“ | There are no accidents. | „ |
~ Oogway’s Most Famous Quote |
Oogway (also known as Master Oogway) is the overarching protagonist of the Kung Fu Panda franchise.
He was a very wise and old male turtle who created Kung Fu himself and is the creator of Jade Palace, founder of the Valley of Peace, and the developer of the Dragon Warrior legend. He was highly revered for his wisdom, calm, knowledge and experience. He was highly respected by Shifu who was his pupil and the Furious Five and also by the entire valley.
Oogway is the main reason why Po became the Dragon Warrior, because he knew who really deserved the job. Oogway was also the greatest Kung Fu master in the whole of China, having no one better than him (until Po became the Dragon Warrior), he spent his whole life dedicating himself to Kung Fu as a force for good and had the ability to choose the Dragon Warrior before going to the Spirit Realm forever.
He was voiced by Randall Duk Kim for most of his appearances and by Piotr Michael in Kung Fu Panda: Paws of Destiny.
What Makes Him Pure Good?[]
In General[]
- He gave wisdom to Po and gave guidance whenever he needs help.
- He is always patient with anyone, even towards those who treat him with either indifference or rudeness.
Background[]
- He was an ally of the original Four Constellations and conspired with them to prevent their fallen master Jindiao from capturing the Wellspring. Oogway also recruited Bunnidharma to craft the Spirit Urn for use against Jindiao, but the plan to trap his spirit within it failed because Bunnidharma didn't deliver it in time.
- Stood up against Ke-Pa and his demon army when they ruled the Valley of Peace in a state of terror and free it using his Hero’s Chi and trap Ke-Pa in a mortal pig body with the help of the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom that restored his Hero’s Chi.
- Following the defeats of Ke-Pa and Jindiao, he was implied to be a conqueror in his quest for peace. This meant he possibly had a powerful army with Kai as his general proves that he is implied to be the cause of multiple deaths. But unlike Kai, who didn't change his ways and boasted several monikers, Oogway found another way from the pandas, and it molded him to be the hero he is today. It is also implied that he felt remorse over his past actions with Kai, so he wanted to atone for his mistakes; while
- He exiled Kai, his old friend now enemy, to the Spirit Realm only because he had no other choice to stop him as he was stealing the Chi of all the pandas. And he also did it out of great regret.
- He created the art of Kung Fu which would be taught and spread all across China, and built the Jade Palace in order to teach this discipline and watch over the Valley of Peace and to cover the seal to the underworld.
- He took Shifu in and raised him after finding him abandoned by his father, Shirong, outside the Jade Palace.
- After defeating Monkey in a duel that many others could not do, and while Monkey did behave like a thug, Oogway could understand this having perceived that in him apart from pride and rudeness there was also pain and suffering and saved him from a pole that was about to fall on him and allowed him to stay (which all the inhabitants wanted him to leave) and use his potential for altruistic purposes.
- While everyone saw Thundering Rhino, Croc, and Storming Ox only as criminals, Oogway made them realize that there is so much more to them.
- He was able to see the darkness inside Tai Lung from unchecked pride unlike Shifu, who was always proud of him and did not notice it, refused him the Dragon Scroll for good reasons and with good intentions, and only fought back when Tai Lung attempted to take the scroll by force.
Kung Fu Panda[]
- He chose Po as the Dragon Warrior, because unlike all the others who considered him incapable of this assignment, he was able to see beyond what he saw with his eyes (apart from remembering that his relatives had healed him in the past).
- He is the only one who cheered up Po after everyone laughed at him about his first fiasco in Kung Fu ended in failure, and when he considered quitting, he told him to think about the present instead of what happened or what is going to happen.
- He convinced Shifu that he really just had to believe to help someone with something, like in the case of Po, helping him become more open-minded and accept Po as the Dragon Warrior and properly train him, using a peach tree as an example.
Kung Fu Panda 3[]
- He sent Po's biological father, Li Shan, the message that his son was alive.
- When Kai attacked him in the Spirit World, Oogway still attempted to reason with Kai and settle things peacefully before surrendering and entrusting Po with the mission to defeat Kai.
- Spoke to Po in the Spirit World, imparting his final wisdom and officially declaring him as his successor.
- He gave Po the Staff of Wisdom, allowing him to return to the Mortal Realm.
The Paws of Destiny[]
- After Jindiao's permanent defeat, Oogway told his old friend Bunnidharma (who failed to help defeat the fallen dragon master in the first place and caused the original Four Constellations to die) that not many people don’t get second chances and congratulate him on help Po and the new constellations defeat Jindiao. Oogway also didn’t showed any signs of anger to Bunnidharma.
Trivia[]
- Oogway was approved as Pure Good, then he was removed and was approved as Near Pure Good for a time, until it was re-evaluated that his preventions contained false information, so his Pure Good status was restored.
- It is speculated that he may have reunited with Tai Lung in the Spirit Realm and played a part in his reduced anger before the events of Kung Fu Panda 4 as the snow leopard had recognized the tortoise’s staff after seeing it in The Chameleon’s possession. If this were confirmed, it would make Oogway even better.
- He is one of the few Pure Good characters who are also a Magnificent Baddie.
External links[]
- Oogway on the Heroes Wiki
- Oogway on the Kung Fu Panda Wiki
- Oogway on the DreamWorks Wiki
- Oogway on the Magnificent Baddie Wiki
- Oogway on the Ultimate Good Wiki
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