Hero's Journey

The Hero’s Journey—Kung Fu Panda Many people believe in heroes, who are selfless and willing to sacrifice themselves to benefit others. Heroes also exist in different cultures, and they usually represent courage and adventurous. According to Joseph Campbell’s theory, heroes in stories undergo a process called “The Hero’s Journey”, which is the classic plot structure of heroic stories, in order to achieve great deeds. Kung Fu Panda, a movie by the DreamWorks, demonstrates the theory of Hero’s Journey. The movie is about fat and lazy panda calls Po, who always dreams of being a kung Fu master, is unexpectedly chosen to fulfill an ancient prophecy. Po’s dream comes true when he starts to learn Kung Fu from the greatest Kung Fu master and becomes friends with his idols, the Legendary Furious Five---Tigress, Mantis, Viper, Monkey, and Crane. Finally, he protects the whole valley by defeating Tailung (the antagonist) by using what he learns and terns his dream of being a Kung Fu master into reality. This movie represents the process of the hero’s journey, by showing the separation of hero’s ordinary life, the initiation in his adventure, and his return after the deeds.
In the movie, separation of the ordinary world and the extraordinary world after the hero is called to the adventure, and overcomes his struggle through being inspired by a mentor. As the movie starts, it first tells about the ordinary world of our hero, the panda. By introducing the protagonist, who is also the hero, audiences get to know the normal life of Po before his adventure: working in noodle restaurant with his dad, dreaming of becoming a kung Fu master everyday. However, Po doesn’t want his life to be like that, he still wants to learn Kung Fu. The eager of learning Kung Fu, therefore, leads him to the adventure, and take him away from his ordinary world. As Master Oogway announces his vision of Tailung’s return, it is time to call for a Dragon Warrior, who can be granted the secret power of