Tai Lung is a complex villain in a simple story.
The wisest lessons can come from the simplest stories. In 2008, DreamWorks produced a timeless movie, “Kung Fu Panda,” which highlights the dreams of a clumsy giant panda named Po, as he tries to learn Kung-Fu while saving his village from the rampage of the savage snow leopard Tai Lung.
Rewatching Kung fu Panda made me realize this movie had everything.
A great storyline. Well-developed characters. Memorable lessons.
And the greatest lessons of the movie are learned with a focus on Tai Lung, the main antagonist of the story.
The Leopard, The Legacy
Understanding Tai Lung
Whether as an upgrade of Tigress, a direct counterpart of Po or as Shifu’s fallen student, Tai Lung was a great villain.
Before the beginning of the movie, Tai Lung was in prison, and we get to know more about him from his escape from prison.
His ferocity. The quickness. His ability to make clever decisions. And his full mastery of kung fu.
As the story goes on, Tai Lung takes on the furious five (a group of his former kung fu master’s greatest students). He overpowers them with ease. His domination was so epic that Po trembled with the fear after hearing this encounter.
Yet in the final battle, this ferocious snow leopard loses to an easygoing big fat panda. Not because Po was quicker or stronger. Tai Lung lost because of three fundamental ideals
Read this to the end. There is a lot to unpack.
The Dangers of Pride and Entitlement
Shifu trained Tai Lung at the Jade Palace, raising him to believe he would become the Dragon Warrior.
However, when Oogway (Shifu’s master) denied him the title, the snow leopard revealed his true dark nature. He rampaged through the Valley, which led to his twenty-years in prison.
Tai Lung’s seething rage and fury did not fade, even after spending so many years in prison. His pride and arrogance did not leave him. Tai Lung’s entitlement mentality made him become the worst version of himself.
We see it clearly on his first encounter with Po:
Tai Lung: Who are you? Po: Buddy, I... am the Dragon Warrior! [bows over, panting from the stairs] Tai Lung: [incredulous] You? [laughs] Tai Lung: He's a panda! You're a panda! What are you gonna do, big guy? Sit on me? Po: Don't tempt me.
The eventual downfall of Tai Lung came from his denial and underestimation of Po.
Tai Lung also did not learn humility. And this virtue he lacked led him to crumble under the weight of expectations.
Crumbling Under the Weight of Expectations
This weight was not entirely the fault of Tai Lung.
Shifu filled his student’s head with the idea that he was destined for greatness. And gaining the dragon scroll was meant to be the physical representation of greatness of his years of kung fu training and mastery. Shifu also seemed to move on and never visited Tai Lung during his 20-year incarceration.
I know it’s not easy but Tai Lung should have moved on as well.
His next goal should have been simple. Focus on growing and improving yourself mentally, rather than seeking more strength and waiting for appreciation. Yet, Tai Lung allowed the weight of expectations to crush him.
Because of this weight, the former kung fu prodigy failed to understand and overcome the curse we are learning next.
The Ferocious Antagonist of Kung Fu Panda
The Curse of Seeking Validation
Next to Oogway, Tai Lung is virtually the most skilled and dangerous Kung Fu Master alive.
The snow leopard had immense physical strength, was able to punch and tear his way through numerous armored opponents. He was a kung fu prodigy from childhood. The prodigy was the first student to master all one-thousand scrolls of kung-fu.
Yet he had a fatal flaw.
This flaw is perfectly seen in the snow leopard’s dialogue with Shifu after his prison break:
Tai Lung: [growls] I rotted in jail for 20 years because of YOUR weakness! Shifu: Obeying your master is not weakness! Tai Lung: You knew I was the Dragon Warrior! You always knew! But when Oogway said otherwise, what did you do? What did you do? NOTHING! Shifu: You were not meant to be the Dragon Warrior! That was not my fault! Tai Lung: Not your fault? Who filled my head with dreams? Who drove me to train until my bones cracked? Who denied me my destiny? Shifu: It was never my decision to make! [gazes at Oogway's shrine and picks up his staff] Tai Lung: It is *now*. Give me the Scroll!
Tai Lung’s ultimate goal was to be the Dragon Warrior and be handed the Dragon Scroll, which he firmly believed was his destiny.
Despite his heartless and insensitive exterior, Tai Lung was naturally unassertive and insecure as well. He never believed in himself to start with, and needed the Dragon Scroll to believe.
Ironically as long as he could not believe in himself, he could never win against Po.
Believe in yourself
As an adult rewatching Kung Fu Panda, there are questions gleaned from the movie to understand yourself better.
- Can I stay humble when winning?
- Am I afraid to change my path when it is no longer sustainable?
- Do I still search for other people’s approval to validate my success and experiences?
- Are these dreams mine or someone’s else?
- Is anybody denying me my destiny?
There are so many questions to ask yourself.
The answers are right there in front of you. It comes no matter what you do. It is like what Master Oogway said: One often meets his destiny on the path he takes to avoid it.
Just believe in yourself. Don’t fight or seek it in someone or something else.
