"You don't have to worry about losing me ever again."
As this is a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked.
- After some initial confusion, Po and Li Shan realize they're father and son and happily reunite, giving each other a literal Bear Hug.
- Heck, even in their initial confusion, when Li explains he's looking for his son, a confused Po says he lost his father, and they wish each other luck in finding those they lost. It's made more heartwarming by the confusion being cleared up, but it's both funny and a good show of their characters, wishing each other the best in their endeavors.
- Shifu asks Po to become the next teacher of the Furious Five. To think that Shifu, who started out despising Po and eagerly trying to get rid of him in the first film, has come as far as wanting Po to become his successor in training the Five! It's enough to tug at anyone's heartstrings. Also, the first film had Shifu generally being a cold and harsh character, who was said to have completely stopped smiling. In this film, he's mellowed considerably, and is smiling in nearly every scene he's in (having developed it ever since those days he was training Po.)
- Additionally, the Furious Five's immediate willingness to refer to Po as Master and defer to his teaching. The moment is popped a scene later, but the initial reaction is heartwarming all the same.
- In the same vein, Tigress has come a pretty good distance from being a cold and humorless character to being one of Po's best friends. She is more of a Stoic-funny character now, but it's clear she's allowed her friendship with Po to help her develop the ability to laugh at life now and then, and she's more than willing to get in on the silly when the situation calls for it. Given how stiff she was in the first film due to being The Resenter, a lot of this new attitude can be laid at Po's feet. Seeing her get in on some of the joking this time around was enough to make anyone smile and feel a sense of pride at how far she's gone in developing a bit more humor.
- Viper shows off her Nice Girl personality by telling Po he did a good job, before passing out, and seems to be the only person in the whole Jade Palace that didn't tell Shifu what a bad job Po did.
- This film establishes that Po and Tigress are the closest out of him and the Five, evident by how familiar and comfortable they have gotten around each other. Not to mention how Tigress Taking the Bullet for Po in the last film is mirrored in this one with Po primarily looking at her before sacrificing himself to take Kai away, showcasing how much they are concerned for each other. Upon Po's return, Tigress has the biggest smile on her face and rushes to hug him, a smile she briefly gives him at the end as well when everyone's showing off their chi.
- Mr. Ping's elation at seeing the panda cubs enjoying his food, and remarking that they remind him of Po when he was that young.
- Even Kai gets a moment of this. When reading on Oogway's record of Kai, Oogway and Kai were ambushed in the war, with Oogway being severely wounded. Kai carries him for days, desperate to find a way to save his own friend, that's at least enough to show that despite having been corrupted by the power chi gives him, he wasn't always like this
- Shifu and the Five react with immediate glee once they realize that Po has found his biological father. Their quickness to respond and celebrate makes it seem like they've all been wishing that Po would get this chance for a long time now.
- Even better in that they were clearly getting ready to be angry at Po for wrecking the Jade Palace just seconds before, but they put the issue aside completely once they realized why Po had been so giddy and careless.
- A bit of Tear Jerker thrown in, but think of why they're so elated - after the events of the second movie, Po must have told them about what Shen did to his village. Not only does this show how much he trusts them - imagine how hard it would be to talk about how you're the last of your kind thanks to a madman committing genocide - but how close they are to him, realizing immediately why Po is so elated.
- All of the interactions between Tigress and Lei Lei.
- Lei Lei affectionately calls her "stripey baby". Why? Because of the Tigress doll (action figure!) Po gave to her.
- Their first meeting has Lei Lei immediately running up to Tigress and giving her a Bear Hug.
- Throughout the entire training montage, Lei Lei continues to follow Tigress around and hug her.
- Just prior to the final battle, Tigress is shown enjoying a tea party playtime with Lei Lei, firmly cementing her new role as a Cool Big Sis.
- During Tigress' battle with Jombied!Master Croc, Lei Lei intervenes at a bad time. Tigress protects her while still fighting the jombie. She then goes to fight...while carrying Lei Lei in her arms. She even encourages Lei Lei to smack Master Crocodile: "Do it!" — and when Lei Lei lands a hit on him, Tigress smiles with pride.
- At the end of the movie, when everyone is about to emit chi, Lei Lei is seen on top of Tigress' head.
- When Li Shan shows Po the picture of Po's mother with him as a baby.
- Also later on when Mr. Ping places the picture of Po and his dads next to it.
Mr Ping: Look, he's hurt. He's confused, and he still has to save the world. He needs the both his dads. - Mr. Ping spent most of the movie as the Green-Eyed Monster at Li Shan, thinking he would take Po away. But when Li Shan is ashamed over lying to Po about being able to teach chi, what does Mr. Ping do? He comforts him — telling Li Shan he did a wrong thing for the right reasons.Mr Ping: Oh, your son got mad at you? Welcome to parenthood!
- Mr. Ping's reaction when he sees her the portrait of Po's Mom, he's very charmed by it. He may never got the chance to meet her, but he at least know how did she looked like.
- Li isn't the least bit angry at Mr. Ping at any time for the treatment he gets. In fact, when Po tries to usher him back home, Li simply explains he can't come along since the village is secret to non-pandas. Once Ping explains he can hold secrets since he kept him having adopted Po secret for twenty years, Li instantly allows Ping to come along.
- This line was particularly sweet: "It doesn't mean less for me, it means more for Po."
- And later they show up for "Double Dad Defense", working in tandem during the defence of the village.
- That Po, in his innocence, never has one moment of difficulty reconciling that now he has two dads. They are both immediately 'Dad' to him. Never 'Dad' and 'Other Dad' or 'Dad One' and 'Dad Two.' Both equally important and equally loved.
- The look that Po and Shifu share at the end of the film while everyone is practicing their chi. After spending most of three movies not believing in Po's capabilities, here, Shifu looks truly proud of Po.
- The ending in general. Po spends most of it just looking at how much he's gained in three movies: The respect of the people, unbreakable bonds with friends, an entirely new family including his old father and people just like him... Just seeing Po staring in happiness at everything warms the heart.
- When he first arrives to the Panda Village, Lei Lei takes an instant liking to his Tigress action figure. When she asks if she could keep it, Po starts saying "nooo..." until he sees her face as finishes with "...problem! ... take good care of it, okay?"
- Instead of comically going along with her being cub and thus being destructive with the figure, she is actually indeed taking extremely good care of it, always cradling it and lovingly calling it "Stripey Baby".
- A few scenes later, Po is seen dancing with Lei Lei.
- With Po finding his biological dad, it was implied that his relationship with his adoptive dad would be ignored or made null. Thankfully, the implication was wrong. The growth between Mr. Ping and Po in the last movie was recognized in this movie, and it was great to see Po refer to them both as Dad and see Mr. Ping acknowledging that he won't lose Po to Li, even smiling fondly at the picture of baby Po with his mother before telling Li that Po needed both of them. Considering all the dysfunctional and unhappy families in this franchise, seeing Po actually happy with both of his dads is refreshing.
- And for media as a whole! Usually either the biological or adoptive parents win the favour of the child at the end. But despite Mr. Ping's expectations for this scenario, Po NEVER even thinks about invoking it. Li is family. So is Ping.
- The fact Po never forgets about his adoptive dad even after bonding with his biological dad is also shown in the little details. In a scene at the panda village after reconnecting with Li and the rest of his panda brethren, as the camera zooms out to change scenes to the Jade Palace, the last thing we see Po do is turn to Mr. Ping, chatting away excitedly.
- The relationship between the two Dads itself is truly touching: it would've been so easy for each to see the other forever as a rival for Po's affection and respect. Yet both fellows are too decent and honest at heart not to acknowledge that they both love Po, and realize that each one actually owes the other a great debt: Ping owes Li for bringing Po into the world, and Li owes Ping for giving his son the wonderful childhood upbringing he couldn't. Even if Po had remained trapped in the Spirit World, you can tell the two of them would have helped each other through their mutual grief.
- Po's reaction to seeing both of them when he returns cements this:
Po: Dad! Dad! Dads! - The fact that Li never once even considered Ping as a rival for Po's love and affection. Upon being introduced to Ping, Li's first thought is to scoop him up in a massive Bear Hug and thank him for raising Po. While Ping initially takes this badly since he's been the only father Po has ever known and feels Li is trying to butt in on their relationship (something he later admits to Li when the latter is left unable to deal with Po's anger over being lied to about Li being able to teach him how to use chi), Li is genuinely thankful for all the time Ping spent with Po. The reasoning is also obvious; Li believed his son was dead for over two decades. Learning he was alive had to be a shock. But then he meets the man responsible for Po's upbringing; a slightly goofy but big hearted Goose who took Po in, raised him as his own, and has stuck with him through thick and thin. Li never cared that Ping was always going to be seen by Po as his father; he had every right to be as far as he was concerned, and you can tell this just by that first hug and his first words to Ping. As far as he was concerned, the goose was and would always be family just for the fact that Po is who he is in part due to Ping's presence in his life. The later development of their friendship due to their relationship to Po managed to get Ping to come around to the same way of thinking as Li already had towards him.
- Despite some initial exasperation at Po mastering chi and getting a new staff, Shifu rather quickly humbles himself enough to ask Po to teach him. Po's immediate response is a massive grin that seems to indicate that he's touched that Shifu has enough faith in him to make the request of him, not just as a potential Master, but someone he at long last seems to consider a friend.
- Just Po and Oogway interacting in the Spirit Realm. It's certainly no different from a wise and kindly old grandfather interacting with his beloved and enthusiastic grandson.
- A subtle one, but when Po, panicked, tells the pandas to run, they all stay put, not wanting to abandon him.
- Po's fathers, Tigress and the pandas gathering and learning how to use chi in order to save Po. The most important people to Po have this to say.Li: Po, you taught us who we were meant to be. A father.Tigress: A friend.Mr. Ping: A family.
- Just to make it more touching, note that both Li and Tigress are of species which never have (respectively) paternal bonds or non-familial friendships in nature. Male bears, pandas included, never meet or recognize their own offspring, and both sexes of tiger are solitary. Meeting Po taught them to be something that probably doesn't come quite as naturally to their respective species as to other sorts of animal folk. Geese, conversely, are very social animals with close family bonds, which makes Mr. Ping's line a bit more wistful: he didn't have a wife or children of his own until Po came into his life, and was probably very lonely before he found that little surprise in his radish crate.
- Something that adds even more to the touching is the first Chi to reach Po, Li's then Ping's. The two people in Po's life who were so determined to save him they reached him first were his fathers both adoptive and biological.
- As heartbreaking it is, it's also just as heartwarming that everyone's first reaction upon all the masters as well as Shifu and the Five being returned is asking where Po is. Everyone instantly looks for the guy that saved them.
- The Furious Five tackle hug Po once again when it's all over. This time, Tigress joins in.
- The Jade Palace has a special garden featuring statues built to honor fallen kung-fu masters. Among them is a statue of Master Thundering Rhino, who was killed by Lord Shen's cannon in the previous film.
- Po's joy at been introduced to a village filled with his own kind.
- Kai uses his captured Jombies like, well, Pokemon- throwing them around and using them as extensions of his will. But he never does this with Oogway, even though (as the greatest Kung Fu Master of all time), Oogway could probably have flattened and demoralized every fighter he goes up against, Kai never uses Oogway like that, showing that as much as he leveled scorn and hatred against the turtle, he does respect him still.
- When Kai and Oogway meet in the spirit world, Oogway immediately treats him like an old friend (and refers to him as such word for word), and continues to joke around with him even after Kai starts attacking. It's only after Kai reveals what he's been doing to Oogway's old students that he becomes horrified and grim, and even then tries to gently dissuade Kai from such atrocities.
- When Kai and Po first meet, the latter uses the former's titles "Beast of Vengeance" and "Maker of Widows". Having met people who have no idea of his identity during his time in the mortal realm, Kai is so pleased that he thanks Po and says to be almost tempted to spare the panda's life.
- Something that is easily missed, but as of the ending of the film, pandas are back in the Valley again.
- Seeing Tigress, whose monomaniacal determination to out-train Shifu's previous adopted apprentice had denied her any sort of playful childhood, interact with and warm up to the little panda girl.
- Also the pure Heartwarming in Hindsight, remember that in Tigress' backstory, she was feared by everyone at her orphanage as a cub. As an adult, Tigress is even more big and fearsome, but a Friend to All Children, something that was already hinted to in Holiday Special and parts of Legends of Awesomeness but epitomised through Lei Lei's affection for her.
- In a deleted scene, we have Po and Mr. Ping talking about Li. During the discussion, even though Ping is clearly making his jealously known, he misunderstood Po and thinks Li is leaving immediately, and feels guilty. Either because he honestly feels guilty, or because it means a lot to Po, he immediately apologizes because he thinks he's leaving because of him due to his clear jealousy. He even tells Po that he's willing to welcome Li into the Family, since he's technically is, and make up with him. Despite this not being what Po meant, it's clear that Ping is more than willing to share Po since the beginning, which is evident when he comforts Li when Po disowned him.
