Trivia / A Different Lesson

• Outdated by Canon:
  • As the story was written before Secrets of the Masters gave them official names and established personalities, and even then there's not a great deal to work off of, the author had to take creative liberties regarding the Wu sisters. For starters, they're named Jia, Chun, and Xiu, whereas canon would eventually reveal their names to be Wing, Wan, and Su. Furthermore, their personalities are based off of Ty Lee, Mai, and Azula respectively, with Xiu being the most bloodthirsty while the other sisters show more nobility in their actions (Jia even performs a Heel–Face Turn near the end of the story). Secrets of the Masters showed that, while only Su is given any proper characterization, they share a close familial bond with each other despite their mutual cruelty to others. Lastly, the sisters all have different colored eyes (violet for Jia, green for Chun, and blue for Xiu), whereas canon would establish them as having yellow eyes; the only exception is Su, who has heterochromia in her left eye (coincidentally enough, said eye is blue).^note The eye colors the author chose do, on the other hand, match those in the preproduction art in Art of Kung Fu Panda, complete with having matching hues on their Wind and Fire Wheels.
  • The story also goes in depth on Po's lineage, which is depicted much differently than what the sequels would establish. Here, it turns out Po's biological father was a former soldier who started enjoying his job to an unhealthy level, and then he and his wife left their village behind and became highwaymen. In Kung Fu Panda 2, Po's mother was killed during Lord Shen's genocide against Pandas, and when we eventually meet him in Kung Fu Panda 3, the worst thing you can say about Po's father is that he lies to his son to trick him into leaving the Valley of Peace right before Kai attacks it, and he only did that out of fear for his son's life.
• What Could Have Been: A number of original ideas for the first movie which were either later reworked for the TV series and sequels or which never appeared in canon are employed by the author in just as varied of manners.
  • The Bandit Inn appears as the mercenary den where Chao hires the Wu Sisters.
  • Tai Lung's connection with the Wu Sisters is revisited, only instead of them being part of his army they are someone he met before his rampage (and who helped push him into it by playing off his insecurities and belief he would never be truly accepted or loved by Shifu).
  • The lily-covered lake that was an initial concept for where Tai Lung would fight the Five is repurposed as the locale where he and Po fight the Wu Sisters.
  • The kung fu training ground where Tai Lung met with his army becomes the place where the Wu Sisters make their base (and meet with Chao).
  • A creepy image of the Wu Sisters in a moonlit birch forest shows up when they have their fight with Tigress.
  • Early Concept Art of Tai Lung, looking far smaller and more lithe (as well as a lighter beige color) is used for Wu Xuan, the father of Mei Ling and the Wu Sisters. In addition, a scimitar which was originally shown in the same concept art (and was used by Peng in the TV series) is also described as Xuan's favored weapon, and one he gifted to Jia before his murder (although she is never shown to employ it).
  • An image of Tai Lung chained in a simple prison cell, before all the levels and barriers for Chorh-Gom were invented, is recreated when he has been arrested for the murder of Shen Zhuang.
  • The outfits worn by the Five to either the Ghost Festival, Emperor Chen's visit, or both are all references to their original character designs, while Shifu's golden robes are those worn by a "Golden Bear" who was an early Po concept.
  • The Vault of Heroes, an underground cavern shrine to ancient kung fu masters filled with giant 100-foot statuary and housed beneath the Jade Palace steps, was originally going to be the site of Po's Final Battle with Tai Lung, complete with statues of a snow leopard and panda. Here it is where Chao was imprisoned, and where the Final Battle between his forces and the Jade Palace crew takes place. (Another form of it appeared as the statues surrounding the stairs to the Jade Palace in Kung Fu Panda 3.)
  • The demon construct from Po's original dream sequence is reused with the yaoguai during the Final Battle.
  • A fancy military garb look for Tai Lung is used for the snow leopard statue in the Vault, while the spiked bracer from his original design is given to him as a gift by Jia at the end of the story.
  • A house originally designed for Oogway is built on the side of the Jade Mountain for Tai Lung and Tigress to live in after they wed.