Template:Character
| “ |
| Did you just call me 'little guy'? |
| —Mantis, Kung Fu Panda 2 |
Master Mantis is a member of the Furious Five and a master over the Praying Mantis style of Hung Ga Kung Fu. He is also a skilled acupuncturist, although he needed to familiarize himself with Po's body to treat him effectively. He is often seen perched on Monkey's shoulders.
Biography
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In Secrets of the Furious Five
Mantis impatiently waiting for his food
In Secrets of the Furious Five, Po tells his Kung Fu class of rabbit children how Mantis was quite impatient when he was younger. Mantis felt that the world was too slow for him and he was too fast for the world. However, on a mission to retrieve wool coats back from a gang of crocodile bandits, he was captured due to his overconfidence and lack of listening skills when one of the villagers tried to warn him of the bandits' traps. Mantis was locked in a cage for days and forced to sit and wait for something to happen, and he entered a trance that allowed him to survey the world moving faster than he did. This allowed him to develop the patience needed to devise a plan of escape, playing dead to trick the crocodiles into opening his cage and defeat them.
In Kung Fu Panda
Coming soon!
In Kung Fu Panda Holiday
Mantis, along with the rest of the Furious Five, is surprised when informed by Po in the middle of an attack by boar bandits that he is to host the sophisticated Winter Feast at the Jade Palace. The Five offer their help in preparing for the event, but Po believes he can do it without any assistance. However, when the burden of tending to all of the preparations proves too much, Po asks the Furious Five for help. Like the rest of his comrades, Mantis used Kung Fu to set up the dinner, making use of his "Pinwheel Attack" in arranging plates for the feast. When all the tasks are done, Mantis is present with all the other Kung Fu Masters for the Winter Feast, but Po ends up excusing himself from the event, explaining his own family traditions, and he leaves to go to the Noodle Shop to be with his father on the holiday. The Five later join Po, as do the other Masters from the Palace, and Mantis took part in the festivities, having a bowl of noodle soup, and making a rabbit child laugh with a game of peek-a-boo. Mantis then joins in a group portrait with the rest of the Furious Five, Po, Mr. Ping, Shifu, and Wo Hop.
In Kung Fu Panda 2
Po, Mantis, and the other Five planning on the infiltration of Gongmen City
In Kung Fu Panda 2, Master Shifu receives a message that a powerful villain (Lord Shen) has emerged with a weapon so powerful, it can destroy Kung Fu. Mantis, along with Po and the rest of the Furious Five, must venture across China to face the threat and vanquish it.
Personality
Mantis is noted to have a textbook Napoleon complex: Strong, fast and tiny, he possesses a mean temper and is ready to "throw down" at the slightest insult. However, despite this, he is sympathetic to Po's plight and quick to interject humor into any situation. Nothing can strike fear into his brave little heart... except a female mantis.[1]
Pragmatic and open-minded with a dry sense of humor, Master Mantis was the first of the Five to develop acceptance and liking of Po as a person, alongside the factor of Po's girth, declaring size did little to define a warrior and could actually be used as an advantage no matter what style one practices.
Like the rest of the Furious Five (except for Tigress) throughout the first film, he begins to warm up to Po. He is impressed by Po's wholeheartedness, even though Po knew Master Shifu was trying to get rid of him. An unused line from the movie is Mantis saying, "I've got to admit, that panda has a lot of heart. And he's incredibly fun to watch bounce."
Fighting Style
The traditional Mantis style is quick, calculating, responsive and precise. Mantis' small size and incredible speed make him nearly invisible to opponents, an advantage that he uses to great effect. In addition, Mantis also possesses enormous strength, far more than his tiny size would imply. His powerful, high leaping rear legs and raptorial forelegs are used as defensive weapons.[1]
He is the smallest of the Five, but he is obviously the strongest proportional to his size. He can perform such feats as throwing Po and single-handedly holding up a severed rope bridge burdened by most of his comrades and Tai Lung.
One of his famous moves is the "Pinwheel Attack". Mantis uses this to help Po with place settings for the formal Winter Feast dinner in Kung Fu Panda Holiday.
Trivia
- At one point in story development, Master Mantis started out as a villain — though still a member of the Furious Five, he was actually a traitor conspiring with Tai Lung from the inside.[2]
- Since he's so small, the filmmakers determined to have Mantis hover in certain shots to be noticeable, as an actual mantis has wings. The only problem with this was that Mantis was not originally modeled with wings![3]
- The circular marking on Mantis' back contains the stylized rendering of a Chinese art character for "longevity" (simplified Chinese: 寿; traditional Chinese: 壽; pinyin: shòu), which is commonly used in paper cuttings, wooden panels, silk prints, etc.[4]
- The number of acupuncture needles that Mantis placed in Po's back while talking to Tigress added up to 133.[2]
Gallery
Quotes
| “ |
| Po: Ow! I thought you said acupuncture would make me feel better. Master Mantis: Trust me, it will. It's just not easy finding the right nerve points under all this-- Po: Fat? Master Mantis: Fur, I was gonna say fur. Po: Sure you were. |
| —Mantis applying acupuncture to Po, Kung Fu Panda |
| “ |
| Who am I to judge a warrior based on his size? I mean... look at me! |
| —Mantis, Kung Fu Panda |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kung Fu Panda Official Site - Master Mantis
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kung Fu Panda Fun Facts by HP
- ↑ Miller-Zarneke, Tracey. The Art of Kung Fu Panda, p. 82. ISBN: 1933784571
- ↑ Internet Movie Database - "Kung Fu Panda (2008) Trivia"
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