The Power of Leitmotifs in Kung Fu Panda

In Kung Fu Panda, Hans Zimmer and John Powell's soundtrack uses leitmotifs, pieces of music that contain ideas, characters, and more.
This essay explores how it is used to show the incredible, endearing story of Po.
The Power of Leitmotifs in Kung Fu Panda.

(All rights to scenes and music belong to Dreamworks, Hans Zimmer, John Powell, etc.)

The Kung Fu Panda series is one of the most successful animated movie franchises ever, and for good reason. It follows a young panda who first discovers his potential, and then overcomes his fear. It is carried by its animation, voice acting, and humour. But, perhaps most of all, Kung Fu Panda had the privilege of a meticulously crafted and planned score. Especially, something fascinating in music called leitmotifs.

The films use leitmotifs in conjunction with several story beats in Po’s journey. Composers John Powell and Hans Zimmer change the performance to change how the leitmotif was used to match its purpose in the story. Their usage of the biggest leitmotifs I’ve dubbed “Heroism”, “Hope”, and “Inner Peace” are carefully placed throughout Po’s journey, some of them in all the films, showing how he overcomes his challenges and becomes the hero of the story we love.

Kung Fu Panda is an example of how much more impactful its writing can be with the power of leitmotifs.

Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
1:20 What are Leitmotifs?
3:47 Kung Fu Panda 1
9:03 Kung Fu Panda 2
15:45 Conclusion

Soundtrack used, by Hans Zimmer and John Powell:
Kung Fu Panda 1:
"Hero"
"Peach Tree of Wisdom"
"Sacred Pool of Tears"
"Training Po"
"The Dragon Scroll"
"Dragon Warrior Rises"
"Panda Po"
"Oogway Ascends"
Kung Fu Panda 2:
"Inner Peace"
"Musicians Village"
"Save Kung Fu"
"Po Finds the Truth"
"Zen Ball Master"
"My Fist Hungers for Justice"

Tags:
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