Tai Lung is the main antagonist of Kung Fu Panda and a minor villain in Kung Fu Panda Holiday. He is Master Shifu's former adoptive son and Tigress' former adoptive older brother.
Prior his incarceration in Chorh-Gom Prison, Tai Lung was an ordinary leopard who loved Shifu and Oogway like his own family until one day, he was denied the Dragon Scroll by Oogway; plus, Shifu couldn't bring himself to speak up in Tai Lung's defense, which shattered him and made him destroy the Valley of Peace and try to take the scroll by force. After knocking Shifu out of the way and breaking his hip, Tai Lung leaped for the Dragon Scroll, only to be stopped by Oogway by being jabbed in his chest. Afterwards, he was sent to prison for 20 years. After his escape years later, Tai Lung once again tried to take the scroll, but he was defeated by the true Dragon Warrior Po when he used the Wuxi Finger Hold on him
In the Legends of Awesomeness episode "Master and the Panda," Po disguised himself as Tai Lung to convince his nephew Peng that he wasn't evil after tempting him, to which he refuses and fights his uncle for it.
Biography
Kung Fu Panda
Tai Lung's parentage is a mystery. All that is known about this master of Kung Fu is that he was left on the doorstep of the Jade Palace as a cub, and was taken in by Shifu, a young Kung Fu master at the time.
Childhood
Master Shifu decided to raise the snow leopard cub as his very own son. When Tai Lung began to show promise in Kung Fu, Shifu jumped to conclusions. He assumed that a young one so talented, and who had no proper training could seem so good must be the Dragon Warrior. Tai Lung began training with Shifu from an early age. All the time, Shifu filled Tai Lung's head with the thought that he was the real Dragon Warrior. As Tai Lung grew in age and skill, he also grew in desire and he wanted nothing more than to be the Dragon Warrior. Tai Lung made the mistake of directing his whole life to the getting of the Dragon Scroll, and Shifu made the mistake of encouraging it.
Betrayal
When Shifu thought he was ready, Tai Lung requested the Dragon Scroll from Master Oogway, keeper of the scroll, but since he saw evil in Tai Lung, he refused. Feeling his dream slipping through his fingers, Tai Lung desperately turned to Shifu, but he wouldn't help since he couldn't bring himself to. Rage now filled Tai Lung; a rage that had been contained his whole life. He laid waste to the village. Then, he tried to take the scroll by force. Master Shifu tried to stop the monster that he had created, but he couldn't destroy his very own son. Before Tai Lung could claim the Dragon Scroll, Oogway caught him with a nerve attack. Tai Lung was then shipped off to Chorh-Gom Prison, where he would remain for 20 years.
Imprisonment and Escape
The 20 years that Tai Lung spent locked up in Chorh-Gom Prison were hardly wasted. He spent them formulating a scheme. He would escape from prison and take what was "rightfully his", the Dragon Scroll. But he waited for the opportune moment, which came 20 years later. A messenger goose named Zeng came to his prison, saying to double the guard. But there was other news: The Dragon Warrior was to be chosen. Tai Lung knew that it was now or never. Using a feather shed from Zeng, Tai Lung unlocked his chains and leapt up to the entrance, scaling up huge boulders and destroying the Anvil of Heaven. He sent Zeng back unharmed to tell the world that he was free and that he was coming home.
Journey to the Jade Palace
Tai Lung started the long journey home. Tai Lung started back to the Jade Palace. On the way, he learned that the Dragon Warrior had been chosen. He was then delayed by the Furious Five. Cornered on a rope bridge, he informed his sister Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Viper and Crane that he knew the Dragon Warrior wasn't one of them. Tai Lung said that he'd heard that the Dragon Warrior dropped out of the sky on a ball of fire, and that he was a warrior unlike any the world had seen before. He then proceeded to knock out all warriors (except Master Crane so he could bring them back to the palace as a special warning) with a nerve attack. And so continued his journey unhindered.
Return Home and Defeat
Tai Lung returned to the Valley of Peace to find it evacuated, but Master Shifu was still at the Jade Palace. Angered, Tai Lung proceeded to beat Shifu senseless. At one point, Shifu tried to make Tai Lung redeem himself by saying his own pride blinded him to what Tai Lung was becoming before it was too late and what he was turning him into. He finishes with a sincere apology, but after a few seconds, Tai Lung decided to harden his heart and still demand the scroll. When he saw that the Dragon Scroll was gone, Tai Lung demanded to be told where it was, and Shifu said it was halfway across China and that he'll never have the scroll. In his rage, he began to strangle his old master, and he prepared to kill him with his sharp claws. But before he could, the Dragon Warrior appeared; it was Po. His attention now at Po, Tai Lung was amused and tossed Shifu aside and taunted Po by asking if he was gonna sit on him, to which Po replied, "Don't tempt me" (but at one point, he accidentally did just that).
Po and Tai Lung fought over the Dragon Scroll, which was with Po. Tai Lung found the fight challenging, and Po used his bulk to his advantage. Several times, Tai Lung was thrown into the air, but he secured the Dragon Scroll after knocking Po to the ground and defeating him. He opened it while relishing at finally having his hands on it, but he was shocked to see nothing except it being blank. Po then explained to Tai Lung that there was no secret ingredient, that it was just who you were that made you special. Furious about the Dragon Scroll being a lie, Tai Lung yells in anger and frustration and lunges at Po with a nerve attack, determined to finish him off once and for all. But because of Po's weight, he was unable to hit any nerve points and it only tickled him instead. The fight continued, but Po had the upper hand this time and he eventually caught Tai Lung in the Wuxi Finger Hold after beating him to death. Tai Lung was worried to be sure; he thought Po was just bluffing. He tried to distract him, but he was reassured when Po said that Shifu hadn't taught him the move; however, Tai Lung's hopes were dashed to pieces when Po stated that he figured it out. The Dragon Warrior completed the move with his catchphrase "Skadoosh," and Tai Lung was defeated as a result.
Other Appearances
Kung Fu Panda Holiday
Coming soon!
Kung Fu Panda 2
Though he didn't actually appear in the movie, Tai Lung did appear in a flashback in which he fought Po.
Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness
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Po disguised as Tai Lung in "Master and the Panda"
In "Master and the Panda," Po disguised himself as Tai Lung, acting evil and telling his nephew Peng to join him, to which the young leopard refused and fought him after "Tai Lung" proposed they destroy everyone. Po then revealed himself, telling Peng that he wasn't like his uncle.
Personality and Traits
Tai Lung possesses a brutal, somewhat sociopathic nature and he sometimes gives the impression of being quite insane. Whether his insanity is the result of his long incarceration or if it was present before his imprisonment isn't clear; however, he is driven by a blind hatred of his old mentor Master Shifu and an obsessive desire for vengeance. Nevertheless, he possesses a fearsome dignity and is quite refined, exhibiting a dry, ironic sense of humor. Tai Lung is charismatic and even charming on occasion, but this only adds to his aura of menace. He is able to use his immense presence and his notorious reputation to intimidate his opponents, sometimes for no reason other than his own personal amusement. Despite his sophisticated personality, he is given to violent mood swings during which his vicious and psychotic nature is all too evident.
Ironically, he never needed the Dragon Scroll as unlike Po, he believed in himself all along, meaning that the power of the scroll was already within him.
Trivia
- In real life, the snow leopard (Tai Lung) is the enemy of the giant panda (Po) and the red panda (Master Shifu).
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