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This article is out of universe from Kung Fu Panda. This subject has been distinguished as part of the real world and therefore should not be taken as part of the fictional universe of the Kung Fu Panda franchise. |
"The Maltese Mantis" is the fourteenth episode from season two of Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness.
Plot[]
Synopsis[]
Po and Mantis visit the equivalent of an ancient Chinese Comic-Con, where Po's fanboy enthusiasm gets out of hand.[1]
Summary[]
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Po began giving a pep talk about going on a mission to what was presumed to be the Furious Five just outside the Hall of Warriors. After a rousing speech, it soon turned out that his "audience" was his collection of Furious Five action figures. One by one, he packed the figures in a wooden case for transport, mimicking each one's voice as he does so just as Po realized that Crane and the Tigress were standing right next to him, watching.
Embarrassed, Po quickly put away his last figure and revealed his mission: he was going to the annual Festival of Figurines (also known as "The Fest"). At that moment, Mantis, who Po had convinced to join him on his trip, appeared ready to go. Tigress and Crane showed their disdain for The Fest, deeming it an embarrassment to kung fu full of fans who play with toys and dress up in ridiculous costumes. While Po brushed their comments off, Mantis began to have second thoughts about going. Po managed to persuade him to come on the condition that they wouldn't wear the Oogway masks he'd brought. As they set out to go, they ran into Shifu, who learned of Po's trip and, much to Po's extreme disappointment, forbade him to go to the festival, explaining that as the Dragon Warrior, Po could not make a fool of himself by appearing at such an fan-centered event. Shifu then proceeded to head down to the village to take care of some unspecified business.
Down in the village, Po and Mantis spotted the entrance to the Fest nearby. Despite Mantis reminding him that Shifu doesn't want him to go, Po decided to go anyway, under the pretense that he was merely someone dressed up as the Dragon Warrior, reasoning that if he was not the Dragon Warrior then it wouldn't matter if he made a fool of himself. And so he and a reluctant Mantis went to the Fest. While Po was overjoyed at everything he was witnessing, such as the costumes and the (amateurish) reenactment of his battle with Tai Lung on a nearby stage, Mantis became increasing freaked out, to the point where he decided to leave and cried out that they were all "A BUNCH OF GEEKS!" This immediately attracted the angry attention of some nearby fans, but luckily Po was able to quickly defuse the situation by waving his paw in the air and calling "THE FEST!" The fans were immediately soothed and happily returned the gesture.
After warning Mantis not to anger the fans while at the Fest, Po got into a 'duel' with a fellow fan, namely a kung fu battle with action figures. After a heated 'battle' observed by a bemused Mantis, the fight ended with the fan using a Paralyzing Touch Point on the Mantis figure Po had been fighting with. Though the fan proclaimed victory, Po stated otherwise; that was not how the Paralyzing Touch Point was performed. The fan protested, and a heated argument ensued in which Po picked up the Mantis figure and demonstrated how the Touch Point is correctly performed, and the fan stormed off to find a judge. Feeling triumphant, Po turned to Mantis... and discovered to his horror that he had picked up and paralyzed the real Mantis by mistake!
With the Paralyzing Touch Point becoming permanent in an hour, Po was faced with a serious situation. After several failed attempts to undo the effect (including dunking the frozen Mantis repeatedly in a fan's drink), Po placed Mantis down on a table and rushed off to find someone who knew how to undo the paralysis, and moments later a figurine seller picked up Mantis, mistaking him for one of his figurines, and carried him off. When Po returned and found Mantis gone, he was now faced with the task of locating the paralyzed Mantis in a festival full of similar looking figurines.
While Po frantically searched the many figurines for his friend, in another area of the festival Taotie and his son Bian Zao were unpacking figurines of Taotie's previous inventions. Though the apathetic Bian Zao was very doubtful that people would buy figurines of his father, Taotie was confident that he would make a fortune once the fans saw the power of his figurines (demonstrated when one of them punched a hole through the table). Bian Zao eventually asked his father for some money so he could go and buy something that wasn't 'lame'. Bian Zao would eventually discover the paralyzed Mantis, and became intrigued when he spotted the 'figure's' eyes moving (the only part of Mantis's body not paralyzed). Unaware of what the 'figure' truly was, Bian Zao made his purchase and returned to his father's stall, where there had been no purchases since the boy's departure. Perplexed as to why no-one wanted his figures, a frustrated Taotie claimed that "these geeks don't know good merchandise when they see it." This angered a nearby group of fans, but a confrontation was avoided when Bian Zao quickly used the same "THE FEST!" gesture Po used earlier. When Taotie saw the Mantis 'figure' Bian Zao had bought, he became greatly interested in the moving eyes. Believing that a complex mechanism was inside, Taotie grabbed a pair of tongs and attempted to pull out one of the eyes, but was distracted from doing so by his son's protests.
Meanwhile, Po was still searching for Mantis. After an encounter with his father, Mr. Ping, who had come to the festival to sell Po's underwear, Po made a startling discovery: Shifu in the midst of an action figure battle with another fan. After winning the 'battle', Shifu was alarmed to find that Po had caught him in the act, and after an attempt to pass himself off as someone in a Shifu costume and then attempting to flee, was faced with a suspicious panda. Knowing that the game was up, Shifu confessed that he himself was a 'geek'. Ever since he was a child, he had always wished to go to the festival with his Yao figurine, but every year he would lose his nerve, feeling ashamed of his desire for such ridiculous diversions. However, this year he had made a vow to finally do what he had for so long desired. This was why he had forbidden Po and Mantis to go to the Fest out of fear of losing his students' respect. After Shifu apologizes to him for lying, Po suddenly remembered Mantis and told his shocked master of the situation. With not much time left before Mantis is paralyzed forever, the two rushed off to locate Mantis among the many figurines. Most unfortunately, the two happened to be overheard by Taotie. Now knowing what he was holding, Taotie suddenly had evil intentions for the helpless Mantis.
Delighted with the opportunity he now had, Taotie mused over the many things he could do with Mantis. Bian Zao, on the other hand wasn't as happy and suggested simply giving Mantis back to Po and Shifu, only for Taotie to angrily refuse. Exasperated with his father and unwilling to allow Mantis to be tortured, Bian Zao walked over to Po and Shifu and told them of Mantis's location. The two warriors immediately confronted Taotie, who refused to give Mantis up, especially after Po unwisely revealed that Mantis would become permanently paralyzed in a matter of minutes, and attempted to make a break for it.
The skirmish that followed took Taotie, Po and Shifu onto the stage, causing a crowd of fans to follow after mistaking it for another reenactment. Taotie eventually set his own automated figurines on the warriors, which proved surprisingly effective at complicating their efforts to retrieve Mantis. However Po and Shifu continued to pursue Taotie and Mantis, only for the warthog to gain the upper hand by revealing to the crowd that Po was the real Dragon Warrior. The fans proceeded to swarm Po, trapping Shifu against a wall in the process, allowing Taotie to begin his getaway with Mantis. Just when all hope seemed lost for Mantis, Po appealed to the fans, stating that as Dragon Warrior he needed their help. With that, the fans rushed at Taotie, blocking his escape. When Taotie angrily called them 'geeks' the fans immediately swarmed on him and gave him a thorough beating. Instead of helping, Bian Zao took Mantis from his father's hoof and handed him back to Po, but not before forcing the unwilling panda to trade with his Tigress figure.
While Bian Zao dragged his beaten up father away, Shifu quickly administered the de-paralyzing technique on Mantis. Nothing happened, and it seemed that they were too late. Devastated, Po begged Mantis to revive, and even give him a beating if he wanted to... which is exactly what Mantis does a second later. After angrily telling the relieved Po to never paralyze him again, Mantis turned to the fans and declared that they were 'awesome!', expressing his gratitude for their assistance. While Mantis was carried off by the fans, Po and Shifu had an action figure battle on the stage.
Voice cast[]
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Trivia[]
- The episode's title references The Maltese Falcon, a 1930's detective novel by Dashiell Hammett about the recovery of a figurine.
- The episode's writer, Paul Rugg, provided additional voicing in this episode.
Gallery[]
Images[]
![[Add a caption]](/wiki/File:1.PNG "1.PNG (430 KB)")
![[Add a caption]](/wiki/File:Mantis_figurines.PNG "Mantis figurines.PNG (544 KB)")
![[Add a caption]](/wiki/File:3.PNG "3.PNG (666 KB)")
![[Add a caption]](/wiki/File:6.PNG "6.PNG (638 KB)")
Videos[]
Coming soon!
Tracks[]
Quotes[]
| “ |
| Mantis: They're all a bunch of geeks! [Crowd angrily glares in their direction.] Po: The fest! Crowd: The fest! |
| —At the Festival of Figurines |
| “ |
| Po: Dad! I'm in big troub-! [Notices a pair of briefs on the cart] Is, uh, that my underwear? Mr. Ping: Yes! I've already sold five pairs! |
| —Po finding his dad selling Dragon Warrior Merchandise. |
See also[]
References[]
External links[]
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| Legends of Awesomeness Season 2 episodes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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