- “Sure, we're cute, cuddly dumpling eaters. But just because that's all we know, that doesn't mean that's all we are.”
- ―Li Shan
Li Shan is Po's biological father and a major character in the Kung Fu Panda franchise. He is a giant panda leader who was separated from his wife and son during the massacre of his own species and home village by Lord Shen and his wolves. He returns in Kung Fu Panda 3 where he will find Po and take him to his current residence in a hidden village with other pandas.
Background[]
Personality[]
Li is laid back, fun-loving, and somewhat lazy. He enjoys eating, napping, having a good time, and bonding with his son. He seems to get along fairly well with the other villagers, as they all came to greet him when they returned with his son. He also takes it upon himself to teach Po how to "be a panda" by simply doing many fun and easygoing activities, such as eating, swimming, and rolling.
Additionally, in Kung Fu Panda 2, Li appeared to be a happy farmer who cared about his family when Po saw him in his visions. He also showed bravery and a distinct sense of protectiveness, as shown when he defended his wife and infant son and fought back the wolves who attacked his village. At the end of the film, decades after he had presumably lost his wife and child, Li found out that his son was alive, and seemed pleased after becoming aware of this.
Li seems to share many similarities to Po. In the third film, he was seen celebrating with the noodle shop patrons, who were cheering him on with his mouth full of dumplings, similar to how Po was seen with a mouth-full of bean buns in the second film. Like Po, Li is also shown to be quite oblivious in some cases. Upon meeting Po, Li shared that he was looking for his son, and said he's sorry when Po in turn replied that he lost his father. Li wished him luck and departed, apparently not discerning the many clues that point to Po being the long-lost son he was looking for until a good moment later. Upon realization, he joyfully hugged Po, and even hugged a disconcerted Mr. Ping. He also joined Po in playing with many of the weapons in the Hall of Warriors as if they were like toys.
Despite some of his childish traits, Li does show a level of seriousness, particularly towards the loss of his wife and his protectiveness of Po. Li still loves his wife, having an altar with a small painting of her with Po, and traveled from far away to retrieve their son. Li is also haunted by the events of the past that separated him from his family, and has a fear of losing Po again. Because of this, Li proved to be surprisingly deceptive, managing to come up with a lie that he could teach Po how to use chi merely so he could take him to the safety of the panda village, and stalling the truth until Po confronted him about it. Though he was distraught when Po was upset and refused to leave the village when Kai was arriving, he was eventually comforted after a parent-to-parent talk with Mr. Ping.
Li is also very brave, not only having protected his family in the past, but was the one to persuade the others pandas to learn to fight, and was alongside Mr. Ping in helping to defend the village upon attack. He even aided Po against the fight with Kai and his jade zombies, and was the first to mimic the chi technique he saw in the scroll, and gathering the others to follow, helped Po to defeat Kai once and for all, using his own chi and proclaiming that Po taught him who he was meant to be: A father.
In The Paws of Destiny, Li is first introduced as being the compassionate and caring (if not a tad bit inept) leader of Panda Village. He is immensely proud of his son and tries to bring up him and his accomplishments any time he gets the chance.
Physical appearances[]
During his younger days, Li went without a shirt and simply wore a pair of patched-up beige pants, similar to Po. He also wore a striped belt that resembles Po's, which reached up over his stomach.
At the end of Kung Fu Panda 2, he was also seen wearing a well-spun green cloak with tree branch patterns and brown lining. This cloak seemed to set him apart from the other pandas in the hideout, and is similar in color and style to Shifu and Oogway's jade-colored wrappings.
In Kung Fu Panda 3, Li is again seen in mainly green clothing, now consisting of a long green vest that has white, carpet-like tufts, and a pair of baggy green pants. He also has thin green strands across his chest, and a beige belt that holds a small pouch on his waist. He is also seen wearing a straw hat when he meets Po at the noodle shop.
Powers and Abilities[]
Though Li was only seen using a farming tool as a weapon, it proved sufficient enough to injure his opponents. He was able to hold off the wolves and escape alive when they attacked his village.
In Kung Fu Panda 3, Li was among the panda villagers who were taught by Po how to fight. During an invasion, he wore self-made "armor" consisting of items such as pans and woks, with Mr. Ping tied to his stomach to aid him. He was able to his these "weapons" to fend off the jade zombies, and he later used his chi to help Po and vanquish Kai. At the end of the film, Li was briefly shown practicing kung fu under Po, though suddenly halted when he got a crick in his back.
In the second season of The Paws of Destiny, Li was also shown to be quite powerful when he thought that Po's dead and managed to kick all of the Imperial Guards from their ship. Li's also managed to defeat the guards in the Volcano Island when Po's in danger.
Appearances[]
Kung Fu Panda 2[]
Li Shan in Kung Fu Panda 2.
Twenty years prior to the events of the film, Li lived happily with his wife and infant son in the panda village. But one day, an evil peacock by the name of Lord Shen and a pack of wolves invaded their home, bent on annihilating all of the pandas. In the chaos, Boss Wolf and another wolf attempted to kill the young Po, but his father defended him and swatted the wolves away with a rake, damaging Boss Wolf's left eye and scarring it for life. Li then told his wife to take their son and run, which she did. It is unknown what exactly happened to Li during and after the battle, but he managed to survive and presumably fled to the mountains with other surviving pandas, spending the following years in hiding. In the film, Li was first seen in one of Po's nightmares, where he and his wife told Po how they replaced him with a radish that was better at kung fu than he was.
Li at the panda hideout learning of Po's existence At the very end of the film, Li was seen living in a hidden village far away from the Valley of Peace with many other pandas. He suddenly became aware of Po's existence and proclaimed, "My son is alive" while overlooking the other pandas in his village.
Kung Fu Panda 3[]
Li Shan in Kung Fu Panda 3.
In Kung Fu Panda 3, Li was shown in the noodle shop partaking in a dumpling-eating contest, receiving cheers from a crowd of customers after breaking his son's dumpling record. When Po questions who he is, Li introduces himself and says that he's looking for his son, who was lost many years ago.
Po reveals that he lost his father. The crowd watches them in suspense, but the two eventually depart, neither making the connection that they're father and son, much to the exasperation of the crowd. Soon, however, they realize their mistake and embrace. When Po asks how he found him, Li explains that other Pandas survive as well in a hidden village, and that he was informed of Po's survival by a message "from the universe." Mr. Ping is skeptical of this, however, having raised Po himself since he was a baby. Nevertheless, Po decides to spend some time with Li by giving him a tour of the Jade Palace, messing around with several kung fu artifacts in the process. Shortly after being introduced to Shifu, however, Kai's warriors arrive to attack the valley, leaving Li concerned for his son's safety. After learning more about Kai and his history with Oogway and the Pandas, the heroes decide that Po must become a Master of Chi, and Li offers to train him. The two Pandas set out for the village and are joined by Mr. Ping, who is troubled by Li Shan's return and what it could mean for his and Po's relationship. Upon reaching the village, Po is overjoyed to meet so many other Pandas, and feels that he finally knows who he is.
Li teaches his son the ways of his people, but keeps postponing the lessons for Chi. After Li has a heartfelt conversation with Po about his mother, Tigress arrives at the village and informs the Pandas of Kai's approach, and Li then admits that he has lied to Po about knowing the ancient Chi techniques of the Pandas, having been lost to them over the centuries. Furious, Po determines to face Kai and destroy him using the Wuxi Finger Hold, but is informed by Tigress that it cannot be done alone. After a pep talk from Mr. Ping, Li Shan offers himself and the other Pandas to Po's tutelage so that he will have an army to face Kai's Jade warriors. Following some rigorous-and highly unconventional-training, Li and the Pandas face Kai's assault, and manage to disorient him by attacking his army.
While Po confronts Kai in the spirit realm, Li and the others manage to employ the Chi technique, having been inspired by Po's leadership and sacrifice. Soon enough, Po returns to the mortal realm as a Master of Chi, to everyone's awe and chagrin. Proud of their son, Li and Ping embrace Po happily. At the end of the film, with Shen and Kai both defeated, Li and the other pandas celebrate freely among the villagers in the Valley of Peace, using the Chi manipulation technique along with everyone in attendance.
Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny[]
Li presented a speech to commemorate the annual peach blossom festival which going to be blessed by the Dragon Master, before being interrupted by the four panda children on a wheeled cart. When Mr. Ping comes to the village to see the performance of his son, Li feels a bit down and jealous.
But when their son need some help, they band together and help Po and the four constellations beat Jindiao.
However, in the process of training his chi to help Po and the four constellations beat Jindiao, Li asks Zhizhu about how much time is needed to master chi and got a response that it took seven years for his ancestor to master chi, he began to despair and feel inadequate to save his son. He feels that all of his son's achievements is in spite of Mr. Ping to which Mr. Ping quickly said to him "But just because that's all we know, that doesn't mean that's all we are.", which makes him regain his spirit.
In the second season, Li, Grandma Panda, and Mr. Ping have more prominent role, since they were on a quest to find the Wellspring while the Four Constellations and Po were in the Forbidden City. The two group eventually crosspaths in the volcano and devised a plan to stop Shi Long and The White Bone Demon.
Kung Fu Panda 4[]
In Kung Fu Panda 4, Li and Mr. Ping have their own adventures in search of their son. At the beginning of the movie, Li is seen helping Mr. Ping in the noodle shop and calm Mr. Ping about Po's adventure with a fugitive. Later in the night they both decided to follow the trail of their son to ensure his safety.
Trivia[]
- Li Shan is the second DreamWorks Animation film to have a Bryan Cranston voice of character, after Vitaly from Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.
Gallery[]
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