Villains are made, not born.
The first three villains in the Kung-fu Panda series are all male. They have well-defined arcs that trace their troubled childhoods, abuse, or harm, which add to the story of how they become villains.
Tai Lung was filled with pride and a sense of entitlement by none other than Master Shifu. Shen felt betrayed by his parents when they didn’t support his genocidal acts and threw him out of the kingdom. General Kai is a spirit warrior, a friend-turned-foe of Master Oogway, and returned from the realm of the dead for revenge.
Directors, writers, storyboard artists, and animators have allocated dedicated time and frames to define what made them the way they are.
In the fourth part, the same courtesy wasn’t extended to the Chameleon. The viewers have very limited knowledge about her because the filmmakers didn’t bother to write one.
Chameleon was denied the chance to learn Kung Fu, and that is her source of being a villain. There is no information about her childhood, her struggles, or family (if she had one at all).
However, the viewers can notice that her voice matches an older woman; someone who has seen life up close and knows how to maneuver it.
Simple and effective male martial arts fighter
Tai Lung’s debut demanded attention and respect. A snow leopard so strong, it took thousands to guard a single prisoner. His escape demonstrated his physical strength and justified his hunger for the dragon scroll. He was better than everyone.
Tai Lung’s character matched his design. His muscular build, fierce eyes, and pants-only outfit made him look like an MA fighter. He didn’t carry any relics of the past, and the depth of his voice announced that he would spare no one who came between him and his goal, including the person who raised him. Tai Lung’s character design is minimal but effective.
Drawing a genocidal male maniac
Color is information.
Lord Shen is a peacock, and unlike most peacocks, he is colorless. Shen’s character design is a clever example. A supposed ruler, his colors are kept close to demonstrate his Chinese lineage and his genocidal tendencies.
He is white with black and red feathers. His mainfu is grey, silky, and neatly embedded in his tail. He is clean, slender, with manicured feathers, all the attributes you would expect from royalty.
Using reds on Shen not only connects him to China but also to the blood he was so keen to draw from all the pandas with his pyrotechnics.
An almost invincible male spirit warrior
General Kai is my favorite villain from the franchise.
Everything about him carried so much aura that it nearly marked the end of the Kung Fu Panda series.
General Kai is as mysterious as Master Oogway is with his wisdom, puzzles, and humor. Viewers do not know much about Oogway till the last part, only to discover that he connected with the pandas long ago, and it played a role in choosing Po as the Dragon Warrior. No explanations, and the citizens of the Valley of the Peace accepted his decision (sort of).
The entire character design of General Kai is built around his hunger for revenge and his relationship with Oogway.
A muscular yak with chains, massive horns, and rotating jade blades that can pierce palaces, General Kai collected all his spirit totems around his waist, except for Oogway’s, which he wore around his neck, symbolizing a brotherhood gone wrong.
Inadequate attention to female character design
The filmmakers have nailed one thing about part 4 – choosing the right animal for the female villain.
One of the first scenes of Chameleon is her disguise while she sits among other animals, in an almost board-meeting set-up, combing opinions and weighing the strength of bigger animals around her. She is much smaller than all of them, so she doesn’t resort to physical battles or build bombs, and definitely isn’t five hundred years old.
She opts for illusion and stealth. Her strengths are spiritual in nature, with intuition and cunning. Chameleon is driven by ambition and the same fear that makes women want to disguise themselves to blend in high-combat environments like gaming, which are often dominated by the male presence.
The filmmakers have offered a lot of mystery for Chameleon. Only time will tell why she chose to dress so regal, who fashioned her a crown, and how she gained her spiritual power.
Final Thoughts
The portrayal of female villains in animation is often driven by factors like revenge over a past lover or physical beauty, and never by the fact that women want power, control, and to rule the world. These imperialist evil traits are reserved solely for the male characters.
It would be a fun challenge and interesting to see how this franchise evolves with its newly added female characters that are not Tigress. I look forward to it.
AD
