| “ |
| Young Shen was in line to rule Gongmen City, but he wanted more. I foretold that someone would stand in his way—a panda. But I never could have foretold what came next... |
| —The Soothsayer to Po before the flashback, Kung Fu Panda 2 |
The massacre of the pandas was the unexpected, unforeseen raid on the panda village, led by Lord Shen and his wolf followers. Even though some fought back, it ultimately ended in the destruction of the village and the extermination of almost all the villagers. Only a few had managed to escape and survive the attack.[1]
Summary
Background
The Soothsayer foretelling the warrior of black and white prophecy to Shen's parents
Lord Shen of the peacock rulers of Gongmen City, sought to weaponize his family's invention of fireworks. Concerned, Shen's parents consulted a soothsayer. The Soothsayer foresaw that if Shen continued his dark pursuits, he would be defeated by "a warrior of black and white". Shen, having overheard about the prophecy, presumed it meant the pandas living in the nearby village and, in response, led his loyal wolves to exterminate this potential threat relentlessly.[1]
Massacre
Upon arrival at the village, Shen had his wolves set fire to the houses and pursue the pandas attempting to flee the carnage. During the massacre, Boss Wolf and another wolf leaped at an infant panda watching the chaos in terror. The child's father bravely stepped in front of him and struck the wolves with a rake as Shen looked on in astonishment. Boss Wolf's left eye was permanently blinded from the blow. After the initial attack on the village, Shen and the wolves scoured the surrounding forests for any remaining pandas.[1]
Aftermath
Shen's parents exiling their son for his actions
When the massacre was complete, Shen returned home, expecting his parents to praise him for his initiative. Instead, horrified and disgusted by the atrocity their son had committed, Shen's parents responded by banishing him for his crimes for all eternity. Believing his parents to have betrayed him, Shen swore to return and conquer all of China. Unbeknownst to him, the act of exiling their beloved son for his crime drove Shen's parents to despair, and they died of grief not long afterward.
While Shen believed his genocide of the pandas to be complete, he was wrong. A number of pandas fled and hid in a secret valley, along with the infant's father. The infant panda was hidden by his mother in a radish crate that made its way to the Valley of Peace, where he eventually rose up to become the Dragon Warrior and avenge this injustice.[1]
Trivia
- This event in Kung Fu Panda 2 may be an allusion to the fact that pandas are an endangered species.
Gallery
Images
Videos
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 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.