Kung Fu Panda 2/YMMV


 * Alas Poor Villain:
 * Alternative Character Interpretation: Lord Shen. Is he just a power hungry Complete Monster and cold blooded killer who will do anything to get what he desires? Or a tragic character who truly felt unloved by his parents and is taking out his pain on the rest of the world?
 * Why can't he be both? A villain who is driven to increasingly wicked acts by his flaws and traumas is not exactly a novel concept.
 * It's a question of whether his Freudian Excuse and Pet the Dog behaviour are enough to disqualify him from the Complete part. There is little doubt he's a monster, but he's got sympathetic traits and is really a lot more miserable than any of his victims. That it seems to be pathological, that he didn't see what was wrong with his actions but is vaguely aware that he's the cause of his own problems, and is even more miserable thanks to that than he already was, is another pitiable point.
 * The creator's commentary also heavily implies that he has some sense of morality, continuining his destructive path because he knows he can't just turn around and render all his genocidal actions as "accidents".
 * Angst What Angst: What finally stuns Lord Shen at the end is not.
 * Played with when the Soothsayer and Shen first meet Po. They know that Shen attempted genocide against the Pandas, and assume that the reason that the Panda is here is to a) avenge his family/species, and b) destroy Shen once and for all. Both are shocked when they learn that not only had Po never heard of Lord Shen, but had no idea why he should have. The look on Shen's face when Po just brushes him off, totally ignoring the well-prepared speech upon their first meeting, is priceless.
 * Artistic License Biology: In the second movie both of Shen's parents are referenced as peacocks. Peacocks are called peacocks because they are male. A female peafowl would be a peahen. (Unless...). Probably because of Rule of Perception.
 * Lord Shen uses his tail to help him glide while flying. Peacocks can't do that.
 * Cows are referred to collectively as cows, male and female. An individual male is a bull. Peacocks are referred to collectively as peacocks. An individual female is a peahen. The more artistic license bit is that both his parents seemed to have the huge tails. Only the males do; they're mate-attractant. The species is, according to The Other Wiki, referred to as Peafowl, but much like cows/cattle, the name people use generally is different.
 * Award Snub: Lost to Rango.
 * Big Lipped Alligator Moment: Po's nightmare in the boat before the team's arrival in Gongmen.
 * Also a minor one. While trying to, Po delivers a Rousing Speech about how they will defeat Shen and destroy his weapon. A random prisoner then enthusiastically agrees, but he's never seen again. Oddly, he was a boar and had a completely unique character model.
 * Crowning Moment of Heartwarming: Tigress giving Po a hug after he tells her she couldn't possibly understand what he's feeling. Cue everybody else's shocked expressions and Crane's lower beak dropping. Later inverted with Po hugging Tigress to the same reaction of the rest.
 * Crane's jaw wasn't the only one that dropped. Tigress hugging Po was the biggest case of mood whiplash I've seen in a while. Literally a second ago, she was growling at Po. Viper's shout of "Tigress, no!" made me think she was about to tear Po apart. The hug was a pleasant surprise.
 * Crowning Music of Awesome: Many are expanded or shrunk versions of pieces from the first OS. Though changes sometimes made them even better. "Ancient China / Story Of Shen", "Inner Peace", "My Fists Hunger For Justice", "Save Kung Fu" (epic-er version of the already epic music "Sacred Pool Of Tears"), among many others, come to mind.
 * Don't forget "Po Finds The Truth"! Everything in that track from 1:00 on is absolutely chilling!
 * Followed by the powerful overture starting at 3:55 as Po realizes that Fate balanced the scales after his loss with a life filled with new fathers, friends and soaring achievements he never dreamed he would gain.
 * And let's not forget the most powerful part of that song that played during a certain tearjerking moment:
 * If you prefer more action-y music, "Zen Ball Master" and "More Cannons!" are for you.
 * Of a completely different kind, but still awesome, here's "Gongmen Jail" or "Funky Kung Fu Panda"!
 * Also in the "funky" category is "Dumpling Warrior Remix," which plays over the end credits.
 * Draco in Leather Pants: Lord Shen. Any surprise?
 * Even Better Sequel
 * Evil Is Cool / Evil Is Sexy: Unsurprisingly, Lord Shen's many fans definitely think so.
 * Fridge Logic: In the final fight scene, you might wonder how the cannon was held up by ropes attached to the ship's deck - the ropes actually held up the pieces of debris supporting the cannon's base. When they broke, the wood shifted enough for it to overbalance and fall.
 * Foe Yay: Sure, he was talking about his cannons, but there was just something about the way Lord Shen stroked Tigress' face with the tip of his wing, whispering, "Beautiful..." that invoked this in so many creepy droves.
 * Boss Wolf mentioning how "Cuddly" Po is on a few ocasions.
 * Germans Love David Hasselhoff: For all the good reviews and the high Cinemascore audience grade of the film, the film unfairly underperformed at the box office in North America. However, internationally, especially in China, the film became the #1 animated feature film worldwide of 2011.
 * High Octane Nightmare Fuel: The flashback to Po's past in 2-D animation makes the wolves and Shen look like real monsters.
 * Pretty much the only time when the iconic call of the Indian Peafowl became genuinely haunting and terrifying.
 * Jerkass Woobie: Lord Shen, as mentioned in Alternative Character Interpretation, could be considered one if you pity him enough for his Freudian Excuse.
 * Magnificent Bastard: Lord Shen.
 * Memetic Mutation / Fan Nickname: "That goddamn peacock..."
 * Mood Whiplash: At times it's hilarious. At times it's action packed and rousing. At times it's even dark as hell and emotionally powerful. Of course, that's what makes it so good.
 * Moral Event Horizon: Lord Shen, as far as he appears on the screen, always was a power-hungry murderer, but he really crosses the line when
 * How about
 * The Problem With Licenced Games: The video game for this was sub-par at best. The PS 3 version, however, stands out, resembling a meeting pitch prototype shown to the publisher to continue work, but was released as a finished product instead.
 * Sequelitis: General consensus? Thankfully averted. Some critics (Roger Ebert, for instance) even deem it better than the original.
 * It helps massively that the original film left a couple plot points unresolved, such as.
 * Tear Jerker:  This is hands down the saddest moment in a Dreamworks Animation film.
 * Also a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming.
 * "Noodles..."
 * The Soothsayer sincerely telling Lord Shen that she hopes he finds happiness someday.
 * Values Dissonance: Shen, like Tai Lung, also disobeys his parents' will and expresses scorn for them on every suitable occasion. In addition, kicking down his father's throne implies disrespect for authority. In short, he is a walking (flying?) blasphemy of Confucian ideals.
 * The Woobie: Po, dear lord Po.
 * By the end he is an Iron Woobie.
 * "Noodles..."
 * The Soothsayer sincerely telling Lord Shen that she hopes he finds happiness someday.
 * Values Dissonance: Shen, like Tai Lung, also disobeys his parents' will and expresses scorn for them on every suitable occasion. In addition, kicking down his father's throne implies disrespect for authority. In short, he is a walking (flying?) blasphemy of Confucian ideals.
 * The Woobie: Po, dear lord Po.
 * By the end he is an Iron Woobie.
 * By the end he is an Iron Woobie.