Spottedstar's blog

Kung Fu Panda Books

2013-06-19T15:47:42Z

Day 19: Kung Fu Panda Books

What do you like/dislike about the KFP books?

Alongside the franchise's shorts and video games, another major part and effective way of storytelling is in one of the oldest, classic forms of it: reading it in a book!

Just like the video games, the franchise isn't primarily a book franchise, and yet they're still really popular in the fandom. It's another way for the franchise to reach to other audiences (or to the same ones in a different way), and there are a number of different kinds of books that can be made. The first "official" book in the franchise was The Art of Kung Fu Panda, which is now an extreme rarity (if not impossible) to buy. A number of storybooks and novels for children have also been made, as well as some interactive/instructional books like recipe or cookbooks (most of which have been converted into apps). Now the most recent and numerous books are from Ape Entertainment's KFP comics, which I hear is still going strong. :)

Our open discussion activity today will go just like yesterday's: What do you like/dislike about the franchise's books? Any favorites? What do you hope to see (or see more of) in the future?

We'll also have another poll. But this time, rather than voting for your favorite separate book, vote for your favorite kind of book to read from the franchise:

Kung Fu Panda Video Games

2013-06-18T15:05:19Z

Day 18: Kung Fu Panda Video Games

What do you like/dislike about the KFP video games?

Having done the franchise's shorts yesterday, we now move on to our next feature: the video games!

I don't have any personal experience with the franchise's video games (although one time I came very close to buying the first game), but I know they're pretty popular in the fandom, especially since I'm noticing all of the people mourning Kung Fu Panda World on another blog. The games are way for fans to interact with the Kung Fu Panda world and, in some cases (depending on what game you're looking at), to experience the same events as Po in the films/episodes. But the franchise isn't primarily a video game franchise like Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed or whatever else, so the games aren't "great" but still liked amongst its fans.

We're focusing again today on what you guys think about the franchise's games. This is another open discussion, but it's also an opportunity to share your opinions about them: What do you like/dislike about them? What kind of games and/or improvements are you hoping to see in the future?

And also, like yesterday, vote for your favorite game made so far:

Kung Fu Panda Shorts

2013-06-17T17:35:45Z

Day 17: Kung Fu Panda Shorts

So far in our celebration, we've had a featured spotlight on both of the franchise's films (one on May 26th and the other on June 6th) and its spin-off TV show. Today, we're now featuring another important part of the franchise: its shorts! Pictured above is the title card for Secrets of the Furious Five, which (aside from Legend of the Legendary Warrior) was one of the franchise's first official shorts. This being, it's our featured article for the day. :)

So what's so special about the shorts?

Shorts are basically like miniature versions of the franchise's films. In this way they're a lot like the Legends of Awesomeness episodes, which also try to mimic the style of the Kung Fu Panda movies.

But then what's the difference between a short and an episode from Legends of Awesomeness? And why are shorts such a big deal to us fans? Why do we like them so much?

For today's activity, we're focusing on what you guys think about the franchise's shorts. This is another open discussion as always, but it's also a focus on the questions mentioned above: Tell us why you think the shorts are so special and important to the franchise. What do you like/dislike about them? What kind of shorts are you hoping to see in the future?

And, as a bonus, vote for your favorite short made so far in this poll:

Character Spotlight: Mr. Ping

2013-06-16T15:06:03Z

Day 16: Character Spotlight - Mr. Ping

"We are noodle folk. Broth runs through our veins!"

With today being Father's Day, I thought it would be appropriate to have a father theme today. And how better to do that than with one more character spotlight on another important character to the franchise? :) Presenting our featured character for the day: the loveable Noodle Shop owner, Mr. Ping!

For today's discussion activity, we'll of course have another open discussion for Mr. Ping. Share whatever you want about him. But for a specific focus, feel free to share your opinion on one or both of these:

What qualities does Mr. Ping possess and bring to the franchise's story? Or better yet (as a reflection of our previous heroes and villains theme), what makes Mr. Ping a hero? Mr. Ping certainly has done a lot for Po since finding him outside the shop, but what exactly does Mr. Ping do as a father that makes him heroic and important to the franchise's story?

On that same note...

What significance does the father role have in the franchise's story arc? If no one's noticed before, there have been lots of father characters in the franchise thus far (Shifu, Shifu's father, Po's biological father, Shen's father, Viper's father, Taotie, Han Sr., the occasional villager with his child, etc.) Clearly there's an ongoing theme in the franchise. But for what purpose? What does a father do that's so important to storytelling?

Same drill as always: Feel free to share lists, example scenes, personal experiences, or whatever else. And remember to have fun! :)

The Return of the Legends of Awesomeness

2013-06-15T16:33:41Z

Day 15: The Return of the Legends of Awesomeness

"Day 15"... We're now officially half way through the event! If anyone wants to know, I've noticed quite a large rise in activity on the wiki since beginning the event, and it's really awesome to see that. Hopefully this activity will sustain even after the event, and that we'll get a good handful of new and/or returning editors. Keep it up, guys! :D

Now getting back to today's blog...

"Hear the legends of the Kung Fu Panda!"

We're going to be continuing our exploration of the franchise with a look into the Nickelodeon TV series, Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness. It has quite a bit of stuff coming up: an awards show tomorrow, new episodes starting the following day on Monday, and its first DVD the next day on Tuesday!

There's been quite a mix of feedback from this show—from fans, critics, and onlookers alike. Those who've stuck with the show and have kept updated on it for a while are most likely aware of this. It's for sure not as "good" as the films (which, of course, everyone compares it to because that's how the franchise started out), but definitely has some generally good qualities to it for an animated television show on Nickelodeon.

This being, I think it would be interesting to have another open discussion on the TV show today, but for a specific activity, let's have everyone share both something they like and something they dislike about the show. This could be anything—your thoughts on your favorite/least favorite episode, the music, the animation, the various storylines, the new characters, etc. Basically just give your personal opinion about the show and share an example alongside it. :)

Character Spotlight: Shen

2013-06-14T15:24:39Z

Day 14: Character Spotlight - Shen

"The Year of the Peacock begins now!"

Today we're wrapping up our heroes and villains theme with one more character spotlight, and he's another favorite from the fandom: the exiled inventor of the cannon, Lord Shen!

We're going to have one final open discussion on this character, as well as one final discussion on why he's a key villain figure in the franchise. And for the last time, here are the theme's featured questions (customized to Shen) to help you in your answer:

Is Shen primarily a hero or a villain?
What qualities make him this way?
Is he maybe heroic in some ways? Why or why not?

Also, because we've now covered both main villains from the films, here's another poll:

Character Spotlight: Tai Lung

2013-06-13T15:16:35Z

Day 13: Character Spotlight - Tai Lung

"Fly back there and tell them... the real Dragon Warrior is coming home."

About a week ago, we started our discussion on heroes and villains as part of our event's current theme on the franchise's story arc. Having covered the primary heroes of the franchise, we now transition to the primary villains, starting with the former Kung Fu student, the incarcerated criminal Tai Lung!

We're having another open discussion on him, but in accordance to our current theme, we're also discussing why he's a key villain figure in the franchise. You guys listed some good ideas in the Heroes vs. Villains blog of what makes someone good or evil, so now let's use that information on Tai Lung.

Once again, here are the featured questions (customized to Tai Lung) to help you in your answer:

Is Tai Lung primarily a hero or a villain?
What qualities make him this way?
Is he maybe heroic in some ways? Why or why not?

Character Spotlight: Oogway

2013-06-12T14:23:27Z

Day 12: Character Spotlight - Oogway

"There are no accidents."

Although there are still a number of heroic characters in the franchise's story arc that we could spotlight, it's now time to conclude our focus on the franchise's main heroes. And we're going to do it with another popular favorite in the fandom: the infinitely wise Master Oogway!

Today's activity will have another open discussion, but I've decided to change the focus for today. Two reasons for this: (1) it's good to change things up a little so no one gets bored; and (2) although mainly based on individual perspective, there's hardly any questioning of Oogway's motives and qualities that make him purely heroic.

So here's what we're going to do instead today. I've seen Oogway quotes and saying everywhere on the web with KFP fans, and it made me curious which one they liked the best and/or they related to the most. In the spirit of this, I think it would be interesting for everyone to pick your favorite saying/teaching from Oogway and explain why it's your favorite.

Same stuff as before with this kind of activity: feel free to do repeats, as many as you want, and to add an image if you desire. But again, be lenient on them. Look through our Oogway gallery first before uploading a new image.

Have fun! :)

Character Spotlight: Furious Five

2013-06-11T15:06:57Z

Day 11: Character Spotlight - Furious Five

Shifu: "Tigress! Viper! Crane! Monkey! Mantis! The Furious Five!"

Hope you guys enjoyed the birthday party yesterday! Now we're getting back to our heroes and villains theme with our next character (or rather characters) spotlight: the Furious Five!

Just like Po (because they're all friends and teammates now), they're right in the middle of all that's happening in the franchise's story arc. So this will be another open discussion activity, but (again) a primary focusing on qualities that form their hero/villain status, both collectively and individually. Here are the featured hero/villain questions to help you in your answer:

Are these characters primarily heroes or villains?
What qualities (collectively or individually) make them this way?
Are any of them villainous in some ways? Why or why not?

Also, just for the heck of it (and because we haven't had a poll yet!), we'll have a featured poll:

Happy Birthday, Kung Fu Panda Wiki!

2013-06-10T15:33:30Z

Day 10: Happy Birthday, Kung Fu Panda Wiki!

Today we're taking a short detour from our heroes and villains theme to have another celebration. And I'll be personally concerned for you if you haven't guessed what it is by now... :P

Wiki birthday party!

On this day, the Kung Fu Panda Wiki was created 5 years ago in June of 2008, exactly four days after Kung Fu Panda was first released in U.S. theaters. (Read the full story here.) I wasn't here until two years later in July of 2010, but I know for sure that a LOT has happened here since then.

One of the biggest changes I've seen this wiki go through is how much Wikia had improved since 2008. At the time I was an editor on the Warriors Wiki, so I got to personally witness all of these different changes. Though some changes were useful and some were frustrating, in the end they allowed wikis to be more user-friendly and customizable to each unique theme, and this allowed communities to grow.

Oh, where in the world would this wiki be without the community? This is another one of the biggest changes I've seen with this wiki in the almost-3 years I've been here. It's you guys who ultimately made this wiki what it is today. This place was a ghost town when I first showed up, which was personally disappointing to me because it's such a great franchise that definitely deserves to have an online database. Because it was deserted, obviously no one used or cited this place for their creative fanon and whatnot; now whenever I lurk around random websites with KFP fans, I usually find a reference to this wiki somewhere and it makes me smile every time.

I'm quite proud of where this wiki has ended up, and how much the community has grown ever since. Thank you all for making this wiki what it is, and I really hope we can continue to grow together and make this place even more spectacular! :)

Unfortunately we still can't have a proper birthday party where we can share in food and games for this celebration. (But at least I got music [the soundtrack video above] and decorations [the new wiki header]!) So instead, for today's event activity, I want there to be a specific focus on the wiki. There are so many possibilities to this, so here's a short list of ideas of how you can focus your energy on the wiki:

To the best of your wiki abilities, make some kind of improvement to the wiki. This can be as simple as making a couple minor fixes, or something not-so-simple as filling in/rewriting an entire article. I just don't want anyone to feel limited by your abilities, time, experience, or whatever else. Do whatever works best for you.
Tell us what kind of stuff you use it for. Like I said, I keep finding references to this wiki all over the web, particularly on sites with fanon. So if you have fanon or whatever else and cited this wiki for it, tell us about it and (if you have it somewhere online) give us a link to it.
Give us a suggestion on how the wiki can improve. This would be another endless topic because I know this wiki is far from perfect. If you have a suggestion for us, feel free to tell us about it. Either submit them below in the comments, or on the Suggestions board in the wiki forum.

The goal is to put some kind of effort in improving the wiki and/or its community, so just do whatever you can. And, of course, have fun with it! :)

Character Spotlight: Shifu

2013-06-09T16:00:39Z

Day 9: Character Spotlight - Shifu

"If you are truly at peace, you can do anything."

Continuing with our heroes and villains theme, our next character spotlight is the "small-but-mighty" Kung Fu master, Shifu!

Like yesterday, this will be another open discussion activity on Shifu, but also (again) another focus on his qualities that form his hero/villain status. So talk about anything you want about him, but more specifically discuss why he's another key hero figure to the franchise's story arc. Here are the questions introduced yesterday to help you in your answer:

Is this character primarily a hero or a villain?
What qualities make them this way?
Are they maybe (villainous/heroic) in some ways? Why or why not?

Character Spotlight: Po

2013-06-08T16:52:17Z

Day 8: Character Spotlight - Po

"I'm not a big, fat panda. I'm the big, fat panda!"

We started yesterday talking about heroes and villains as part of our event's current theme on the franchise's story arc—which, of course, is one of the biggest reasons we all love it, right? ;) So now continuing with that theme, we begin today with our first character spotlight: the one and only kung-fu panda himself, Po!

Today's activity is basically an open discussion on Po. Feel free to talk about anything you'd like about him—what you like/dislike about him, what you think he'll do (or should do) in future films, etc. More specifically, though (in accordance to our current theme), discuss why he's a key hero figure. As discussed in the Heroes vs. Villains blog, one of the franchise's biggest story themes is that of good vs. evil, and Po is at the center of it all.

Here are some questions to help you in your answer (which will also be used in future character spotlights to come):

Is this character primarily a hero or a villain?
What qualities make them this way?
Are they maybe (villainous/heroic) in some ways? Why or why not?

Heroes vs. Villains

2013-06-07T16:00:55Z

Day 7: Heroes vs. Villains

It's now been about a week since the beginning of this wiki event. Hope you're still all having fun with this! We're now going to transition from the franchise in general to the details that form it, starting with the franchise's story arc. :)

What defines someone as a hero/villain?

One of the common themes with Kung Fu Panda is the sense of good vs. evil, or heroes vs. villains. A good majority (if not all) of stories today have a focus on this theme. Think about the other movies and TV shows you've seen, books you've read, games you've played, or whatever else with a story in it, and you'll most likely find that there's a "hero" and a "villain" of some kind in just about every one of them.

But what exactly makes these characters heroic/villainous? Is it their appearance? Abilities? Goals? Intentions? Background? Circumstances? The list really can go on and on, which is why we're making it the event activity for the day. :)

Here are today's discussion questions:

What do YOU think makes someone a hero/villain?
What kind of qualities do they typically possess?
Which ones do you think are most important to the role?
(Whatever else you feel like discussing that's related to the topic.)

Feel free to give your answer however you wish: give an in-depth analysis, make a bulletpoint list, share a personal experience, etc.

Some things I feel I need to clarify:

You don't need to come to a fully-formed/conclusive answer. Think of this as a brainstorming activity for the entire community—nothing will be fully developed, and neither side will be "better".
On that same note, one of the purposes of this activity is to open everyone's perspectives to both sides of a story. This being, we're not picking "favorites" or which is more "correct". The blog title kind of suggests that we're trying to decide which is better or "cooler", but we're not. This is why I decided against having a planned poll for today on "Heroes or villains?" because it's contradictory to this purpose. This is a discussion activity primarily based on your own opinions, so no one (nor either side) is right or wrong.
We're not focusing on specific characters YET. This is why we're opening with this blog on general heroes and villains—we'll be spotlighting characters in the days to come. You can give brief examples from characters, but don't make that the basis of your answer. Save it for their spotlight day. ;)

So aside from all of that, let's see what we can come up with. As always: have fun! :)

Happy Anniversary, Kung Fu Panda!

2013-06-06T15:18:27Z

Day 6: Happy Anniversary, Kung Fu Panda!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is the day—the epicenter of our entire celebration here on the Kung Fu Panda Wiki! Five years ago today, Kung Fu Panda was first released in U.S. theaters, marking the beginning of an internationally successful and popular franchise. This is the point where, if this was a big house party, I'd signal for the balloons and confetti to drop from the ceiling, and then roll out the gigantic cake.

I hope everyone here is still happy to be celebrating this, because I'm still having tons of fun! And this franchise definitely deserves the large celebration we're having for it. I've seen through everyone's comments and messages (both on the blogs and the social networking accounts) that people really love and feel connected to this film. It's amazing that one hour-and-a-half-long animated film changed people the way it did, and how it's still continuing to inspire people all around the world. There's only a handful of franchises that can do that, and I'm sure happy this is one of them. :)

There are so many things we could do for today's celebration activity, but we're going to keep it simple again: Post your favorite quote and/or scene from the film, and then give us your explanation of why it's your favorite (or one of your favorites, if you feel pressured in the decision). And if you want, feel free to add a screencap to your comment that's from your selected scene or your quote's scene! I just have two regulations with it:

Please choose one from our gallery first before uploading new ones—just so we continue to keep this wiki clean of images that we won't be using for articles.
If we don't have the one you're looking for, then go ahead and upload a new one. Check out the full Kung Fu Panda gallery on DisneyScreencaps.com to find the one you need.

Again, you're welcome to submit repeats and as many as you'd like, but be lenient on new images so our galleries remain clutter-free. Thanks everyone—have fun! :)

Kung Fu Panda Is...

2013-06-05T15:43:35Z

Day 5: "Kung Fu Panda is __________."

"Kung Fu Panda is..."

Here's something new for today! So far we've been featuring a lot of the "big" questions about the franchise (in preparation for the big, official celebration tomorrow)—now it's time for something simple, easy, and to-the-point:

Using one word or a short phrase, describe the franchise.

I know, this may be our greatest challenge ever (name that movie!) because there's simply too much to love to squeeze into one sentence. But that's why we're doing this as a community activity, so we can comprise all of our awesome ideas together into one.

These can be simple, meaningful, wacky, funny, or any other kind of word/phrase—just as long as they're creative and unique. You're also free to submit as many as you'd like. So go crazy with this and have fun! :)

What I Learned From Kung Fu Panda

2013-06-04T15:44:45Z

Day 4: What I Learned From Kung Fu Panda

What did you take away from Kung Fu Panda?

This is another topic I'm surprised was never made into a discussion blog on here. It may have been briefly mentioned in others, but it hasn't yet been given a separate discussion—until now, that is! :)

I'm treating this topic kind of like a follow-up to yesterday's Why We Love Kung Fu Panda blog. Reviewing more new comments showed me two things:

The franchise is, indeed, a lot more than just stuff for kids. There are many, many moments where there is a strong presence of depth, symbolism, foreshadowing, and other story aspects that aren't simply (or quickly) comprehensible by young children. It's one of the things I love about DreamWorks—they've made these films in such a way that it's not only suitable for all ages, but also gives you something to think about, evaluate, and/or relate to.

That being said...
A lot of you feel a personal connection to this franchise. I can definitely relate to this as well. I've seen a little bit of myself in a lot of the characters (particularly the main characters), and I've also gone through similar experiences as the ones shown in the franchise.

So let's form another list today: What did you learn from Kung Fu Panda? What has it taught you about something, in particular yourself? What kind of things did you yourself think about, evaluate, and/or relate to? Use quotes, examples, personal experiences, or whatever else you'd like to illustrate your point. :)

Two extra things to remember about this:

If there are too many things for you to list, then don't worry about covering them all. Just do one or two in one comment, then come back and submit another if you feel like it. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by such a large topic. :)
This list is more focused on your personal opinion rather than successfully forming a comprehensive list, so feel free to repeat something that someone else may have already mentioned.

Why We Love Kung Fu Panda

2013-06-03T15:55:25Z

Day 3: Why We Love Kung Fu Panda

What is it exactly that we love about Kung Fu Panda?

This was a perfectly-timed theme for today! After looking over everyone's comments in yesterday's Share Your Discovery Story blog, I couldn't help but notice that there are people here who know other people that don't like Kung Fu Panda. And it's not just here that I've heard this, but it's something I've run into on other sites as well.

The very thought of it is personally foreign to me because it seems like all of the people in my own life enjoy the franchise. My friends chat with me about it, my cousins like to watch it during our family dinners, and even my gun-action-loving brother likes it! (And seriously, that's a huge shocker to me. We're both picky on movies, and he particularly doesn't like 95% of the stuff that I like. But Kung Fu Panda is somehow part of that meager 5%. He even likes to watch the TV show now and then.)

Of course, everyone has their own personal tastes in movies and other entertainment; if that's the case with these people, then that's perfectly okay and acceptable. But it's different for those who simply think it's "just a kid's movie", or that it "looks stupid". Hopefully they've actually watched the movies, because chances are they'll most likely see that neither of those descriptions properly fit. But in the case that they don't see, I'd like to take this opportunity to help them see. :)

The purpose of this isn't to argue about others' tastes, but to share in ours. We all know that the Kung Fu Panda franchise (the films in particular) is much more than just stuff for kids, so let's form a list here of all the great and wonderful things we love about it. Here are some ideas:

Give a few bulletpoints
Share a personal experience
Give an in-depth review of a particular aspect
Anything else that helps to highlight and/or illustrate the franchise in a way that shows it's brilliant and suitable for all ages.

Share Your Discovery Story

2013-06-02T14:58:59Z

Day 2: Share Your Discovery Story

How did you first discover Kung Fu Panda?

This seems like the most obvious discussion topic in any fanbase, and yet for some reason no one here has asked about it yet! So I thought I'd take the opportunity today for the 2nd day of our 30 Days of Kung Fu Panda event to use it as our featured question of the day. :)

We're all here (whether as a browser or an active editor of this wiki) because we have heard about or experienced something with Kung Fu Panda. But how exactly did we all individually come to discover it? I'm sure this is something we'd all like to know from our fellow peers and/or the members of this community—and it's something we all have in common! Surely you wouldn't be here if you didn't know something about Kung Fu Panda? ;)

And what's more of the beauty of it? Each person's story, regardless of the circumstances of the initial discovery, will be unique and different—most likely in more ways than one!

I invite everyone, fans and browsers alike, to share YOUR Kung Fu Panda discovery story: how you first found out about it; what you experienced once you eventually watched something from it, though it doesn't necessarily have to be the first film; and, if you're a fan, how you came to love it.

30 Days of Kung Fu Panda

2013-06-01T17:11:07Z

30 Days of Kung Fu Panda

Welcome!

Welcome one and all to a special event hosted by the Kung Fu Panda Wiki! This is a special time for Kung Fu Panda fans because in June of 2008, the first film of the franchise was first released in U.S. theaters, which now means that the franchise and its large following are both officially 5 years old.

Fans all around the web are celebrating this momentous occasion, and the Kung Fu Panda Wiki wishes to recognize and celebrate alongside them, as well as help spread word to those who haven't yet been introduced to the franchise.

*Note: Returning readers from this blog (to check daily updates) or the event announcement blog are free to skip down to the new information regarding the event's activities.

Event Info

See also: Announcement: A Special Wiki Event

This event is being held in celebration of the 5th anniversary of the Kung Fu Panda franchise. For the entire month of June, we will be hosting a variety of activities that we hope helps accomplish our goals for this event. Among these activities include:

Polls
Interactive blogs
Spotlights on articles, media, the fandom and more
Updates on a televised event

Updates on upcoming releases / premieres
Birthdays
Western and oriental holidays
See as they come!

This event is designed to help reach out to the world about this successful and spectacular franchise. Whether you've just barely discovered Kung Fu Panda or if you’ve been a hardcore fan since the beginning, we're all here to unite as one in celebration of 5 years of the kung-fu-fighting panda!

Our Goals

Celebrate the international success and popularity of the franchise
Unite the fandom's fans and the wiki's community
Testify and share our passions with fellow fans and others (former fans, fans of animation, fans of DreamWorks Animation, people who haven't yet discovered Kung Fu Panda, etc.)
Invite others to join in the celebration

Share this event!

This event is exclusively online; therefore, we are dependent on getting word out through social networking and other technological means. Here's how you can help get the word out:

Share/like/retweet/reblog/favorite/comment/rate/etc. any posts by the wiki, official DWA pages, other fans, etc.
Post/tweet/blog/tag/upload/etc. your own stuff about KFP:

News
Pictures
Quotes
Favorite stuff

Fanon
Testimonies / "Confessions"
Tributes
Anything else that gets people thinking about Kung Fu Panda!

For tagging:
- #KungFuPanda, #30DaysKFP
- Make up your own (#KFP5thAnniversary, #KungFuPandaAnniversary, etc.)
Change your avatar/profile pic/cover photo/page header/etc. to a KFP picture
Start/contribute to a KFP-dedicated group/forum
Etc., etc., etc.—there's so many possibilities!

One thing to remember with sharing activities: Don't get to the point of being patronizing and/or annoying. Don't make people not want to get involved in Kung Fu Panda because its fandom is full of people that are too overwhelming. You're doing this so others can experience the same passion you feel about the franchise, so remember to always be mature and humble about it. :)

Event Log

Every day for the entire month, we'll be updating this blog and recording our event activities. This will hopefully enable you to keep updated and never miss an activity during the event.

Day 1

New blog: 30 Days of Kung Fu Panda
Holiday: Children's Day in China
Article spotlight: (In honor of China's Children's Day) Bao Gu Orphanage
Discussion topic of the day: What will you do (or want to do) during this month in honor of Kung Fu Panda?

Day 2

New blog: Share Your Discovery Story
Birthday: Dennis Haysbert
Article spotlight: (In honor of Dennis Haysbert's birthday) Storming Ox
Discussion topic of the day: (Featured in new blog) How did you first discover Kung Fu Panda?

Day 3

New blog: Why We Love Kung Fu Panda
Article spotlight: Kung Fu Panda (franchise)
Discussion topic of the day: (Featured in new blog) What do you love about Kung Fu Panda?

Day 4

New blog: What I Learned From Kung Fu Panda
Birthday: Angelina Jolie
Article spotlight: (In honor of Angelina Jolie's birthday) Tigress
Discussion topic of the day: (Featured in new blog) What did you learn or take away from Kung Fu Panda?

Day 5

New blog: Kung Fu Panda Is...
Article spotlight: Legend of the Legendary Warrior
Discussion topic of the day: (Featured in new blog) Describe the Kung Fu Panda franchise in a single word or short phrase: "Kung Fu Panda is __________."

Day 6

New blog: Happy Anniversary, Kung Fu Panda!
Article spotlight: Kung Fu Panda
Discussion topic of the day: (Featured in new blog) Share your favorite quote/scene from the film, and then give an explanation of why it's your favorite.

Day 7

New blog: Heroes vs. Villains
Article spotlight: Legendary Warrior (Po)
Discussion topic of the day: (Featured in new blog) What do you think makes someone a hero/villain? What kind of qualities do they typically possess? Which ones do you think are most important to the role?

Day 8

New blog: Character Spotlight - Po
Article spotlight: Po
Discussion topic of the day: (Featured in new blog) Discuss why Po is a key hero figure: What qualities make him this way? Is he maybe villainous in some ways? Why or why not?

Day 9

New blog: Character Spotlight - Shifu
Article spotlight: Shifu
Discussion topic of the day: (Featured in new blog) Discuss why Shifu is a key hero figure: What qualities make him this way? Is he maybe villainous in some ways? Why or why not?

Day 10

New blog: Happy Birthday, Kung Fu Panda Wiki!
Birthdays:
- Jessica DiCicco (voice of young Viper in Secrets of the Furious Five)
- Kung Fu Panda Wiki
Article spotlight: (In honor of Jessica DiCicco's birthday) Viper
Activity of the day: (Featured in new blog) Make some kind of dedicated focus to the wiki: improve articles, share how you've used the wiki, give us a suggestion, etc.

Day 11

New blog: Character Spotlight - Furious Five
Article spotlight: Furious Five
Discussion topic of the day: (Featured in new blog) Discuss why these characters are key hero figures: What qualities make them this way, collectively or individually? Are any of them maybe villainous in some ways? Why or why not?
Poll: (Featured in new blog)

Day 12

New blog: Character Spotlight - Oogway
Article spotlight: Oogway
Activity of the day: (Featured in new blog) Pick your favorite saying/teaching from Oogway and explain why it's your favorite.

Day 13

New blog: Character Spotlight - Tai Lung
Birthday: Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Article spotlight: Tai Lung
Discussion topic of the day: (Featured in new blog) Discuss why Tai Lung is a key villain figure: What qualities make him this way? Is he maybe heroic in some ways? Why or why not?

Day 14

New blog: Character Spotlight - Shen
Article spotlight: Shen
Discussion topic of the day: (Featured in new blog) Discuss why Shen is a key villain figure: What qualities make him this way? Is he maybe heroic in some ways? Why or why not?
Poll: (Featured in new blog)

Day 15

New blog: The Return of the Legends of Awesomeness
Article spotlight: Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness
Discussion topic of the day: (Featured in new blog) Share your personal opinion on the show: What do you like about it? Dislike?

Day 16

New blog: Character Spotlight - Mr. Ping
Holiday: Father's Day
Event: 40th Daytime Emmy Awards (for Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness)
Article spotlight: Mr. Ping
Discussion topics of the day: (Featured in new blog)
- What qualities does Mr. Ping possess and bring to the franchise's story? What makes him a hero?
- What significance does the father role have in the franchise's story arc?

Day 17

New blog: Kung Fu Panda Shorts
New Legends of Awesomeness episode: "Five is Enough"
Article spotlight: Secrets of the Furious Five
Discussion topics of the day: (Featured in new blog)
- Why are the franchise's shorts both special to fans and important to the story arc?
- What do you like/dislike about the shorts? Why?
Poll: (Featured in new blog)

Day 18

New blog: Kung Fu Panda Video Games
New release: "Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness - Good Croc, Bad Croc"
New Legends of Awesomeness episode: "Mama Told Me not to Kung Fu"
Article spotlight: Kung Fu Panda: The Game
Discussion topics of the day: (Featured in new blog) What do you like/dislike about the games? Why? What kind of games/improvements do you hope to see in the future?
Poll: (Featured in new blog)

Day 19 (NEW!)

New blog: Kung Fu Panda Books
New Legends of Awesomeness episode: "Secret Admirer"
Article spotlight: The Art of Kung Fu Panda
Discussion topics of the day: (Featured in new blog) What do you like/dislike about the books? Why? What do you hope to see (or see more of) in the future?
Poll: (Featured in new blog)

Day 20

Coming tomorrow on June 20!

Questions? Thoughts? Concerns? Suggestions? Please leave them in the comments section below. Thanks!

Announcement: A Special Wiki Event

2013-05-27T00:26:34Z

Hello, my fellow KFP Wikians! :D So with today being the 2-year anniversary of Kung Fu Panda 2—Yeah, I know, it's already been two years. Time really does fly!—I thought I'd take the opportunity to announce another upcoming anniversary: the entire Kung Fu Panda franchise.

That's right—it's been nearly 5 years since the release of the first Kung Fu Panda film. 5 years of having a chubby, clumsy, kung-fu-fighting panda bounce all over the world on the big screen, television, in breathtaking art (both concept and fan-made), across the Web through fanon, videos, social networking sites, and a whole lot more. And, in this case most importantly, it's the reason we're all here as a community on this wiki. This, most definitely, calls for a celebration.

I've been technically planning out this celebration ever since the beginning of the year—the moment I realized that this summer would be the 5th anniversary. School and work kept getting in the way and I wasn't able to sort out the details, but then after finishing up the semester and rearranging my work schedule, I eventually got everything organized and (nearly) all-the-way planned out. Now I'm super excited to finally share it with everyone and put it into action! :)

1 Why is this even happening here?
2 Tell me more about the event
- 2.1 So what is it?
- 2.2 What's in store?
3 What can I do to help?

Why is this even happening here?

Not only was the world exposed to the awesomeness of Po and his epic Kung Fu five years ago, but the fandom has also been in existence ever since. I feel like we, as fellow fans of the franchise and editors of the wiki dedicated to it, are almost obligated to celebrate. Although this is first and foremost a wiki and not a "fan club" (not in primary purpose, at least), we're still a community of people who love Kung Fu Panda; that's the reason I assume most (if not all) of you are here (and, for those who've been here for more than a year and contribute daily, are still here). I'm exactly the same way—I didn't just stick around this wiki for nearly 3 years volunteering all of those hours of my own life because I felt like I had to. I'm still here because I still love the franchise and still consider myself a hardcore fan.

And so, because of that, I want to join together with the rest of you in celebrating 5 awesome years of having this amazing franchise around!

On that same note, I also know for a fact that we're not the only ones celebrating. I lurk just about anywhere and everywhere on the web populated with KFP fans, and I've already seen fans talking about the 5-year anniversary and planning out what to do to celebrate. I invite everyone within those web communities to share with us your celebration plans, and to also consider joining us in ours! Whether you're a browser, a new user, or an active user who's been here for years; whether you've been a fan of the franchise since yesterday or since the very beginning; everyone is welcome to join us in this momentous occasion. :)

Tell me more about the event

Haha, yeah, it's about time I got around to that. :)

So what is it?

As the title indicates, this celebration is going to be "a special wiki event," meaning we're going to host it right here on the wiki. Honestly, if this was a real-life event (meaning this community actually was a fan club that regularly meets with each other in person), I would personally throw the biggest house party and go all-out on everything Kung Fu Panda and party related—and of course all KFP fans would be invited! Unfortunately, this is not the reality of things. There's only so much a website (and even more so a wiki) can do to celebrate something, but I still would like to do everything we possibly can!

This event is also going to be month-long. Yep, that means the entire month of June is going to be Panda Month! Why? While planning this event, I discovered there was going to be a lot happening this June—not just with the celebration, but other events like birthdays and holidays that we normally spotlight on our social networking accounts on Facebook and Twitter. So because of this (and because this is a celebration of the entire franchise and its fanbase), I figured we'd do it justice to have something new happening each day of the entire month.

Having the event last so long also gave me inspiration for its name. Why have a name? Because it'll help get word out about the event easier (which is a key component that I explain in the last section). And so, I hereby officially dub this event:

30 Days of Kung Fu Panda

I know, it's like the cleverest name in the history of named events. But it's somewhat catchy and gets to the point, right? ;)

Basically the whole event is like a huge, online birthday party. We won't have some of the pleasures of a real-life party (like food), but we can still have decorations (through some of the graphics I made for the event—view an example of the event's theme on the wiki's Twitter page header), music (through the featured tracks from the films), and even activities! See the next section for more info...

What's in store?

I'm saving most of the specific details for when it's actually time to start the event on June the 1st, but I'll try to give a basic run-down of it:

The plan is to use the wiki's communication tools (user blogs, forums, the poll generator, etc.) and our social networking accounts to get everyone involved in a variety of online activities. ("Ooh, what kind of activities?") Well, like I mentioned in the previous section, there's only so much a website can do. So unfortunately that means there won't be any piñata-bashing, "Spin the Bottle" or "Pin the Tail on the Donkey". But here's some of the stuff we can do and what's currently on the event's itinerary:

Daily polls
Daily updates to interactive blogs ("interactive" meaning some kind of central question or request involving your opinion)
Daily article spotlights
Birthdays
A televised event (the Daytime Emmys)
Chinese holidays
Some other random stuff
(Got an idea for something else? Share it in the comments!)

The whole point of having any kind of celebration (in most cases, at least) is to get people involved and to have a good time—that's precisely my goal with this event. I want everyone to have fun with this celebration, and to also share that fun with those who haven't yet experienced the awesomeness of Kung Fu Panda yet.

What can I do to help?

I would still like this celebration to be the biggest "house party" Kung Fu Panda celebration on the web, but the only way we can do that is with people. Here are three basic ways to help out with this event:

Get the word out. This event is exclusively online; therefore, we are dependent on getting word out through social networking and other technological means. We live in such an age where we are surrounded by technology and information; we can communicate with people all around the world in a matter of seconds, and whatever we put on the Internet can spread like wildfire. Post/share/like/tweet/retweet/tag/blog/reblog/comment/rate/etc. anything about Kung Fu Panda, this event, the celebration, and word will definitely get out there.

Give feedback. Also part of the reason for making this entire announcement is to see what your thoughts and ideas are about it. Leave a comment below if you have any questions or input or whatever else about this, or if you have any ideas about what else we could do during the event.

Participate. This is self-explanatory. When we officially start, show your support for the franchise and/or for the wiki by participating in our activities. :)

Those three will just about cover it, but if there's anything else you think you'd like to help out with, just let me know!

Whew! Hopefully you survived through all of that. Didn't mean for this blogpost to be a novel, but that's how it turned out. :P

More details on the event will come on the 1st day of the event (June 1). And again, any questions/comments/ideas/etc. about this, leave them in the comments below and I'll be sure to look over them.

I hope you're all excited about this event—I know I am! Long live Kung Fu Panda! :D

Super-Belated Updates

2012-12-02T01:51:22Z

1 Recent Changes
2 Future Plans
- 2.1 New Forum layout
3 Quickie Updates
- 3.1 Answers Wiki
- 3.2 Userboxes

Recent Changes

*In order by most recent first.

Trial run of Message Wall

Guess what? In case no one's noticed the little talk-bubble-looking thing next to your username on the wiki's top header bar, Message Wall is now enabled on this wiki!

So this is a newer form of communication Wikia has developed for better and easier communication between users on a wiki community (which is always good for us). It replaces user talk pages and changes it, more or less, to a Facebook-looking page. Because of this, some people are being nit-picky on the feature, but from what I've gathered from (and sorta-kinda experienced with) it, this is what I see as the benefits and the disadvantages:

Pros:

Easier to use. There are lots of new users editing this wiki, and it can still sometimes be confusing to figure out how to use all the tools correctly. For example, I still see users posting reply messages on their own talk pages rather than the other person's talk page, which doesn't work because then the other person doesn't receive a notification unless they dig through the wiki's Recent Activity list. This, and more, is disadvantageous to our need to communicate, so enabling Message Wall might help to get rid of these problems.
More user-friendly. Again, because there are many new users editing this wiki, it might be confusing for some to have to learn all the rules in posting messages on user talk pages. Message Wall looks much easier to use and will perhaps bring in more messages from users who may have been possibly confused, but weren't sure how to properly tell someone about it.
Comes with notification features. I think this is part of a CSS (or maybe JS) mod I might have to work into on this wiki, but I've seen this on other wikis and find it very useful as an admin. We'll see in the future exactly what and how I'll be able to use it, but it's a benefit nonetheless.

Cons:

Not sure yet exactly how old user talk pages were archived. I still have some messages left in my own talk page that I need to sort through, and it'll be extremely inconvenient if I can't find those. Not to mention I've worked out my own archiving system that I hope doesn't get screwed up.
- EDIT: So Message Wall just places the old user talk page in its own sub-page of your username, and then automatically provides a link to it! I approve. :)
Mmm... Actually, I'm pretty sure that's all! Point proven.

It's taken me a while to decide on this, but I figure it's at least worth a trial run. We'll have it enabled for a little while (maybe a month or so), and I'll post a poll on another blog asking for your opinion and/or experience with it. We'll keep it if the majority of reviews are good, and if not (either you guys don't like it, or it somehow proves to be not all that sufficient in communicating with our community), then we can go back to user talk pages.

"Time to Play"

This is something Wikia is doing with a bunch of different wikis (just basically anyone who wants to be involved). Getting into the spirit of things, I signed this wiki up for it and got ourselves a couple fancy banners to help us show off our stuff! :P

"Time to Play" is what Wikia's called the period in November and December where we get so many holiday breaks off of school and work that we get more "time to play" movies, video games and other sources of media that's being released for the holidays. Since we had Kung Fu Panda Holiday soon being released on DVD and Blu-ray at the time, I thought it would be a good idea to participate in this and show off our article to draw in more users. Whether it worked or not, I have no idea, but the banners look nice! :)

This is still going on! To read more about it, check out the official blog post here.

Videos and stuff

Wikia's been doing tons of stuff lately with adding videos to wikis and building up their video library, and this wiki has also been involved with it! They added the Related Videos module to article pages a while back (which I thought was pretty cool), and recently they've been building up the video library's collection of KFP stuff and featuring it here. It's a great project, and something I definitely couldn't have done by myself. (Well, I tried, but hadn't worked to perfection.)

There have been some official Wikia blog posts sharing information about the project. Please look at those for more information.

Wikia is looking to build their collection with licensed, high-quality videos. And because they wanted to showcase them here, some videos previously on here had to be either replaced or removed. Just like with the image files on here, I still need to work on categorizing all these videos. The files themselves are stored on Wikia's video library, but the videos still show up here and can be categorized with our specific video categories. Still striving for near-perfect organization on this wiki! :)

New page layout

You're probably used to the wiki's looks by now, but a while back, Wikia also made a change to the site's basic page layout. Two things were affected in this change: page width and the top banner. The previous page width used to be 1000px (just barely shorter than it is now), and the top banner used to be connected to the page. But, as you can see now, the header spans across the whole screen, and everyone now gets 30px more room in articles! I was jumping for joy in this one—still kind of missing the old Monobook layout with so much breathing room in all of the articles...

Here's the official blog post announcement for more info: Layout and navigation updates coming October 3.

I suppose I'm the only one that cares about this because I'm the one who designs the wiki's backgrounds and header images, but it also concerns the community as far as formatting goes. Everything should stay the same for the most part, but if something doesn't look quite right, I'd like to know about it right away. Please and thanks. :)

Future Plans

New Forum layout

I think I've mentioned something like this a few times in the past, about me wanting to do something with the wiki's Forums but being so frustrated over Wikia's layout that I haven't set up any kind of official system for it yet. But, to my heart's content, they've been working on a brand-new layout, and now it's finally available in Labs! (View all of the details of the new feature here.)

I think we should give this a trial run, too, but not quite yet. When I enable it, I'll need to have a new system ready to go with it, which I don't yet. Again, I blame college—sucking the life and creativity out of every growing young adult one soul at a time. There's so many things involved with it that I'll need to take a little bit of time on it. Hopefully, though, if I allow myself the time, maybe I'll have it ready for next year (January 2013), maybe earlier if I can get all my school work done.

Quickie Updates

Answers Wiki

I'm being kinda sluggish with this wiki. I'm so busy here and in my own life that I've hardly had any time to organize and check up on this wiki. But, it's still set up enough that people are still free to use it, so please do.

Userboxes

Another sluggish project that I've had no time to work on... I still would like these to work out, but for now it's sort of at a halt.

To look at the ones already created, look at my earlier blogpost here.

That's all for now! Please submit all questions and comments in the Comments section below, or if you want to make a suggestion, please submit them in the Suggestions thread. Alternatively, please feel free to contact me on my talk page. Thanks! :)

Spottedstar's blog

Kung Fu Panda Books

What do you like/dislike about the KFP books?

Kung Fu Panda Video Games

What do you like/dislike about the KFP video games?

Kung Fu Panda Shorts

So what's so special about the shorts?

Character Spotlight: Mr. Ping

"We are noodle folk. Broth runs through our veins!"

The Return of the Legends of Awesomeness

"Hear the legends of the Kung Fu Panda!"

Character Spotlight: Shen

"The Year of the Peacock begins now!"

Character Spotlight: Tai Lung

"Fly back there and tell them... the real Dragon Warrior is coming home."

Character Spotlight: Oogway

"There are no accidents."

Character Spotlight: Furious Five

Shifu: "Tigress! Viper! Crane! Monkey! Mantis! The Furious Five!"

Happy Birthday, Kung Fu Panda Wiki!

Wiki birthday party!

Character Spotlight: Shifu

"If you are truly at peace, you can do anything."

Character Spotlight: Po

"I'm not a big, fat panda. I'm the big, fat panda!"

Heroes vs. Villains

What defines someone as a hero/villain?

Happy Anniversary, Kung Fu Panda!

Happy Anniversary!

Kung Fu Panda Is...

"Kung Fu Panda is..."

What I Learned From Kung Fu Panda

What did you take away from Kung Fu Panda?

Why We Love Kung Fu Panda

What is it exactly that we love about Kung Fu Panda?

Share Your Discovery Story

How did you first discover Kung Fu Panda?

30 Days of Kung Fu Panda

Welcome!

Contents

Event Info

Our Goals

Share this event!

Event Log

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

Day 11

Day 12

Day 13

Day 14

Day 15

Day 16

Day 17

Day 18

Day 19 (NEW!)

Day 20

Announcement: A Special Wiki Event

Contents

Why is this even happening here?

Tell me more about the event

So what is it?

What's in store?

What can I do to help?

Super-Belated Updates

Contents

Recent Changes

Trial run of Message Wall

"Time to Play"

Videos and stuff

New page layout

Future Plans

New Forum layout