''Kung Fu Panda Holiday'' is a 2010 American

computer-animated Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes (still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refer ...

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of e ...

produced by

DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios and simply known as DreamWorks) is an American animation studio that produces animated films and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a divisio ...

and directed by Tim Johnson. A spinoff of the ''Kung Fu Panda'' franchise, the special stars the voices of

Jack Black Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films '' High Fidelity'' (2000), '' Shallow Hal'' (2001), '' Orange County'' (2002), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ' ...

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is th ...

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...

Seth Rogen Seth Aaron Rogen (; born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and filmmaker. Originally a stand-up comedian in Vancouver, he moved to Los Angeles for a part in Judd Apatow's series '' Freaks and Geeks'', and then got a part o ...

David Cross David Cross (born April 4, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, director, and writer known for his stand-up performances, the HBO sketch comedy series ''Mr. Show'' (1995–1998), and his role as Tobias Fünke in the Fox/ Netflix sitco ...

Lucy Liu Lucy Alexis Liu is an American actress. Her accolades include winning a Critics' Choice Television Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Seoul International Drama Award, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award. Liu has sta ...

James Hong James Hong (; born February 22, 1929) is an American actor, producer and director. He has worked in numerous productions in American media since the 1950s, portraying a variety of roles. With more than 650 film and television credits as of 20 ...

, and Jack McBrayer. The special premiered on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

on November 24, 2010, and its premiere broadcast drew 5.9 million viewers.

Plot

Master

Shifu Shifu () in Mandarin, or sifu in Cantonese, or sai hu in Hokkien, is a title for, and the role of, a skillful person or a master. The character 師/师 means "skilled person" or "teacher," while 傅 means "tutor" and 父 means "father." Though ...

(

) assigns Po (

) to host the annual Winter Feast at the Jade Palace, a highly ritualized formal occasion where all the Kung Fu masters of China attend, insisting on the perfection of the event. Although excited, Po also wishes to spend the holiday with his father Mr. Ping (

), and rejects the finest chefs in China in an attempt to have him cater the event. However, Mr. Ping believes Po is more concerned with his duties as the Dragon Warrior, and adamantly remains at his restaurant to feed the townsfolk who have nowhere else to eat for the holiday. Guilt-ridden, Po tries to cook the banquet by himself, but is quickly overwhelmed by the various responsibilities that come with it, further complicated by the interference of

Wo Hop Wo Hop is a Chinese restaurant in Manhattan’s that was named an American Classic in 2022 by the James Beard Foundation Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, ...

( Jack McBrayer), a rabbit chef he had accidentally disgraced earlier and is desperate to die at the hands of the Dragon Warrior to redeem his honor. A comment from Wo Hop that "kung fu can't solve everything" inspires Po to enlist the Furious Five to complete the preparations for the feast while he has the still-suicidal Wo Hop help him in the kitchen. On the night of the Winter Feast, Po comes to realize that he should be with his father for the holiday and excuses himself before the masters to help Mr. Ping prepare food for the townsfolk. For his part, Mr. Ping, who had been struggling with the business alone, realizes that he was being unfair to his son for attending to his larger responsibilities and apologizes to him. With this reconciliation, father and son prepare their feast with polished skill. Moved by Po's loyalty to his family, the Furious Five and the other masters participate in the festivities with the townsfolk. Po is additionally able to restore Wo Hop's honor by presenting him with the Golden Ladle originally intended for the chef selected to cook for the masters' banquet. Shifu is initially mortified that everyone abandoned the feast, but upon seeing the merry time everyone is having at the noodle shop, he realizes Po did the right thing, creating a truly perfect event with his father. Although Shifu turns to leave, Po persuades him to join them, firmly asserting Shifu's place with his family.

Voice cast

as Po *

as Master Tigress *

Master Shifu The following is a list of characters from the DreamWorks animated film media franchise ''Kung Fu Panda''. The franchise includes a film trilogy (''Kung Fu Panda'', ''Kung Fu Panda 2'', and '' Kung Fu Panda 3''), a series of shorts and television ...

* Jack McBrayer as

as Master Monkey *

as Master Mantis * Jonathan Groff as Master Rhino *

as Master Crane *

as Master Viper *

as Mr. Ping *

Dan Fogler Daniel Kevin Fogler (born October 20, 1976) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He has appeared in films including '' Balls of Fury'', '' Good Luck Chuck'', ''Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'', '' Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Gr ...

Zeng Zeng (, ) is a Chinese family name. In Cantonese, it is Tsang; In Wade-Giles, such as those in Taiwan, Tseng or Tzeng; in Malaysia and Singapore, Chen or Cheng; in the Philippines, Chan; in Indonesia, Tjan; in Vietnam, Tăng. The surname Zen ...

* Susan Fitzer as Shop Owner, Baby

Bunny Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit sp ...

, Host

Goose A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera '' Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the ...

* Lena Golia as Little Bunny * Stephen Kearin as Father, Village Bunny * Tom Owens as Dream Bunny, Panicked Pig *

Conrad Vernon Conrad Vernon (born July 11, 1968) is an American voice actor, director, writer, and storyboard artist best known for his work on the DreamWorks animated film series ''Shrek'' as well as other films such as '' Monsters vs. Aliens'', '' Madagascar ...

Boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

Bandit * Mick Wingert as Goose Attendant, Pig

Tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

Ian McShane Ian David McShane (born 29 September 1942) is an English actor, producer and director. He is known for his television performances, particularly as the title role in the BBC series ''Lovejoy'' (1986–1994), Al Swearengen in '' Deadwood'' (20 ...

Tai Lung The following is a list of characters from the DreamWorks animated film media franchise ''Kung Fu Panda''. The franchise includes a film trilogy (''Kung Fu Panda'', ''Kung Fu Panda 2'', and '' Kung Fu Panda 3''), a series of shorts and television ...

(cameo)

Reception

On the special's review on

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

, Emily Ashby praised its positive messages and role models, in which Po "learns that listening to your heart is the best way to make the right decision, and his choice inspires others to do the same".

Home media

The special was released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 6, 2012 in North America. In Australia and the UK, it was released under a new title of ''Kung Fu Panda: Po's Winter Wonderland'', which was released on November 11, 2012, and November 19, 2012, exclusively at

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company ...

stores. It was re-released on DVD on October 1, 2013 along with '' Shrek the Halls'', ''

Merry Madagascar ''Merry Madagascar'' is a Christmas special first broadcast on the NBC network on November 17, 2009, which starred the characters from the film series ''Madagascar'', and takes place sometime between the first and second film. It is the second Dre ...

'', and ''

Gift of the Night Fury ''Gift of the Night Fury'' is a 2011 American computer-animated short film by DreamWorks Animation and directed by Tom Owens. It was released on November 15, 2011 on DVD and Blu-ray, along with another original animated short film '' Book of Dragon ...

''.

References

External links

* {{Tim Johnson 2010 television films 2010 films 2010s American animated films American television films Christmas television specials DreamWorks Animation animated short films Films directed by Tim Johnson Films scored by Henry Jackman Kung Fu Panda NBC television specials American Christmas television specials 2010s animated television specials Animated Christmas television specials 2010s English-language films