Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness
Introduction '''''Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness''''' is an American animated television comedy series spin off from DreamWorks's ''Kung Fu Panda films''. It serves as a bridge between the first and second films, showing Po's training to becoming a successful Dragon Warrior, whereas the second series is, according to the series' developer Peter Hastings, "not unlike a very long, super-deluxe 3-D version of one of our episodes".The series was originally set to air on Nickelodeon in 2010, 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.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 and then on YTV in Canada from 2015–16.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.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).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 the said show, however, Jack Black reprised his role as Po from the films.
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
Voice cast * Mick Wingert as Po* Fred Tatasciore as Shifu* Kari Wahlgren as Tigress* Lucy Liu as Viper* Amir Talai as Crane* James Sie as Monkey* Max Koch as Mantis* James Hong as Mr. Ping
Development The series was DreamWorks Animation's second co-production with Nickelodeon. 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, xunetc. by well-known multi-instrumentalist Hong Wang. In addition, Sifu Kisu was the martial arts consultant for the show as he was on the ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' series.
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. 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. A sneak peek episode was released for the DVD / Blu-ray release for ''Kung Fu Panda 2'' on December 13, 2011.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.=== 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.
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. "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." Despite the mixed reviews, the show has received four Emmy Awards and nominated for four Annie Awards.
Awards and nominations YearAwardCategoryNomineeResult2012 Annie AwardsBest Television Production ChildrenCharacter Animation in a Television ProductionMichael FranceschiDirecting in a Television ProductionGabe SwarrEditing in a Television ProductionHugo Morales, Davrick Waltjen, Adam Arnold, Otto Ferrene Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Cartoon Daytime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Sound Editing – AnimationJoe 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 ReyesOutstanding Sound Mixing – AnimationJustin Brinsfield, Matt Corey and Thomas J. MaydeckOutstanding Casting for an Animated Series or SpecialSarah Noonan and Meredith LayneOutstanding Individual in AnimationJoel Fajnor British Academy Children's Awards International Peter Hastings, Gabe Swarr, Randy Doormans 2013Annie AwardsStoryboarding in an Animated Television or other Broadcast Venue ProductionRyan Kramer, Paul Linsley, Kenji Ono, Le Tang, Alice Herring, Mike Mullen, Aaron Hammersley (for "Enter the Dragon")Writing in an Animated Television or other Broadcast Venue ProductionDoug Langdale (for "Kung Fu Day Care") Editorial in an Animated Television or other Broadcast Venue ProductionHugo Morales, Adam Arnold, Davrick Waltjen, Otto Ferrene (for "Monkey in the Middle")Hugo Morales, Adam Arnold, Davrick Waltjen, Otto Ferrene (for "Enter the Dragon") Daytime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Children's Animated ProgramPeter Hastings, Bret Haaland, Randy Dormans, Gabe Swarr, Andrew HuebnerOutstanding Directing in an Animated ProgramGabe Swarr, Michael Mullen, Lane Lueras, Juan Meza-Leon, Peter Hastings Outstanding Individual in AnimationJoel Fajnor (for "Kung Fu Day Care")Bill Dely (for "Kung Shoes")Outstanding Writing in AnimationPeter Hastings, Doug Langdale, Gene Grillo, Paul Rugg, Kevin Seccia, Scot KreamerOutstanding Sound Editing – AnimationJoe Pizzulo, Gary Falcone, Jeremy Zukerman, Benjamin Wynn, Rob McIntyre, Anna Adams, Marc Schmidt, Andrew Ing, Jeseey Drake, Roberto Dominguez Alegira, Cynthia MerrillOutstanding Sound Mixing – AnimationJustin Brinsfield, Thomas J Maydeck, Rob McIntyrePrimetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Animated Program For episode: "Enter The Dragon" British Academy Children's Awards International ''Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness''  2014 Annie AwardsBest Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Children's Audience Writing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production Katie Matila Editorial in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production Adam Arnold, Hugo Morales, Davrick Waltjen Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Children's Animated Program Peter Hastings, Bret Haaland, Randy Dormans, Gabe Swarr, Joann Estoesta and Andrew Huebner Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program Gene Grillo, Peter Hastings, Scott Kreamer, Doug Langdale and Paul Rugg  Outstanding Directing in an Animated Program  Aaron Hammersley, Lane Lueras, Michael Mullen and Peter Hastings  Outstanding Sound Mixing – Animation Justin Brinsfield, Matt Corey, Thomas J. Maydeck and Rob McIntyre  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  2015 Daytime Emmy Award 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 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 releasesSeason Episodes  Release dates Region 1 12011–12 15 (of 26)  ''Kung Fu Panda 2'': December 13, 2011''Episode(s)'': "Has-Been Hero"----''Good Croc, Bad Croc'': June 18, 2013''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''Episode(s)'': "Scorpion's Sting" • "Owl Be Back" • "Love Stings" • "Monkey in the Middle"----''The Midnight Stranger'': March 11, 2014''Episode(s)'': "Master Ping"----''Holiday Hijinks'': November 18, 2014 (Redbox exclusive)''Episode(s)'': "Hometown Hero" • "Hall of Lame" 22012–13 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" 32013–16 2 (of 28)  ''Holiday Hijinks'': November 18, 2014 (Redbox exclusive)''Episode(s)'': "Shifu's Ex" • "Po Picks a Pocket"
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