Kung Fu Panda 2 Recap

Long ago,  the Peacock rulers of Gongmen City invented fireworks for peaceful purposes,  but their son,  Lord Shen,  discovered that the gunpowder used in firecrackers could also be used as a weapon.  Troubled by Shen's obsession,  his parents consulted a soothsayer,  who foretold them that if he continued too far down this path,  he would be stopped by a warrior of black and white.  Overhearing the prophecy,  Shen deduced that the warrior would be a panda,  and led his wolf army to exterminate the pandas.

 Horrified by the genocide,  Shen's parents banished him.  In the present day,  Shen and his wolf army raid villages for scrap metal,  hoping to build cannons that Shen can use to conquer all of China.  Meanwhile,  Po is enjoying his new life as a kung fu master alongside the furious Five,  although Master Shifu warns him that he has not yet achieved inner peace. When the wolf army raids another village,  Po and the Five intercept them.

 However,  a symbol on the leader's armor that resembles a red eye gives Po a flashback of his mother.  Po questions his father,  Mr.  Ping,  and the goose reveals that he found Po as a cub in a shipment of radishes outside his restaurant.  When no one came forward to claim the cub,  Mr.  Ping adopted Po as his son. Po and the Five are dispatched to Gongmen City after learning that Shen killed Master Thundering Rhino,  a regent of the city,

with a cannon.  Shen imprisons the other regents,  Master Ox and Croc,  and takes over the city.  However,  the soothsayer constantly reminds him of the prophecy until he learns that Po is a panda.  On arrival at Gongmen City,  Po and the Five free Masters Ox and Croc,  but the duo refuses to help,  believing that Kung Fu died with Master Rhino.  Po and the Five pretend to surrender to Shen,  secretly replacing Master Mantis with a dummy.

 The real mantis frees the others when they are inside the palace.  They destroy the prototype cannon,  but Po sees the same familiar symbol on Shen's plumage,  which distracts him long enough for Shen to escape and destroy Gongmen Palace with his cannonade. When the Masters are safe,  Tigress demands answers,  so Po reveals that he somehow remembered Shen was there the day he last saw his biological parents.  Tigress sympathizes,  but fears that Po's lack of focus will get him killed.

The Five abandon Po for his safety and proceed to Shen's cannon factory with the intent to blow it up.  However,  Po follows and confronts Shen,  inadvertently spoiling the plan and allowing the Five to be captured. Shen lies,  saying Po's parents hated him,  and shoots him with a cannon.  Badly wounded but alive,  Po floats down river and is rescued by the soothsayer.  She tells him about the panda genocide and encourages him to embrace his past.  Po,  finally achieving inner peace,

is able to remember his father fighting off the army while his mother hid him in a radish crate,  drawing off Shen's army so he could survive.  Rejuvenated,  Po returns to Gongmen City where Shen is sailing down river with his cannons and army.  Po frees the Five and with the help of Masters Ox,  Kroc,  and Shifu,  they are able to wreck the foremost ships and prevent the army from reaching the harbor.  Lord Shen fires a cannon,  killing some of his own soldiers to clear the way.

 Po stands alone against Shen,  using his newfound inner peace skills to deflect the cannonballs shot at him back at the fleet,  destroying it.  Po offers mercy to Shen,  but Shen rejects it and attacks Po with the spear.  This accidentally severs the lines holding up one of the cannons,  and it falls onto the ship,  killing Shen.  Po is congratulated by Shifu and the Five.  Returning to the valley,  Po reaffirms his identity as Mr.  Ping's son and his love for his adopted father.

Meanwhile,  at a secret panda village in the mountains,  Po's biological father is revealed to still be alive,  and he senses his son.