The Thread of Hope (originally known as the Infinite Bridge^[1]) is the name given to the thousand mile-long rope bridge that spans the chasm in the Mountain Pass. It was on this very long bridge that the Furious Five confronted and fought Tai Lung in Kung Fu Panda.

BackgroundEdit

The Thread of Hope was built seven hundred years ago by the grateful Chih Kuan Crane Clan from Mongol Daguur in Mongolia to repay Master Oogway for his help in defeating the Black Steel Flying Lizards from the Cliffs of Anguish at the Battle of Burning Sky at the Hour of the Rat.

It was Master Oogway's request that every animal in China should have the chance to come and live in the Valley of Peace, if they so wanted and their hearts were pure. The Thread of Hope was a means for determined, brave souls to escape the Northern Wastelands and make for a better life in the Valley.

This long bridge ensures that no army can invade the Valley of Peace, since it has been constructed to only permit single-file traffic and any threat would be spotted miles away by the ever-vigilant scouts from the Chih Kuan Crane Clan. The bridge has been designed to be quickly and easily destroyed if a threat is detected by cutting the supporting ropes at any of the many anchor points built atop the Fangs of Hell, the stony spires that thrust up through the mist of the Devil's Mouth. The threat of being plunged into the screaming void has deterred any attacks on the Valley since the bridge was built.^[2]

HistoryEdit

In Kung Fu PandaEdit

The Furious Five encounter and fight Tai Lung on the part of the bridge connecting to the entrance to the Valley of Peace. Due to Tai Lung's vigorous fighting techniques and the Furious Five's desperate attempt to make sure he doesn't cross into the Valley, the first section of the bridge is completely destroyed and unusable.

It is assumed that the bridge was probably rebuilt over time, though no one knows for sure who helps to do it.

TriviaEdit

• The bridge sequence began as a visual development idea, as one of a series of epic feats in Tai Lung's journey from prison back to the Valley of Peace. Huge gorillas guarded the bridge and, as Tai Lung defeated them (and every other set of specialty guards along his path), they tagged along like groupies, forming a gang of followers.^[1]
• The rope bridge in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was used as a reference for the bridge.^[1]
• There are 370 planks along the bridge. In the course of the battle, 174 of them are broken.^[1]
• The speed at which Tigress travels through the planks after being kicked by Tai Lung: 40.9 miles per hour. The length of the rope bridge: 629 feet.^[1]

GalleryEdit

Bridge concept illustration by Tang Kheng Heng

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ReferencesEdit