Kung Fu Panda Holiday is a winter holiday-themed television special spun off from DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda movies. It premiered on NBC on Wednesday, November 24, 2010, at 8:30 PM ET/PT. While not necessarily a Christmas special, it does contain some holiday-themed elements, such as decorations and the occasional exchange of presents.
Synopsis
Mr. Ping has his cherished "Noodle Dream" in which he and his son, Po, make an incredibly delicious noodle soup, only to be interrupted by Tai Lung. Po defeats the leopard, but leaves his father who wakes up crying out in anguish.
That same morning, Master Shifu comes into the restaurant to assign Po to host the annual Winter Feast at the Jade Palace, which is a highly ritualized formal occasion exclusively for the masters of Kung Fu. Although Po offers his father the opportunity to cater it, Mr. Ping is adamant that he must stay at his restaurant for the lonely people who have nowhere else to eat for the holiday (and pay extra for it).
Although the guilt ridden Po struggles to cook for the banquet himself, he is soon overwhelmed by the myriad of responsibilities, further complicated by the interference of Wo Hop, a rabbit chef he accidentally disgraced earlier and is desperate to die at the Dragon Warrior's hands to redeem his honor. As Po despairs, a comment from Wo Hop inspires him to enlist the Furious Five to help complete the preparations while he has the still suicidal rabbit help him in the kitchen.
At last the preparations are complete and Shifu praises the occasion's arrangements as perfect in front of all the visiting masters. However, Po comes to realize that his place is with his father and excuses himself to join him in their kitchen after explaining to the masters his reasons. Together, Ping apologizes for being unfair to Po about his larger responsibilities and they prepare their food with polished skill to make the informal dinner a success from the start. Soon, the Furious Five and all the visiting masters, moved by Po's loyalty, arrive to participate in the festivities with the townsfolk. In addition, Po is able to restore Wo Hop's honor by bestowing him the Golden Ladle that was originally intended for the chef selected to cook for the Masters' banquet.
Eventually, Master Shifu, mortified by Po's abandoning of the banquet, arrives at Mr. Ping's restaurant and realizes that Po did the right thing creating a true perfect occasion with his father. Shifu turns to depart, only to be persuaded by Po to join them, firmly asserting that his master certainly has a place with his family.
Broadcast history
In 2011, a year after the special's NBC premiere, ABC Family acquired the broadcast rights, and it aired as a part of the 25 Days of Christmas programming block for that year, along with fellow DreamWorks Animation Christmas special Merry Madagascar. Both specials aired on The CW in the 2015 holiday season. It later aired alongside the other Kung Fu Panda specials on July 30-31, 2016, on Cartoon Network.
Availability
DreamWorks Home Entertainment made the special available on DVD and Blu-ray on November 6, 2012. The DVD was reissued with new cover art on October 1, 2013. It was also included in the DreamWorks Holiday Collection 2-disc set, released two weeks later. Its latest release was as part of the DreamWorks Ultimate Holiday Collection DVD and Blu-ray sets, released on October 15, 2019.
November 6, 2012
November 6, 2012
2013
October 2, 2018
October 15, 2019
October 15, 2019
Accolades
The special won the 2010 Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Directing in a Television Production.
Cast
| Voice actor/actress | Character(s) |
|---|---|
| Jack Black | Po |
| Dustin Hoffman | Shifu |
| Angelina Jolie | Tigress |
| Seth Rogen | Mantis |
| Lucy Liu | Viper |
| David Cross | Crane |
| James Hong | Mr. Ping |
| Jack McBrayer | Wo Hop |
| Dan Fogler | Zeng |
| Jackie Chan | Monkey |
| Jonathan Groff | Master Rhino |
| Conrad Vernon | Boar |
| Tom Owens | Dream Bunny Panicked Pig |
| Susan Fitzer | Shop Owner Baby Bunny Host Goose |
| Mick Wingert | Goose Attendant Pig Tailor |
| Stephen Kearin | Father Village Bunny |
| Lena Golia | Little Bunny |
Gallery
See also
- "Present Tense" (the Christmas episode of Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness)
External links
- Kung Fu Panda Wiki: Kung Fu Panda Holiday
- Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special at the Internet Movie Database
- Kung Fu Panda Holiday at RetroJunk.com