
- Mr. Ping was originally going to be Po's strict boss. This idea was later changed to the goose being Po's dad because it was funnier.[1]
- After hearing about James Hong's father owning a noodle shop, the Kung Fu Panda filmmakers decided to bring this to his character.[12]
- In an interview, James Hong compared Mr. Ping's personality to that of a Jewish mother and a Chinese father, and declared that Mr. Ping was like a mix between the two.[13]
- Mr. Ping is the only other character apart from Po to appear in every film and series of the Kung Fu Panda franchise.
Gallery[]
Images[]
![[Add a caption]](/wiki/File:Kung-fu-panda_ping.jpg "Kung-fu-panda ping.jpg (66 KB)")
![[Add a caption]](/wiki/File:Photo-Kung-Fu-Panda-2-2010-30.jpg "Photo-Kung-Fu-Panda-2-2010-30.jpg (97 KB)")
Videos[]
Quotes[]
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See also[]
Mr. Ping on the April 12, 2016* version of the official Kung Fu Panda website via the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Revealed in the DVD audio commentary of DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda (2008). Narrated by John Stevenson and Mark Osborne (directors).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Revealed in "Love Stings" from Nickelodeon's Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness. Ep. 23, Season 1. Written by Joshua Hamilton & directed by Juan Meza-Leon. Originally aired April 2, 2012.
- ↑ "Kung Fu Panda 4 Production Information" by Universal Pictures. Accessed February 15, 2024.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Revealed in DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda Holiday (2010). Written by Jonathan Groff, Jon Pollack & directed by Tim Johnson.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Revealed in "Master Ping" from Nickelodeon's Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness. Ep. 13, Season 1. Written by Paul Rugg & directed by Michael Mullen. Originally aired November 28, 2011.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 James Hong at the Internet Movie Database
- ↑ Used as an adjective that means "little" (traditional and simplified Chinese: 小?; pinyin: xiǎo).
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Revealed in DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011). Written by Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger, Charlie Kaufman & directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson. Distributed by Paramount Pictures.
- ↑ Scholastic.com - "Kung Fu Panda-monium!" by Marie Morreale. Published and retrieved November 7, 2008.
- ↑ Revealed in DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda (2008). Written by Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger & directed by John Stevenson, Mark Osborne. Distributed by Paramount Pictures.
- ↑ Miller-Zarneke, Tracey. The Art of Kung Fu Panda 2, p. 35. ISBN: 1608870189.
- ↑ Revealed in a behind-the-scenes featurette on the Kung Fu Panda DVD.
- ↑ Viewable from this featurette.
