History KungFuPanda2 / TropesAToH

* BrickJoke: When entering the prison, Monkey promises to warn the Furious Five with a "Caw-CAW!" to which it is pointed out how much it sounds like Crane, who protests by saying he never says that. At the finale of the film, Crane uses his "Wings of Justice! Caw-CAW!"

* EndOfAnAge: Averted in that [[spoiler:it seems like it is the end of kung fu as a relevant skill in battle with the advent of the cannon, but Po proves that wrong when he develops a kung fu CatchAndReturn technique that can stop cannoneers in their tracks]]. The portrayal of the cannon in the movie reflects actual history as it was primarily a symbolic weapon (at least at first). The fall of Constantinople in 1453 was declared the end of an era, but since the cannons were slow and difficult to aim as mentioned in AwesomeButImpractical, they weren't used that often.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: The Wolf Boss, Lord Shen's second in command, has no problem with theft or genocide, but firing on his own men? That's where he draws the line. [[spoiler:[[YouHaveFailedMe He gets killed for it]]]]. {{Justified|Trope}} in that wolves are pack animals and he is pack alpha. Additionally, the wolves are his men, but he has no requirement to care about the world around him.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: Unbeknown to Po himself, he does have one: more specifically, [[spoiler:when he was just a baby, his village was attacked by Lord Shen's wolf army to prevent the prophecy of him being defeated by a panda from happening. His mother then hid him in a radish box and, then lured the wolves away from him, sacrificing herself in the process]].

* DemotedToExtra: Master Shifu gets a couple of brief scenes at the start, then sends Po on his way while he remains in the Valley of Peace [[spoiler:until the very end when he does the BigDamnHeroes bit]]. Justified in that his character arc was mostly done with by the end of the [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda1 first movie]] and ''someone'' had to watch the Jade Palace. Thankfully averted with the Furious Five, who appear much more this time around, and all of them actively help Po out throughout the film.
* DestroyTheVillainsWeapon: Subverted somewhat hilariously when Po and the Furious Five do manage to destroy what they think is Lord Shen's cannon... Which is a miniature replica for the real deal, which they end up destroying anyway, only for Shen to reveal he has countless more already mass-produced. [[spoiler:However, it then gets played straight when Po uses his newly gained inner peace powers to decimate all of Shen's cannons, ending their threat there and then for good]]

** Shen's talk about old and new has shades of UsefulNotes/MaoZedong's own beliefs, and was especially prominent during the UsefulNotes/CulturalRevolution. Yet, it appears to have been unnoticed by the Chinese censors. One of Mao's most hated policies (and greatest failures) during the Great Leap Forward was to confiscate and melt down household metal objects for use by the government; which is a crucial part of Shen's plan!

* CombatPragmatist: In a world where strength is determined by kung fu prowess, Shen has no problem with using cannons and hidden weapons.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Although there are still plenty of laughs and sweet moments, this film is much more violent, mostly thanks to Lord Shen and his use of cannons to get rid of every problem he has, and deals with difficult situations such as adoption. In addition, most of the movie is literally darker -- it takes place in locations with dramatic or no light.

* TheDragon: The Wolf Boss. He's not particularly intimidating or powerful, but both fights with him are relatively long fights, especially the second. In both occasions Po doesn't beat him once, and in both examples Po takes the last blow as The Wolf Boss leaves triumphant and victorious. [[spoiler:He then proves EvenEvilHasStandards and has a HeelFaceTurn when he refuses to fire a cannon on his own men fighting the Five, and the wicked Shen graphically kills him to fire it himself]].

* DropTheHammer: The Wolf Boss, Thundering Rhino, and Po's biological father.

* DemotedToExtra: Master Shifu gets a couple of brief scenes at the start, then sends Po on his way while he remains in the Valley of Peace [[spoiler:until the very end when he does the BigDamnHeroes bit]]. Justified in that his character arc was mostly done with by the end of the [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda first movie]] and ''someone'' had to watch the Jade Palace. Thankfully averted with the Furious Five, who appear much more this time around, and all of them actively help Po out throughout the film.

* CatchPhrase: Double duty as PreAsskickingOneLiner: You know when Po says "Skadoosh!" the bad guy is going down for the count...

* FatalFireworks: Lord Shen uses cannons that shoot firework-like projectile. In this universe, peacocks used fireworks for centuries, but Shen was the first one to weaponize them and use them to take over China.

* GenocideBackfire: [[PlayingWithATrope Sort of]]. Lord Shen heard a prophecy that a black and white warrior would defeat him, so he destroyed the village of pandas close to his city. He later finds out that there was a survivor; Po. [[spoiler:[[SequelHook And a hidden village of pandas, including Po's biological father]]]]. Unlike most examples of this trope, this wasn't what directly caused the confrontation between Po and Shen, and traumatic memories of his early childhood actually weaken Po, instead of motivating him. Still, Po would never have been in a position to become the Dragon Warrior and defeat Shen if Shen hadn't destroyed his village.

* FacePalm:

* BladeOnAStick: When not using cannons or flurries of throwing knives, Lord Shen fights with a modified guan dao, the Chinese equivalent of a naginata or halberd.

** Shen is expecting a powerful warrior to arrive in the top floor of his room, since he hears loud noises, when it is revealed one of the gorillas is carrying an exhausted Po who admits to throwing up at one point due to climbing so many stairs. Then when Shen tries to introduce himself, Po immediately interrupts without even looking at him.

''[Shen [[EvilLaugh laughs]]]''\\

* DarkIsNotEvil: Thematically used to symbolize Yin. Po [[spoiler:finds inner peace]] in a dark, watery environment, and when Po is [[spoiler:reflecting Shen's shots back at his ships, the fight starts with Po alone in the dark, as opposed to Shen being lit up by the red fires he's set.]] It's used as an opposition to Shen's own theme of LightIsNotGood.

* DarkIsNotEvil: Thematically wise, to symbolize Yin. Po [[spoiler:finds inner peace]] in a dark, watery environment.

* FauxAffablyEvil: Even after crossing the MoralEventHorizon [[UpToEleven in the prologue]], Lord Shen seems like a pleasant enough fellow.

** Lastly, in regards to peacocks, they only have their trademark, gorgeous tail feathers for a few months during spring time for mating purposes, yet Shen in the film, in both the present and in flashbacks, seem to permanently boast his, which makes sense as they're part of the factor that makes Po remember his past and it would serve no narrative purpose for Shen to shed the feathers.

* AdultFear:
** Po's fear that his real parents abandoned and replaced him, as anyone who's adopted could attest to.
** Ping's fear that Po rediscovering his real parentage will make him not view him as his father any more, as anyone who's adopted children will attest to.
** Ping has to watch his only son, head off to fight against a dangerous warlord, in a city far from home. Mr Ping's "noodles" response can be quite the tear jerker for any parent watching their child in the military head off to war.
** For Shen's parents, they discover that their son launched a genocidal campaign against an innocent village of pandas. Due to TheChainsOfCommanding, they have to exile him, and as the Soothsayer puts it, the very act killed them. And that all started because Shen reacted badly to their disapproval of his dreams of inventing the cannon, and that they weren't careful enough that Shen overheard the prophecy foretelling his doom, which spurred his actions in the first place.

* ContinuityNod:
** A kid playing with a Po figurine in the opening scenes says "Enough talk. Let's fight!", which is Po's first line in his fantasy of the first film.
** There's also several in the opening fight in with the wolves. Many shots and elements of the whole scene match up with the 2D opening dream sequence of the first movie, including Po's "Feet of Fury" technique.
** The Soothsayer uses acupuncture needles to cure Po and mess with his facial expressions in the same way Mantis (unintentionally) does in the first film. [[spoiler:It's the only way she can get him to take his medicine]].
** Shen tried to change his fate by destroying the pandas, which only sealed it. It reminds one of Oogway's words in the first movie, in which Oogway was in fact outlining/describing a Predestination paradox: "One often meets his destiny on the path he takes to avoid it."
** Speaking of Oogway, all of Po's CharacterDevelopment was about him finding inner peace, by accepting his past and not letting it decide who he is now. This was the lesson Oogway tried to teach Po in the first film so that Po would not try to flee his destiny as the Dragon Warrior.
** Also Mantis being as big as his action figure, which becomes a ChekhovsGun.
** Oogway's wooden staff, broken by Tai Lung in the first film, has now been repaired and is used by Master Shifu in this film. The archway above Mr. Ping's noodle shop has been similarly repaired.
** The shop itself had been renamed "Dragon Warrior Noodles and Tofu", referencing not just Po's success, but Mr. Ping's dream of making tofu.
** Po slugs Monkey, then apologizes, when the latter unexpectedly appears inside the dragon costume. In the first movie Monkey automatically slugged Po then apologized after Master Shifu freed him from the nerve-strike paralysis.
** A subtle one: Oogway, in the first movie, notes how Po eats when he's sad. [[spoiler:Here we found out that he was hidden in a crate of radishes as a cub, right before his mother was supposedly killed. By the time the crate got to Mr. Ping, Po had eaten the ''entire'' contents of the crate]]. Which also explains why Po is slightly thinner and less hungry than before. Ping even worries that he's lost weight.
** [[spoiler:"Wow! The Furious Five! You're much bigger than my action figures! Except you, Mantis... you're about the same size."]]
** Master Flying Rhino is mentioned, for donating his armor to the Jade Palace in the first movie, and as the father of Thundering Rhino here.
** Oogway once said "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the Present." [[spoiler: That's the theme of this movie. Po let go of his parents' and species' massacre when the Soothsayer told him that fate balanced the scales and eventually gave him a happy life with Mr. Ping, who cares for him and loves him as if he was his own blood himself, and his friends, who helped him achieved his most cherished dreams, especially Shifu who has all but become a second father and Tigress [[ShipTease who may be falling in love with him]]. What happened in the past is history and he might not know what will happen in the future, but his life in the Valley of Peace is a literal Present]].

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