tigress

In Secrets of the Furious Five

As a cub, Tigress was an orphan living in theBao Gu Orphanage, presumably located in the Valley of Peace. Currently, no one knows about her biological parents or how she ended up in the Bao Gu Orphanage. The residents of the orphanage lived in fear of her due to her violent temper and frightening strength. Unsure of what could be done with the tiger cub, the caretakers of the orphanage put Tigress in a separate room from the other children, and summoned the aid of Master Shifu.

Hearing about the trouble at the orphanage, Shifu came to help Tigress. He introduced her to a game of dominoes, which required a still and disciplined hand to master. At first, Tigress couldn't place the dominoes correctly, often breaking the fragile wooden tiles in her grip, which frustrated her. But Shifu was a calm and patient teacher, and instructed her for several months to control her temper and her strength, teaching her the importance of discipline.

Finally, after months of training, Tigress presented her hard work to the adults and other children of the orphanage by skillfully placing the dominoes correctly with precision and agility; when she finished, she tipped the placed dominoes to form the symbol of Yin and Yang, earning the trust and friendship of the caretakers and other orphans.

Sadly, even then, the adults who came periodically to adopt new children were still afraid of her, and she was still left at the orphanage. So Shifu took her in as a daughter, giving Tigress a new home and a family.

In Kung Fu PandaEdit

However, even in her new home, Tigress still felt unaccepted because ofShifu's closed and often stern personality, caused when his former student and son Tai Lung went on a violent rampage himself after being denied the title ofDragon Warrior. Striving to gain his approval and love, she bettered herself atKung Fu and became a strong and dedicated student. One of the many ways of training she endured was punching the Iron-wood trees outside the Jade Palace, thus allowing her to feel no pain.

Over time, she was joined by four other students: Masters Monkey, Mantis, Crane, and Viper, and the group collectively became known as the Furious Five. Tigress became a master in the Tiger style of Hung Ga Kung Fu, and as the unofficial leader of the Furious Five, she and her comrades gained great fame across China with their many accomplishments in battle.

However, even with all her accomplishments, Tigress still felt the need to prove herself to Shifu that she wasn't a second Tai Lung. Her chance to prove herself came sooner than she expected when one day, Grand MasterOogway had a vision of Tai Lung breaking out of prison and returning to the Valley to get the Dragon Scroll. Alarmed, Shifu (acting on Oogway's suggestion) announced a tournament to declare who the Dragon Warriorwould be out of the Furious Five.

On the day of the tournament, each of the Five publicly exhibited their talents one at a time, with Tigress preforming last. Before she had the chance to start, Oogway sensed the presence of the Dragon Warrior, and it was time for the choosing. It appeared that Oogway was about to point at her — until a fatpanda called Po seemingly fell out of the sky and landed right in front of Oogway's pointing claw. Confused, Tigress asked if the old tortoise was pointing at her, but Oogway was convinced that Po had been chosen by the universe, and the panda's appearance was not by accident. He proclaimed the panda as the Dragon Warrior — much to Tigress' and Shifu's horror, and as Po was carried off to the Jade Palace, Tigress apologized to Shifu for failing him. The diminutive red panda stopped her, saying that if he hadn't made the panda quit by the next morning, then it was he who failed his students.

Through the rest of the day, Shifu did his best to discourage Po and try to make him leave. He tried to intimidate him by showing him the Training Halland allowing the panda to be humiliated in front of the Five. The derision that Shifu felt was echoed by Tigress herself; she was offended that "a fat, flabby panda" like Po would be chosen over a loyal student like herself, and she made sure that Po knew her opinion of him — going as far as to scathingly tell him that night that he was a disgrace to Kung Fu and that, if he respected the martial arts or the Five at all, he would be gone by morning.

To her dismay, Po didn't leave the next morning, and he still wanted to learn Kung Fu. Attempts were made throughout the day to discourage Po and make him quit, but he persevered and made it through the second day — even after sparring with most of the Five and literally being thrown out by Shifu and tumbling down the steps of the Palace. While most of the Five grew to be impressed at the panda's indefatigable tenacity, Tigress simply conceded that Po was there to stay whether she liked it or not. While Po received acupuncture from Mantis and Viper, Tigress confided to Po the story of Tai Lung and Shifu's role in his life, while also hinting at her own past, that she never received the same love that Shifu once showed for Tai Lung.

Later on, Po began opening up more to the Five while preparing noodle soup for dinner which, to their delight, was among the most delicious dishes they've ever eaten — save for Tigress, who remained distant and ate tofu instead. The peaceful atmosphere was shattered, however, when Shifu arrived to bring them terrible news: Tai Lung had indeed escaped prison, and to make things worse, Master Oogway had just died. Tigress begged her Master to let the Five and herself stop Tai Lung, stating it was what he had trained them for. Surprisingly, Shifu said that it wasn't her destiny to defeat Tai Lung. He was now convinced that it was Po's job to stop Tai Lung after all, and nothing she could say would change his mind. However, Po had run away in fear of his upcoming challenge, and she secretly followed Shifu when he chased after him to bring him back. There she overheard Po admitting his own lack of confidence, seeing neither he nor her Master had a solution on just how Po could possibly defeat Tai Lung. Slightly empathetic towards the panda, she decided to try to stop Tai Lung anyway, immediately setting out on her own. To her surprise, she found that Viper, Mantis, Monkey, and Crane had followed her, and they stated that they wanted to help her in her endeavor.

Traveling as fast as they could, it took days to intercept Tai Lung at the Thread of Hope, a network of rope bridges that connected the mountain tops, Tigress finally able to meet her adoptive brother face to face in combat. When asked where the Dragon Warrior was, she tried to imply that she herself was the Dragon Warrior, but Tai Lung was not fooled, which only dealt another blow to her pride.

The ensuing battle was made difficult by the rope bridge itself as well as Tai Lung's great strength and skill. Had it not been for her friends, Tigress would have fallen to her death after Tai Lung had managed to overpower her and entangle her in the ropes, effectively strangling her before she accidentally let go. Rescued by the quick-thinking Crane, Tigress switched tactics and worked together with the others, displaying her greatest strength as a team leader/player, and she and her comrades managed to overpower the snow leopard in a stunning show of strength and cunning. At first, they assumed that they had vanquished him completely, but sure enough, Tai Lung reappeared, swinging back from the opposite peak with the ropes from the now-destroyed bridge, and landing behind the startled team. Taking advantage of their unpreparedness, Tai Lung used a technique that Shifu hadn't taught them: chi blocking. Jabbing each of the Five in vital pressure points, he paralyzed them all — with the exception of Crane, whom he left unparalyzed so he could carry the defeated warriors back to the Jade Palace as a warning; he could defeat the strongest warriors in China, so the Dragon Warrior and Shifu would have no hope in stopping him from taking the Dragon Scroll.

There was nothing else that could be done; Shifu ordered the Five and Po to evacuate the Valley in a last ditch effort, while he stayed behind to stall Tai Lung as long as possible. He expected to die during the battle, and his parting words to them were the ones that Tigress had always longed to hear from her adoptive father: that he was proud of them and that he was honored to be their master. The dismal feeling that everyone felt as they left had to be pushed aside once they started gathering the villagers. Tigress fell into her role as leader and began to lead the evacuation in spite of her sadness. After leading the populace to the surrounding mountains through the stormy night to morning, she and the Five were stunned as they witnessed a bright wave of light and energy coming from the middle of town.

Deciding to go back, they discovered that Po had fought Tai Lung, eventually defeating him with the legendary Wuxi Finger Hold, presumably causing the leopard to be obliterated in an explosion of his own chi energy. Amazed, Tigress finally let go of her pride as she approached Po and bowed, honoring him for the first time as a Kung Fu Master and as the Dragon Warrior — and also for the first time, she smiled at him. Tigress realized that she had what she had wanted all along: her Master's approval — and even though she wasn't the one to receive the Dragon Scroll, she didn't need it after all. She had already proven her worth, and that was good enough for her.

In Kung Fu Panda HolidayEdit

After defeating several boar bandits, Tigress and the other Five were shocked to find out that Po was going to be hosting the Winter Feast dinner at the Jade Palace. Tigress offered her and the rest of the Five's assistance to Po in preparing for the sophisticated event, but Po insisted he could do it himself. When he was later overwhelmed by the many responsibilities, he decided to call on the Furious Five to finally assist him with the preparations. Tigress used Kung Fu to assist with place settings for the feast, performing her "Tahlia Leap" to set up lanterns.

When all the tasks had been done, she later sat at the table with all the other Kung Fu Masters for the Palace Winter Feast, but the formal dinner was interrupted by Po himself, who explained to the Masters his own family traditions, and excused himself to be at his home with his father on the holiday. Tigress and the rest of the Five understood Po's decision, recalling common holiday traditions they enjoyed in the past, and they joined Po at theNoodle Shop. Tigress wished Po a "Happy Holiday" and later playfully helped to feed a little toddler piglet. Afterward, Tigress partook in a group portrait of the Furious Five, Po, Mr. Ping, Shifu, and Wo Hop.

[hide]Tigress Background Information Feature films Kung Fu Panda Kung Fu Panda 2 Shorts Secrets of the Furious Five (young) Kung Fu Panda Holiday Secrets of the Masters TV shows Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness Video games Kung Fu Panda: The Game Kung Fu Panda: Legendary Warriors Kung Fu Panda 2: The Game Books Kung Fu Panda: Art of Balance Kung Fu Panda: Kung Fu Crew Voiced by Angelina Jolie (films)[1][2] Tara Strong (young)[3] Erin Torpey (first video game)[4] Kari Wahlgren (second video game & TV series)[5] Frank Welker (growling noises, uncredited)[source?] Character Information Species South Chinese Tiger Gender Female Also known as Master Tigress Appearance Orange and white fur with black stripes, black claws and bright orange eyes Combat style Tiger Kung Fu Fate Learned self-discipline and got adopted byShifu (Secrets of the Furious Five) Attempted and failed to defeat Tai Lung; accepted Po as the Dragon Warrior (Kung Fu Panda) Helped Po prepare for the Winter Feast (Kung Fu Panda Holiday) Helped Po defeat Lord Shen and his weapon(Kung Fu Panda 2) Quote "This is what you trained me for."

Master Tigress is the tritagonist of the first film and thedeuteragonist of the second. She is the adoptive daughter ofShifu as well as the unofficial leader of the Furious Five, mastering over the Tiger style of Hung Ga Kung Fu.