Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness

Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness is an American animated comedy spin-off television series co-produced by DreamWorks Animation and Nickelodeon Animation Studio based on DreamWorks' Kung Fu Panda films. First released in 2011, the show serves as a bridge between the first and second films, showing Po's training to becoming a successful Dragon Warrior, whereas the second film is, according to the series' developer Peter Hastings, "not unlike a very long, super-deluxe 3-D version of one of our episodes."^[1]

Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness
Genre	Action-adventure Comedy Martial arts
Based on	Kung Fu Panda by DreamWorks
Developed by	Peter Hastings
Voices of	Mick Wingert Fred Tatasciore Kari Wahlgren Lucy Liu Amir Talai James Sie Max Koch James Hong
Composers	Jeremy Zuckerman Benjamin Wynn
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	80 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Peter Hastings Cheryl Holliday (season 1) Bret Haaland (seasons 2–3)
Producers	Andrew Huebner Dean Hoff (season 1)
Running time	23 minutes
Production companies	DreamWorks Animation Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Original release
Network	Nickelodeon
Release	September 19, 2011 (2011-09-19) – June 22, 2014 (2014-06-22)
Network	Nicktoons
Release	February 15 (2016-02-15) – June 29, 2016 (2016-06-29)

The series was originally set to air on Nickelodeon in 2010,^[2] but it was pushed back to 2011 instead. The series premiered with a special preview on September 19, 2011, and began airing regularly on November 7.^[3] Three seasons were produced. Airing ceased in the United States partway through season 3. Before finishing up in the United States, all the episodes had aired already in other countries, for example on Nicktoons in Germany from 2014–15^[4][5] and then on YTV in Canada from 2015–16.^[6] In 2016, Nicktoons in the United States began running ads announcing the airing of new episodes; it was subsequently revealed that five of the ten unaired episodes would play from February 15 through February 19.^[7] As a result, the final episode aired on June 29, 2016.

Besides Lucy Liu and James Hong, who reprise their film roles as Viper and Mr. Ping, the cast features new voice actors for the characters of Po (Mick Wingert), Master Shifu (Fred Tatasciore), Tigress (Kari Wahlgren), Crane (Amir Talai), Monkey (James Sie), and Mantis (Max Koch).^[3]

Netflix commissioned a successor series, titled Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight, in 2022. Peter Hastings, the developer of Legends of Awesomeness, returned as an executive producer. Unlike Legends of Awesomeness however, Jack Black reprised his role as Po from the films.^[8]

Synopsis

Po and the Furious Five defend the Valley of Peace from villains of different kinds. All the while, Po makes accidents, learns lessons, learns more about the history of kung fu, and meets other famous kung fu masters.

Episodes

Main article: List of Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired	Network
1	26		September 19, 2011 (2011-09-19)	April 5, 2012 (2012-04-05)	Nickelodeon
2	26		April 6, 2012 (2012-04-06)	June 21, 2013 (2013-06-21)
3	28	18	June 24, 2013 (2013-06-24)	June 22, 2014 (2014-06-22)
		10	February 15, 2016 (2016-02-15)	June 29, 2016 (2016-06-29)[note 1]	Nicktoons

Voice cast

Main article: List of Kung Fu Panda characters

• Mick Wingert as Po^[3]
• Fred Tatasciore as Shifu^[3]
• Kari Wahlgren as Tigress^[3]
• Lucy Liu as Viper^[3]
• Amir Talai as Crane^[3]
• James Sie as Monkey^[3]
• Max Koch as Mantis^[3]
• James Hong as Mr. Ping^[3]
• Peter Hastings as Apple Cart Duck

Development

The series was DreamWorks Animation's second co-production with Nickelodeon.^[9] The two companies previously partnered on The Penguins of Madagascar.

The show's musical score is done by the Track Team, most Chinese musical instruments including erhu, zhonghu, gaohu, bawu, hulusi, xiao, dizi, guqin, sanxian, suona, guanzi, xun etc. by well-known multi-instrumentalist Hong Wang.^[10] In addition, Sifu Kisu was the martial arts consultant for the show as he was on the Avatar: The Last Airbender series.^[11]

Media

Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness took part in Nickelodeon's revamp to their cartoon season on TV. As an early promotion, Po was featured in a Nickelodeon bumper alongside other characters.^[12] On July 23, an exclusive sneak peek of the show was shown at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con, with producers and members of the voice cast present at the panel.^[13] A sneak peek episode was released for the DVD / Blu-ray release for Kung Fu Panda 2 on December 13, 2011.^[14] In addition, two sneak preview episodes aired (one on September 19, 2011 and another on October 21, 2011) before the official premiere of the show. In June 2018, it was announced that the series will stream on Hulu.^[15]

Other dubbed versions

In 2021, Bangladeshi television channel Duronto started to broadcast a Bengali dubbed version of this show as part of the channel's 15th season.^[16]

Critical reception

Mary McNamara of Los Angeles Times called Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness "a show that won't drive every adult in earshot absolutely crazy. And these days, that's saying something."^[17] Kevin McFarland of The A.V. Club said that the show "rips out the elements that made the original film such a surprise, leaving behind a derivative, cliché-laden children's show that recycles moral platitudes adequately but is otherwise indistinguishable from countless other programs" and "isn't a show that's aiming to be cutting edge or original, just mildly entertaining, which it is....This isn't going to harm any kids, but it's not going to impress them either."^[18] Despite the mixed reviews, the show has received four Emmy Awards and nominated for four Annie Awards.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee	Result
2012	Annie Awards[19]	Best Television Production Children		Nominated
		Character Animation in a Television Production	Michael Franceschi
		Directing in a Television Production	Gabe Swarr
		Editing in a Television Production	Hugo Morales, Davrick Waltjen, Adam Arnold, Otto Ferrene
	Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Cartoon
	Daytime Emmy Awards[20][21]
		Outstanding Sound Editing – Animation	Joe Pizzulo, Paulette Lifton, James Lifton, Benjamin Wynn, Jeremy Zuckerman, Rob McIntryre, Anna Adams, Jason Stiff, Molly Minus, Matt Hall, Andrew Ing, Roberto Dominguez Alegria, Aran Tanchum, Chris Gresham and Lawrence Reyes	Won
		Outstanding Sound Mixing – Animation	Justin Brinsfield, Matt Corey and Thomas J. Maydeck
		Outstanding Casting for an Animated Series or Special	Sarah Noonan and Meredith Layne
		Outstanding Individual in Animation	Joel Fajnor
	British Academy Children's Awards[22]	International	Peter Hastings, Gabe Swarr, Randy Doormans	Nominated
2013	Annie Awards[23][24]	Storyboarding in an Animated Television or other Broadcast Venue Production	Ryan Kramer, Paul Linsley, Kenji Ono, Le Tang, Alice Herring, Mike Mullen, Aaron Hammersley (for "Enter the Dragon")	Nominated
		Writing in an Animated Television or other Broadcast Venue Production	Doug Langdale (for "Kung Fu Day Care")
		Editorial in an Animated Television or other Broadcast Venue Production	Hugo Morales, Adam Arnold, Davrick Waltjen, Otto Ferrene (for "Monkey in the Middle")	Nominated
			Hugo Morales, Adam Arnold, Davrick Waltjen, Otto Ferrene (for "Enter the Dragon")	Won
	Daytime Emmy Awards[25][26]	Outstanding Children's Animated Program	Peter Hastings, Bret Haaland, Randy Dormans, Gabe Swarr, Andrew Huebner	Won
		Outstanding Directing in an Animated Program	Gabe Swarr, Michael Mullen, Lane Lueras, Juan Meza-Leon, Peter Hastings	Nominated
		Outstanding Individual in Animation	Joel Fajnor (for "Kung Fu Day Care")	Won
			Bill Dely (for "Kung Shoes")	Won
		Outstanding Writing in Animation	Peter Hastings, Doug Langdale, Gene Grillo, Paul Rugg, Kevin Seccia, Scot Kreamer	Nominated
		Outstanding Sound Editing – Animation	Joe Pizzulo, Gary Falcone, Jeremy Zukerman, Benjamin Wynn, Rob McIntyre, Anna Adams, Marc Schmidt, Andrew Ing, Jeseey Drake, Roberto Dominguez Alegira, Cynthia Merrill	Nominated
		Outstanding Sound Mixing – Animation	Justin Brinsfield, Thomas J Maydeck, Rob McIntyre	Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards[27]	Outstanding Animated Program	For episode: "Enter The Dragon"	Nominated
	British Academy Children's Awards[28]	International	Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness	Nominated
2014	Annie Awards[29]	Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Children's Audience		Nominated
		Writing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production	Katie Matila	Nominated
		Editorial in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production	Adam Arnold, Hugo Morales, Davrick Waltjen	Nominated
	Daytime Emmy Award[30][31]	Outstanding Children's Animated Program	Peter Hastings, Bret Haaland, Randy Dormans, Gabe Swarr, Joann Estoesta and Andrew Huebner	Won
		Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program	Gene Grillo, Peter Hastings, Scott Kreamer, Doug Langdale and Paul Rugg	Nominated
		Outstanding Directing in an Animated Program	Aaron Hammersley, Lane Lueras, Michael Mullen and Peter Hastings	Nominated
		Outstanding Sound Mixing – Animation	Justin Brinsfield, Matt Corey, Thomas J. Maydeck and Rob McIntyre	Won
		Outstanding Sound Editing – Animation	Gary Falcone, Jeremy Zuckerman, Benjamin Wynn, Jessey Drake, Andrew Ing, Anna Adams, Roberto Alegria, Cynthia Merrill, Rob McIntyre and Marc Schmidt	Nominated
2015	Daytime Emmy Award[32][33]	Outstanding Sound Editing – Animation	Gary Falcone, Rob McIntyre, Marc Schmidt, Jeremy Zuckerman, Benjamin Wynn, Anna Adams, Andrew Ing, Thomas J. Maydeck, Roberto Dominguez Alegria and Cynthia Merrill	Won
		Outstanding Sound Mixing – Animation	Justin Brinsfield, Matt Corey, Thomas J. Maydeck, Rob McIntyre and Roberto Dominguez Alegria

Home media

Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness home video releases

Season			Episodes	Release dates
				Region 1
	1	2011–12	15 (of 26)	Kung Fu Panda 2: December 13, 2011 Episode(s): "Has-Been Hero" Good Croc, Bad Croc: June 18, 2013[34] Episode(s): "The Princess and the Po" • "Chain Reaction" • "Good Croc, Bad Croc" • "Jailhouse Panda" • "Bad Po" • "Po Fans Out" • "Father Crime" The Scorpion Sting: October 15, 2013[35] Episode(s): "Scorpion's Sting" • "Owl Be Back" • "Love Stings" • "Monkey in the Middle" The Midnight Stranger: March 11, 2014[36] Episode(s): "Master Ping" Holiday Hijinks: November 18, 2014 (Redbox exclusive) Episode(s): "Hometown Hero" • "Hall of Lame"
	2	2012–13	10 (of 26)	The Scorpion Sting: October 15, 2013 Episode(s): "Kung Shoes" • "Crane On A Wire" • "Qilin Time" The Midnight Stranger: March 11, 2014 Episode(s): "Shifu's Back" • "Terror Cotta" • "The Midnight Stranger" • "Shoot the Messenger" • "Secret Admirer" • "Huge" Holiday Hijinks: November 18, 2014 (Redbox exclusive) Episode(s): "Present Tense"
	3	2013–16	2 (of 28)	Holiday Hijinks: November 18, 2014 (Redbox exclusive) Episode(s): "Shifu's Ex" • "Po Picks a Pocket"

Notes

1. The official series finale "Emperors Rule" first aired sometime in 2014 in Germany. However, in Germany, the final episode to air from season 3 was "Po the Croc", which aired on January 7, 2015, in that country.

References

1. Zahed, Ramin (October 7, 2011). "Kung Fu Panda Proves His Chops on Nick". Animation Magazine. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
2. Barnes, Brooks (May 13, 2009). "'Kung Fu Panda' to Become a Series on Nickelodeon". The New York Times. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
3. "Megahit Martial Arts Panda is Back as Nickelodeon and Dreamworks Animation Premiere Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, New CG-Animated Series, Monday, Nov. 7, at 5:30 P.M. (ET/PT)". PR Newswire. October 25, 2011. Archived from the original on 12 November 2011. Retrieved October 26, 2011. this year, has brought in $664 million at the worldwide box office. Kung Fu Panda 2 debuts on Blu-ray and DVD on December 13, 2011. Lucy Liu (Kill Bill) and James Hong (Big Trouble in Little China) reprise their roles as Viper and Mr. Ping
   Kari Wahlgren (Tak and the Power of Juju) as Tigress, Amir Talai (Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay) as Crane, Max Koch (Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five) as Mantis, Fred Tatasciore (Family Guy) as Shifu and James Sie (King of the Hill) as Monkey
4. "Kung Fu Panda: Episodenguide" (in German). Retrieved 31 December 2015.
   71 3. 19 Die ersten Fünf 29.12.2014 The First Five
   72 3. 20 Im Dienst des Kaisers (1) 06.09.2014 Emperors Rules, Part 1
   73 3. 21 Im Dienst des Kaisers (2) 06.09.2014 Emperors Rules, Part 2
   74 3. 22 Jugend Re-Volte 30.12.2014 Youth In Re-Volt
   75 3. 23 Ohne Tsin und Verstand 31.12.2014 See No Weevil
   76 3. 24 Der greinende Ganter 01.01.2015 Goose Chase
   77 3. 25 Der Angsthasenkrieger 02.01.2015 Face Full Of Fear
   78 3. 26 Die vernachlässigten Fünf 05.01.2015 Training Session 4
   79 3. 27 Camping mit Ping 06.01.2015
   80 3. 28 Po, das Krokodil 07.01.2015
5. "Kung Fu Panda Staffel 3 Episodenguide (Seite 2)". FernsehSerien.De. Staffel 3, Folge 3.15–3.28
6. "Kung Fu Panda". RogersOnDemand.Com. Archived from the original on 8 February 2016.
   EP 65 Emperors Rules (Part 2) Aired on 01/17/16
   EP 64 Emperors Rules (Part 1) Aired on 12/20/15
   EP 31 Shifus Back Aired on 11/22/15
7. "All Upcoming Times for Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness". Zap2it.com. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
   Youth in Re-Volt Mon 2/15
   Forsaken and Furious Tue 2/16
   Po the Croc Wed 2/17
   Camp Ping Thu 2/18
   Goose Chase Fri 2/19
8. "Netflix Orders 'Kung Fu Panda' Animated Series with Jack Black Returning as Po". 16 March 2022.
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11. Sifu Kisu (July 29, 2011). "Post #2 for Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness". Kung Fu Magazine Forums. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
12. ToonBarn Rob (May 3, 2011). "Nickelodeon asks: Are you ready? TMNT, TUFF Puppy, Fairly OddParents, SpongeBob, Kung-Fu Panda". ToonBarn. Retrieved September 24, 2011.
13. Timmy (July 23, 2011). "SDCC 2011: Friday Comic-Con Schedule". MovieWeb. Archived from the original on September 11, 2011. Retrieved September 24, 2011.
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15. Jarvey, Natalie (June 25, 2018). "'Daria,' 'My Super Sweet 16' to Stream Exclusively on Hulu". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
16. "Duronto TV's 15th season kicks off". Dhaka Tribune. 8 April 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
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19. Beck, Jerry (February 4, 2012). ""Rango" tops Annie Award Winners". Cartoon Brew. Archived from the original on June 3, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
20. "The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Announces the 39th Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy® Award Nominations" (PDF). National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. May 9, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
21. "The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Announces Winners for the 39th Annual Daytime Entertainment Creative Arts Emmy® Awards" (PDF). National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. June 17, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
22. "Children's in 2012". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
23. "Annie Awards Nominees". International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
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27. "Outstanding Animated Program" (PDF). Academy of Television Arts & Sciences 65th annual Primetime Emmy Awards. National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. p. 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 28, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
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34. Lambert, David (April 22, 2013). "Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness – 'Good Croc, Bad Croc' is a DVD Release of the TV Spin-Off". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on May 27, 2013. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
35. "Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment: – "Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness: The Scorpion Sting" on DVD October 15; "Monsters vs Aliens: Cloning Around" on DVD October 15". Don411.com. September 10, 2013. Archived from the original on September 12, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
36. "Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness: The Midnight Stranger". Fox Connect. Retrieved December 27, 2013.

External links

• Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness at IMDb