Kung Fu Panda

"Believe" by The Score (greatest band of all time). If you have not listened to this song sobbing at 4 in the morning or any other unGodly time in the morning, but like really believed in the lyrics and seen it in a new light, you have not lived.

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"Oogway Ascends" by Hans Zimmer and John Powell. Genuinely one of the most beautiful songs on this planet, ever composed. (*Advertisement*) You can listen to it in the car, dissociating on your bed, staring and zoning out at the ceiling or anywhere else into space, crying, trying to calm down, as a distraction, during yoga, during sleep, and literally any other time you can think of. Oh I also play it on the piano. Highly recommend (if you can't tell already). This song, this movie, it all healed me.

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As always, feel free to do what you do with audio files. Listen to them as you read, for they were chosen for a reason (just like Po, spoiler alert). Not sure if it works on phone.

🌸My time has come.🌸🌿

My time has come to write about the greatest movie of all time: to write about my personal favorite movie.

My comfort movie.

There has never been a more perfect time to write about this. Nor can I believe I haven't yet but...all is in good time.

"There are no accidents," as Master Oogway says.

It will always amaze me how watching a movie for the billionenth time, you can pick up something new. Notice something you've never noticed before. Just makes me feel unobservant I guess.

But each time offers a fresh new perspective.

It can only probably be said, that it is our experiences that are making it so. The way in which we perceive anything and everything.

To our eyes, it does not matter whether we have seen something a thousand times, or whether we are seeing it for the first time.

Each time is new like we forgot. Something exciting in that, n'est ce pas?

But of course, we haven't forgotten all the while. We can predict each and every move of the movie. We have seen it all, but the excitement of what's yet to come, even though we know what's yet to come, keeps us going anyway.

But besides eyes, besides what's visible, there is also a lot invisible. What goes on inside our brain. From our experiences. And how it alters our brains, and changes us. That too, for better or worse, changes how we perceive.

There needs not to be good reason to rewatch a favorite movie or a comfort movie, especially in a time that comfort is needed.

But as I was watching it this time, I noticed so much more I hadn't ever before.

And I thought, why do I like this movie?

I mean, what are some actual reasons on why I like this movie? Or the whole idea, the whole sequel, etc, doesn't matter. The point is still the same.

Perhaps for something to be your favorite, you must have emotional ties and connections. You must really relate, or at least, really admire if not relate. But even if you just admire, that's still relating in a way, isn't it? It's still connected to you. Or perhaps resonate. Just resonate. It just has to resonate.

I was not planning to write as I was watching the movie. In fact writing had nothing to do with it. Like I said, comfort. Favorite. Comfort because favorite. Those were my reasons, and reasons enough.

But maybe it's just me, maybe it's just my life, I couldn't help but think while I was watching the movie. Not that I was trying to think...on the contrary...not think...distract...those few precious minutes I could be distracted.

Um now I'm concerned. Why was I not thinking before.

But it just all clicked! It all made sense! Why this was my favorite movie. I can't believe I haven't noticed it before. Or really thought about it.

Because I was not planning on writing as I was watching, I have to try my best now to go backward through the movie chronologically in my mind and basically play it now as I write.

The very beginning of the movie: Po is a dreamer. He dreams of greatness. Of awesome-ness. And his imagination, his depictions, are pretty great. It makes me smile the way he dreamed up that his glance of awesome-ness alone, could defeat a 1000 foes. But....it's obviously all a dream. As is his rude awakening: his dad with the noodles. What a sad depressing life, right?

Po is a warrior. Every time, Po doesn't give up for the things he really wants in life. From as small as climbing up all those stairs each and every time, to persevering when he wants to see the Dragon Warrior. Those are relatively small, right? I mean, the way he gets hit and hurt in tens of different ways, alone, just when he's trying to see the Dragon Warrior. It's obviously funny too, light-hearted, and admirable to watch all his endeavors, trials, and persistence.

The movie never fails to put a genuine smile on my face, at multiple points all throughout the movie. Like the way the tree whacks him when he tries to use it as leverage to see inside the stadium. And how he lightly groans, like it's nothing and only the beginning. Or the determined adorable look in his eye when he is laying and hanging on to the stairs. There is a moment there when he seems to give up, but doesn't, quickly gets up.

When he gets chosen as the Dragon Warrior, no one believes it. No one believes in him, not he himself, certainly not Master Shifu or the Furious Five, not even his dad. I mean sure, maybe I'm being dramatic here, perhaps it's just the initial reaction of his dad that I'm drawing conclusions with. Not my fault, because we don't actually see much of his dad throughout this movie, at least, not as much as in the others.

He gets bullied. The entire Valley or whatever is gossiping about him, disbelieving that he was chosen, disbelieving in him. Again and again, he is emotionally, psychologically, verbally, and of course, it's Kung Fu, so physically, abused. I think "abuse" is a harsh word to put here but to be honest I'm not sure what else to put. It gets the point across.

And yet he stays. In place. No matter what happens. In fact, he barely even falters. We barely see Po "give up," and if he does something that resembles giving up a little bit, it is not without reason or trial, but instead very reasonable. And I can understand. The specific scene I am thinking about is when Po is making dinner for the Furious Five, the very first day of his training, kind-of. Which, again, that day already was so trialsome for Po, when Shifu was literally trying his best to get rid of him, and still we see him being the loveable Po that he is, cracking jokes and despite everything, making friends with those who could reasonably be understood if they hated him (but they can't, because of who he is). It appears as if he never belongs...yet he just...always seems to. I wish I had that superpower.

Did I even think for a second that Po didn't fit in? No, never. Just somehow always believed in him. Wasn't even a doubt there. When, should there have been? And I'm not just talking about this is a kid's movie, inevitably happy, and predictable.

Okay I am getting off topic and forgetting what I myself am writing about. So the scene where he is making dinner. Shifu comes in, and is like what the heck are you doing, and he comes bearing the news that Tai Lung has escaped from prison, is coming there, coming for Po, basically, and....Po has to stop him. Which, was kind-of a lot!

To the viewer, at least to me, it might not seem like a lot. And it must be because of the dramatic irony (I think that's an AP Lang term, be proud?). When the viewer knows what's going to happen, and we forget to account that the poor characters don't and are still very much like unbirthed babies unable to see...yet (I'm not sure why that's the only analogy that comes to mind). But then when I really think about it, no, Po most certainly did not know that that was going to be his future. He knew he was the Dragon Warrior, ok sure, that doesn't sound easy, but he probably thought it was going to be a lot easier than well...what it was now faring to be.

This is a very emotional deep part of the movie. Po runs. Shifu confronts. Po confronts Shifu's disbelief in him, mocking his news. "You really think I can stop him? YOU don't even believe in me." Shifu will have to come to terms with that. But then it's Shifu's turn to confront Po. "Why didn't you leave...?" "when we...(Fill in the blank bullied you etc)" Po confirms that it did hurt, all the psychological and physical turmoil...and this is where I have to rely on my knowledge and memory of the Russian version of the movie.

You see, I always watched this movie in Russian. But on this particular day, okay this is a very off topic sidenote but I was too lazy to watch it on the TV and just wanted to watch it on my Laptop and I don't like that nasty ahh couch anyway and would rather watch on my clean bed...so...I was stuck with the original English version.

Now in the English version, at this moment, Po's reason is something like "I stayed because I believe that if anyone could change me, make me, not me, it's you." The Russian version takes on a very different meaning. This part is still included. But there's a lot more of an important part too. Po says, "I stayed because no matter what you did to me (fill in the blank hit me etc) that would never bring me more pain than my life did every day."

Now that really hit me.

Po doesn't even get mad when no one believes in him. Must be because he doesn't believe in himself either, but I think this still speaks greatness about humility.

And then, however are they able to turn it all around from there? Only from the exact one and only word I feel like I must have repeated 50 different times in here by now: Belief. Belief in Po, from Shifu, belief in himself, (thanks TO Shifu), is the only way that Shifu was able to train Po, that Po was able to be trained, in time for Tai Lung's arrival.

If this one thing wasn't there, belief, none of this would have happened.

They took a really hopeless, impossible feeling situation to be in, and really turned it around into something beautiful, and the transformation, and journey, it was beautiful in the process.

I know, belief is a hard thing to come by sometimes. But I cannot shield my eyes from the fact that it was only belief, that took an incredibly hopeless situation, and turned it around.

And maybe that's what I need to learn. What I needed to see. What I needed to realize. And where all the comfort was all along.

I still believe it's bad to get one's hopes up, but it's a tough concept to fully explain or understand anyway. But now I wonder if that's the only way some things can even be achieved. The tie between hope and humility, is a tough balance, but one that needs to be achieved.

Side note that one scene when Master Shifu is by the red sun. Damn I know it's just an animated movie, but China is so beautiful. Apparently I need to go. Need to see my baby cherry blossoms. Clearly I resonate with Chinese culture. Perhaps my next blog post...?🤔 "Why the Russian🤝the Chinese"? Or maybe just "Why Masha🤝the Chinese"?

Side side note I think I know another reason why I like Kung Fu Panda/the main character Po so much! Or how I relate and resonate. Obviously, Po is learning Kung Fu throughout the entire movie, so he gets beat up a lot. By all the Furious Five, by Shifu constantly, and by Tai Lung. At the end of the movie, when he is having his legendary one-to-one with Tai Lung at one point, Tai Lung is just punching him but to Po it's just funny. Like this guy is straight-up just beating him up and Po is just laughing. My type of guy. I think it's so fun too. And when Shifu first tries to get Po to leave and is training him by trying to fry his patience with the Furious Five beating him up, Po is so stubborn. Always stays happy. And always ready to be beat up some more.

Kung Fu Panda 2

This movie was a lot about who you are, and figuring out who you are. Not as much as the third movie though but we'll get to that at a later point (since in the third movie, that was like actually the entire main focus). But a REALLY good scene from the second movie was the scene where Po has to summon that raindrop thing and finally see/accept himself for who he is. And learn more about his (unfortunately, extremely tragic and depressing) past. Just one scene that they repeat about three times throughout the entire sequel, and yet it genuinely brings tears to my eyes everytime. Because it's of a mom self-sacrificing for her child. Depressing? But a little beautiful. A little motherly.

Po has to finally plunge himself into his grief. It is a beautiful moment, having to accept the truth. Because prior to that, he kept pushing away the memory. He wouldn't let himself feel or see. He probably didn't even realize it though, but still.

Kung Fu Panda 3

The third movie is so slay. It's probably my favorite. It resonates with me a lot because it's basically entirely about something that I have thought about in my own life A LOT. And struggled with. Figuring out who you are.

I love it when Shifu challenges Po. I mean he often does, and makes Po realize some super slay shit. Like how he doesn't actually know who he is.

So he has to go back. To his roots. To his origin. It's just such a beautiful thing. Really makes me wonder about immigrants.

Do we all need to connect with our cultures?

Another moral/point I took away from the story: is that culture can be learned. Even if like Po, you grew up in a completely different culture, Po is able to learn, with mistakes, like, it's still a learning curve, but he able to learn what it's like to be a panda, and what it's all about. It's possible.

And lastly, I like it when Shifu says something along the lines of "If you never do something challenging, you will never be more than you are now."

Challenge is good.