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Kung Fu Panda is a Remake of Star Wars

By:

Adam Quigley Posted: December 27, 2008

Apparently there's a Kung Fu Panda sequel currently in the works. I'm very curious to see where the story can possibly go from here, seeing as how Kung Fu Panda was essentially an extremely condensed version of Episodes I-VI of the Star Wars series. Don't believe me? See for yourself.


Po	Luke Skywalker
Inexperienced yet filled with good intentions, the young Po lives a humdrum existence in The Valley of Peace, unaware of his father's true identity and forced to contend with menial tasks. But destiny has greater things in store for him. Despite not fitting the ideal criteria for being the Dragon Warrior, he is trained by Shifu and, after learning to believe in himself, manages to defeat the fearsome Tai Lung.	Inexperienced yet filled with good intentions, the young Luke lives a humdrum existence on Tatooine, unaware of his father's true identity and forced to contend with menial tasks. But destiny has greater things in store for him. Despite not fitting the ideal criteria for being a Jedi Master, he is trained by Obi-Wan and, after learning to believe in the Force, manages to defeat the fearsome Darth Vader.

Shifu	Obi-Wan Kenobi
Shifu is the wise, old bearded master of Po. He is stern, serious and humorless. Many years ago, he developed a close bond with a youngin named Tai Lung, who he trained in hopes of fulfilling the prophecy of him being the Dragon Warrior. But Tai Lung turned evil, and became a threat far more powerful than anyone could've imagined. Shifu attempts to defeat Tai Lung himself, but is unsuccessful.	Obi-Wan is the wise, old bearded trainer of Luke. He is stern, serious and humorless. Many years ago, he developed a close bond with a youngin named Anakin, who he trained in hopes of fulfilling the prophecy of him being the "Chosen One." But Anakin turned evil, and became a threat far more powerful than anyone could've imagined. Obi-Wan attempts to defeat Anakin/Vader himself, but is unsuccessful.

Tai Lung	Darth Vader
Trained by Shifu from a young age, Tai Lung was happy, talented and powerful. But after being denied as the Dragon Warrior, he let darkness cloud his mind and became evil. All of China fears him, as his power is unmatched by even the most skilled kung fu warriors. In the end, the young Po manages to defeat him, and peace is returned to China.	Trained by Obi-Wan from a young age, Anakin was happy, talented and powerful. But after being denied the rank of Jedi Master, he let darkness cloud his mind and became evil. All of the galaxy fears him, as his power is unmatched by even the most skilled Jedi Masters. In the end, the young Luke manages to defeat him, and peace is returned to the galaxy.

Oogway	Yoda
Oogway is a slow-moving but all-powerful kung fu master. He trained Shifu, and is the senior leader of the Jade Palace. Shifu tried to convince him that Tai Lung was meant to be the Dragon Warrior, but Oogway saw darkness in Tai Lung and said it wasn't his destiny. He dies at a very old age, fading away before his pupil's eyes. Other Traits: Oogway is green, bald and weird-looking.	Yoda is a slow-moving but all-powerful Jedi Master. He trained Obi-Wan, and is the senior leader of the Jedi Counsel. Obi-Wan tried to convince him that Anakin was meant to be a Jedi Master, but Yoda saw the dark side in Anakin and said it wasn't his destiny. He dies at a very old age, fading away before his pupil's eyes. Other Traits: Yoda is green, bald and weird-looking.

Furious Five	Jedi
Po strives to learn the ways of the Furious Five, who are the most skilled fighters in China.	Luke strives to learn the ways of the Jedi, who are the most skilled fighters in the galaxy.

Notice any other similarities? Let us know in the comments and we'll update the article. Be sure to include your name so we can credit you.

114 Comments

Wow. Just wow.

Submitted by Dom (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 06:18.

Adam, you have officially blown my mind.

Blew my Mind Aswell

Submitted by WhatYouWatching Spy (not verified) on Mon, 12/29/2008 - 06:25.

Look up harry potter and star wars, the similarities are astonishing. It has a lot to do with the basic elements of an action film - there's always a clear cut hero protagonist, followed by an aged but weary mentor, an evil arch-hero villain, villain was an ex-pupil of mentor, cronies, innocent plebs..so forth. Rings true of a lot of movies.

I thought it was only me who noticed that

Submitted by Luis (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 13:10.

You're totally right, but even being a rip-off from Star Wars I enjoyed the movie, especially the music; it was amazing. Nice article.

Technically, you can't call

Submitted by SabreWing (not verified) on Wed, 12/31/2008 - 00:43.

Technically, you can't call it a rip-off. Stories like these already existed hunderths of years ago. It's the typical old storyline, with the same old twists. It's a cliché, but one of those that keep us entertained as long as it is done properly.

O_O

Submitted by Juan Carlo (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 15:52.

Hear that sound? That's my head exploding. Holy CRAP!!! But hey, it was a still cool movie.

I much prefer...

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 18:18.

The Harry Potter connection :) http://www.inerciasensorial.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/harrypotte...

I just watched KFP last

Submitted by Peter Chen (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 18:37.

I just watched KFP last night. And you are totally right. How did more people not pick up on this earlier. The only thing missing was a Leia and Han Solo character.

serious subtext

Submitted by webvixn (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 19:19.

(This is brilliant! Thanks!) The part where Tai Lung is Po's father is a DEAD giveaway! How could I have missed this?

Duh.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 19:39.

Arguably, everything is a rip-off of Star Wars, because Star Wars was built on recognizable character archetypes that many great stories posses. Star Wars was just the one story that became the most familiar with those archetypes.

Agreed. Read Joseph

Submitted by Smitty (not verified) on Sat, 01/10/2009 - 17:40.

Agreed. Read Joseph Campbell: The Hero With a Thousand Faces. The concept of Star Wars was completed after Spielberg read Cambell's work on universal archetypes.

RE

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 11/17/2009 - 14:38.

Just like christianity

Yeah. It's called "Archetypes"

Submitted by bud (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 19:40.

And Star Wars wasn't original either. So what?

Totally, it's called the

Submitted by Crazystan (not verified) on Sun, 12/28/2008 - 19:15.

Totally, it's called the Hero's Journey :P It's one of the big standards and it's the same thing that Star Wars used, so really it isn't like star wars, it's like ancient greek stories more then anything else

Exactly, wouldn't be

Submitted by SabreWing (not verified) on Wed, 12/31/2008 - 00:46.

Exactly, wouldn't be surprised if it's even older than that, perhaps the cavemen told stories like these too :p. Didn't know it had a name though, thanks for the info.

KFPanda is Kill Bill with

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 19:44.

KFPanda is Kill Bill with better looking people!

The KFPanda/Kill Bill Connection

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 12/29/2008 - 22:52.

Kung Fu Panda is to Kill Bill as the McRib Sammich is to prime rib. Both have similar ingredients, but seriously...

Eragon, too

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 19:45.

Same freaking story as Star Wars...stupid dragon riders.

Qui-Gon

Submitted by Nick (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 19:45.

Obi-Wan wasn't trained by Yoda. Everything else is ridiculous though.

Yes he was. Qui-Gon Jinn

Submitted by Adam Quigley on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 19:49.

Yes he was. Qui-Gon Jinn apprenticed Obi-Wan. Yoda trained him.

True. Agruably Yoda taught

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 12/28/2008 - 02:12.

True. Agruably Yoda taught everyone, though, as he teaches the younglings the basics. I vaguely remember a scene of this in ethier II or III.

Qui-Gon Jinn was apprenticed to Dooku.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 12/28/2008 - 14:12.

Dooku was apprenticed to Yoda.

Eragon was a really big

Submitted by Rob (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 19:48.

Eragon was a really big ripoff of Star Wars

Stupid

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 19:50.

All stories have very similar character and traits.

Then why does Obi-Wan die,

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 19:55.

Then why does Obi-Wan die, and Shifu does not? Where is the dragon scroll equivalent? I'm going to agree with those saying "archetypes". Nice try though.

Your comment actually

Submitted by Adam Quigley on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 21:19.

Your comment actually further illustrates my point. Shifu doesn't die because it's a kid's film, yet he DOES have a "death scene." Po discovers Shifu after he defeats Tai Lung, and there's a gag about how Po confuses Shifu's "being at peace" with being dead.

And the Dragon Scroll is the equivalent of The Force. Just like Luke must use the power of The Force to succeed in the end, Po must similarly use the power of the Dragon Scroll, which is revealed to be simply believing in himself.

Another similarity...

Submitted by sedill (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 19:57.

Individuals of very different species can become Jedi Knights. Now have a look at the Furious Five. Even this similarity is not as striking, I think you are absolutely right there. Have to admit, I am a huge SW fan since the beginning (Yes, I am old) and of the first trilogy only and I won't have it harmed, especially not by a panda :-D

hey guy...Yoda didn't teach

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 19:58.

hey guy...Yoda didn't teach obi wan it was Qui gon, Luke didn't defeat Darth Vader rather Darth Vader saved Luke and killed the emperor,....so basically you took very general references to sound smart and ended up being wrong...

Yoda did teach Obi-Wan. Luke

Submitted by Adam Quigley on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 20:07.

Yoda did teach Obi-Wan. Luke did defeat Darth Vader. You are wrong.

Nuh-uh.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 21:21.

Nuh-uh.

Touché.

Submitted by Adam Quigley on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 21:37.

Touché.

I wonder what would happen

Submitted by Bill (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 20:02.

I wonder what would happen if you over-lapped them and played them simulanteously like Dark Side of the Moon to the Wizard of Oz.

...or maybe Star Wars is a

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 20:05.

...or maybe Star Wars is a rip off of 70% of all the kung fu movies that came before it(?)

Really?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 20:09.

You've obviously never heard or read any Joseph Campbell. The hero story has been following the same path since ancient mythology. Campbell knew this better than anyone and put out some amazing books during his lifetime about it. Here's a great outline of his basic teachings about the hero archetype which you'll see is very much in line with Star Wars, Kung Fu Panda, and any other story you'd compare this to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hero_with_a_Thousand_Faces

Exactly. Read Joseph

Submitted by Graeme (not verified) on Sun, 12/28/2008 - 00:52.

Exactly. Read Joseph Campbell. George Lucas read Joseph Campbell and has explicitly stated that The Hero with a Thousand Faces was a big influence on Star Wars.

Maybe spelling "criteria"

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 20:13.

Maybe spelling "criteria" (under Po and Luke's description) would make you sound smarter. Just saying.

I'm not sure if you were

Submitted by Adam Quigley on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 20:24.

I'm not sure if you were pointing out the simple spelling error to be helpful or a douche, but thanks either way. Fixed.

Yes, Adam. You do.

Submitted by Lazlo Toth (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 20:48.

He was doing it to be a douche. Spell it out. He's a fucktard who took offense because he thought you were taking a dig at a movie he liked. Because he's got an eighth-grade education in English and can't tell the difference between analyzing a film and insulting it. Dude, stand up for your rights. You didn't say a single word bad about Kung Fu Panda. He's the hypersensitive idiot. He called you on a spelling mistake because he doesn't have anything intelligent to say. Smack the little bitch to the curb. I'm sorry. People like that just piss me off. We got enough ignorance.

It should be, "We have

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 12/29/2008 - 05:16.

It should be, "We have enough ignorance."

There are 4 to 8 (depending

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 20:14.

There are 4 to 8 (depending on who you talk to) "core" plot-lines. Everything else is a derivative of those core 4 to 8.

This is stretching it.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 20:16.

This is stretching it. Every story of a young hero has an experienced person with true intentions. Whom is taught by the wise old person. So he can face the dark person. Sure, this is similar to Star Wars, but Star Wars is similar to countless stories just like it. This is going to be rehashed a thousand times over and we might as well just get use to it. Look at Eragon, there is another carbon copy of every story I have mentioned here.

fix last post

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 20:18.

inexperienced instead of experienced*

and Star Wars is a remake of

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 20:25.

and Star Wars is a remake of Dune http://web.archive.org/web/20060106024153/http://www.jitterbug.com/origi...

yall are fags have u ever

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 20:26.

yall are fags have u ever heard of the heros journy most storys will have similar characters take a look at harry potter

Um... so? Did he ever say

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 20:52.

Um... so? Did he ever say it was BAD that Kung-Fu Panda resembled the Star Wars storyline? This article was probably posted for fun, to point out some interesting things about two good movies. I loved both these movies and I don't understand why the hell you assume anyone thinks this is something surprising or unique, unless you're REALLY insecure and just looking for something to bitch about. In which, um, go fuck yourself with a grammar book. Retard.

Haha, yes! Thank you! I

Submitted by Adam Quigley on Sat, 12/27/2008 - 21:02.

Haha, yes! Thank you! I actually loved Kung Fu Panda. Thought it was one of best surprises of the summer. Still don't think it needs a sequel though.

On sequels.

Submitted by pyromancy (not verified) on Sun, 12/28/2008 - 16:47.

The best reason to have a sequel isn't to tie up loose ends, it's to tell further stories occupying the same world and featuring the same characters. While I agree that it doesn't need one and stands perfectly well on its own, I greatly look forward to seeing more set in the fantastic world of Kung Fu Panda.

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