- “Well, I say bring it!”
- ―Zhen.
Zhen is the deuteragonist of DreamWorks Animation's 2024 feature film Kung Fu Panda 4. She is an anthropomorphic Corsac fox who is a former wanted thief trained under the tutelage of the Chameleon, who tasked her to retrieve the Staff of Wisdom as part of her plan of learning kung fu. However, her path would lead her on a different journey when she met Po, whose teachings inspired her to be lead into the route of heroism and would take her in as his successor.
Backgrounds[]
Personality[]
Zhen has been described in Kung Fu panda 4 synopsis as "crafty" and "quick-witted". She also has sarcastic wit for various situations, such as when Po faces her Oogway Staff of Wisdom in the Hall of Heroes.
Appearance[]
Zhen is a light-gray corsac fox with light brown eyes. Zhen wears a navy-blue, baggy hooded tunic with several tears on the sleeves and the bottom, black baggy Capri trousers, and a pale jadeite buckle around her waist. She accessorizes with light gray bandages wrapped around her arms and legs, and a small jadeite piercing on her right ear, which doubles as a lockpick, Zhen later discards it after becoming the new Dragon Warrior
Biography[]
Past[]
Not much is known about her past other than she didn't have her parents, due to them either leaving her or passing away, but she was orphaned and later found by Han, her old mentor and was taught by him how to steal money and food for herself in order to survive. One day, The Chameleon took over Juniper City, and everyone bowed down to her except for Zhen, as she was very curious about The Chameleon and was the only one who didn't bow to her, due to having no fear towards her. Zhen's brave soul and her heart encouraged her to attempt to steal one of the gems on golden tree throne, only for her to get caught by The Chameleon, who was impressed of Zhen's skill. She returned the gem to Zhen, and decided to take her in and raise her as her daughter.
Kung Fu Panda 4[]
She first appears at the Jade Palace trying to steal some relics for survival until Po faces and defeats her but not before leaving him a clue about Tai Lung, who had apparently invaded a mine earlier.
When she gets a visit from Po and a question about Tai Lung, she reveals to Po that it was actually The Chameleon in disguise. She tells Po about The Chameleon, who is a powerful sorceress with the ability to shapeshift into anyone, making everyone think it was Tai Lung. Po asks for The Chameleon's whereabouts, and offers to see what he can do about reducing her jailtime in exchange. She accepts the deal, but they are interrupted by Shifu who asks Po for an update in finding his successor. Zhen informs Shifu that she and Po have already struck a deal and calls him a squirrel, but Shifu corrects her, stating he is a red panda. Po decides to temporarily release her from prison so she can take him to The Chameleon's location. She cleverly sneaks one handcuff on one goose guard and Shifu before he realizes, stopping Shifu from stopping Po. En route to Juniper City, Zhen asks Po for food, and he gives her half of a cookie. They stop on the way for food and a boat ride in Happy Bunny Tavern. Po and Zhen then eat after Zhen plays Mahjong with Granny Boar while Po pays Captain Fish to give them a ride to Juniper City, Zhen pays for the food afterwards but she accidentally reveals she cheated when playing with Granny Boar, forcing Po to unsuccessfully try to reason with the latter.
Afterwards, she and Po fall from Happy Bunny Tavern but are saved by Captain Fish's boat. They sail ahead to Juniper City as agreed. Zhen reveals to Po she was an orphan and had to steal to survive, and Po informs her that he, too, was orphaned at a young age. When they arrive at Juniper City, Po realizes Zhen is a wanted criminal. They try to escape but are caught by the city's Bull guards. Po tries to reason with them but is arrested as well. Zhen manages to pick the lock and escape and later unlock a door disguised as a drum which they use to escape from the bull guards to the underground Den of Thieves. They then meet Han, her old mentor. He and Zhen reunite for the first time in a while, but end up trapped with Han's minions via weapons. To prepare, Zhen tells Han and the Den of Thieves that Po is the Dragon Warrior, confusing Han and the others as they have never heard of Po's Dragon Warrior status. Po tries to make peace with the Den of Thieves and reason with them, but Han's minions just leave, causing Zhen to facepalm at Po's stupidity. Zhen tells him to workshop his proverbs, and they talk with Han. They first ask him whether or not he has heard of Po's status as the Dragon Warrior, the son of Mr. Ping and Li Shan, and the fact that he was trained by Master Oogway and Master Shifu. Han says it doesn't ring a bell as he's never heard of Po to begin with. (Albeit until the mention of Shifu.) Zhen asks Han for help in their plans. When Han asks why he should help Zhen, she states that it's because deep down, Han still thinks of her as one of the family. He reluctantly agrees but threatens to turn her in to the bull guards himself if she and Po are still around by nightfall. (Despite being a thief in his own right).
The next day, the coast is clear for her and Po to get out of the underground den and into the palace. After getting past the iguana guards, Zhen unwillingly hands over the Staff of Wisdom to the Chameleon, who reveals to Po that she adopted Zhen and was the one who sent her to steal the Staff of Wisdom so she could unleash all the Kung Fu masters residing in the Spirit Realm and steal their Kung Fu.
Zhen is guilt-racked over it and attempts to reconcile with Po. However, the Chameleon seemingly kills Po by knocking him over the edge, sending him falling to his supposed death, much to Zhen’s horror. She reminds the Chameleon that she promised she wouldn’t hurt or kill Po, only for her to sadistically reveal that she never cared about her feelings.
After watching the Chameleon bring back all the late kung Fu masters and the previous antagonists including General Kai, Lord Shen, and Tai Lung, Zhen decides to leave her. She sees that Po is still alive. However, an upset Po scolds her and states that he made a mistake in trusting her. After a sparring session where she refuses to let him fight the Chameleon out of fear of him getting killed, it gets to the point where Po ignores her and asks why would she care, she runs to him, seemingly planning to hurt him out of rage, but she actually hugs him and proves she does care about him but warns him that the Chameleon is more powerful now. Po refuses to endanger her and goes to face the Chameleon anyway. Later on, Mr. Ping and Li Shan team up with Zhen to help her gather an army of thieves to hold off the Chameleon's army while Zhen gets back into the palace to assist Po. Later after they battle the Chameleon, Po gets trapped in a cage again. This time, he entrusts Zhen with the Staff of Wisdom to battle the Chameleon by herself in order for her to prove herself worthy. After that, Zhen manages to overpower The Chameleon and Po escapes his cage.
However, just as the Chameleon is about to strike, Po manages to counter her attack with the Staff of Wisdom, ultimately defeating her. Po then releases all the Kung Fu villains from their captivity while restoring their Kung Fu to them.
After the kung-fu villains were set free, Tai Lung emerged as their representative and openly praised Po, acknowledging that Po had surpassed his initial expectations and had proven himself to be worthy of being the Dragon Warrior. The other kung-fu villains (including Shen and Kai) all followed suit as well by bowing down to him in respect. Tai Lung then made a request to Po, urging him to create a portal to the Spirit Realm so that the villains can return to their rightful place. Po happily obliged by opening a portal to the Spirit Realm, As all the kung-fu villains (including Shen and Kai) happily return to the Spirit Realm, Tai Lung seized the opportunity to take the Chameleon with him, intending to punish her for what she did. The Chameleon fearfully turned to Zhen, foolishly pleading the latter to help her despite all the cruel things she’s done to her and Po. Only for Zhen to rightfully refuse and taunt the Chameleon, reminding her of her own third rule, that nobody cared about her feelings. Bidding farewell to Po, Tai Lung happily returns to the Spirit Realm, taking the Chameleon with him as she screams in horror, saving China from her threat.
During the end credits, Po begins training with Zhen to turn her into the Dragon Warrior. Viper shows Zhen speed and reflex in the Field of Fiery Death (except Zhen almost gets caught on fire), and Tigress teaches her martial arts in the Jade Tortoise of Wisdom, but she ends up falling down into it and rebounds all over it. Crane shows Zhen how to deflect several projectile spears, Mantis trains her in the Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors, and Monkey swings effortlessly from one to the other and passes through one Seven-Talon Rings. Zhen tries to pass through Seven-Talon Rings but gets stuck.
Dueling Dumplings[]
In this short, she and Po fight over whether chive or regular dumplings are better.
Quotes[]
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Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This is the second time when the voice actress Awkwafina was in a DreamWorks Animation film where she played Ms. Tarantula in The Bad Guys.
- Zhen is the fourth Kung Fu Panda character who was raised and adopted by someone who not related to her species, since Po was adopted by a goose name Mr. Ping, while Tigress and Tai Lung were adopted by a red panda named Master Shifu. Similarly to Tai Lung who disowns his own father over the Dragon Scroll after Shifu refused to protest Oogway's choice, Zhen disowns The Chameleon after realizing her dark purpose is to drain all essence from every Kung Fu Master living in the Spirit Realm, and use them to take over China.
- Zhen's characteristics alludes to how foxes are regarded as tricky in Chinese folklore.
- Zhen is voiced by the famous actress Yang Mi in the Chinese version, who played Mei Mei earlier in Kung Fu Panda 3.
- Zhen's name almost sounds like part of Po's birth name Lotus Shan, which somehow foreshadowed her later apprenticeship towards him after she was carelessly mentored by the Chameleon.
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