Monkey

Master Monkey is one of the supporting main characters of the Kung Fu Panda franchise. He is the younger brother of Wu Kong. He is also a member of the Furious Five, as well as one of Master Shifu's students at the Jade Palace. He is a master of the Monkey Style of kung fu. In his youth, Monkey was known as a thief and prankster who made a fool of anyone called to get rid of him until Master Oogway arrived. After he lost a battle against the old master, Monkey was convinced by Oogway to find a new purpose: to use his skills for good. Monkey later came to form the Furious Five with Tigress, Mantis, Viper, and Crane. When first meeting Po Ping, he was very skeptical of the panda being the Dragon Warrior, but quickly came to appreciate his determination and great sense of humor.

Background
His father is never mentioned at all and his birthday is never reveal either. Monkey, and his older brother Wu Kong used to play harmless tricks on other people as small children by pulling pranks. But sadly Wu Kong eventually turned to a life of crime and was sent to prison, causing his family to be shamed.

Monkey however was the laughingstock in his hometown village when he accidentally slipped on banana peel, and his pants fell down in public. As he grew older, he sought revenge for this incident by earning himself the title of the trouble making hooligan in his village, playing tricks on the townspeople (often making people slip on banana peels or "pantsing" them), and made the habit of stealing from the markets. The townspeople didn't want him around anymore, and told him to leave but he refused.

They sent many powerful warriors to force him out of town, but Monkey humiliated each and every one of them with his "pantsing" maneuvers. He finally faced defeat when the townspeople sent Master Oogway, who other than not wearing pants, used his shell to dodge all of Monkey's attacks. Not expecting him to dodge so easily, Monkey slipped underneath a falling beam, only to be saved by Oogway. Humiliated in front of the whole town by the kung fu master and his own tricks, Monkey surrendered and agreed to leave. But Oogway instead encouraged him to stay, teaching him compassion which then turned Monkey into a hero who helped and defended the people of the village.

Monkey would later try his hand at stand up comedy, but would find no one who shared his sense of humor. It was during this attempted career that he would be found by Tigress, who mistook him for a Kung fu master sought by Shifu after a scroll given her by Shifu was accidentally switched for one listing possible career choices of Po's, one of them being "comedian". Along with Crane, Viper, and Mantis, Monkey would be presented to the ill Shifu by Tigress, only to be turned away. Despite this, he and the others joined their newfound friend in facing the menace known as Boar, who they defeated by working together. Afterwards, Shifu welcomed them all as his pupils and set to work honing their individual styles of Kung fu.

Years later, Monkey battled Wu Kong when he escaped from prison. Their mother saw them fighting, and she died of a broken heart. Before she passed away, however, she made Monkey swear to always protect his family.

Personality
While going by Shifu's strict teachings, it would appear that Monkey in general has taken Oogway's teachings more to heart, being similarly relaxed and displaying a calmer side to his personality.

He is also sort of a romantic; In Legends of Awesomeness, Po says that love songs make Monkey cry and Monkey said how he when he was younger, tried to get the attention the girls only to have them fawn over his brother, Wu Kong.

Monkey was the first of the Five to recognize Po's determination, even though he shared in the Five's general decision of the panda until Po proved himself to be the Dragon Warrior. He's also the first of the Five to have called Po by name. Monkey seems to harbor the strongest sense of humor within the Five, responding most strongly to Po's sense of comedy.

Appearance
Monkey's outfit consists of basic clothing most students would wear to practice the art of kung fu in. However, unlike the other Furious Five, Monkey is the only member to wear studded leather wristbands. He also wears loose brown sweatpants with the waist, and ankles wrapped in the style of a Shaolin leg wrap (noted to help increase kicking and stance endurance). His waist sash is colored gold.

In Kung Fu Panda Holiday (during the Winter Feast dinner at the Jade Palace and later at the Noodle Shop), Monkey and the other members of the Furious Five each wear an outfit similar to their normal attire, but with colors that match the colors of the holiday. Monkey wears golden studded leather wristbands with patterned red pants and a dark golden Shaolin waist wrap.

In Secrets of the Furious Five, Monkey was shown to have worn orange pants and a red sleeveless coat when he was a young child.

Abilities
A bunch of Monkey's attacks involve his opponent's pants. For instance, in Secrets of the Furious Five, Monkey pantsed several warriors, embarrassing them enough to make them quit. Also, in Monkey in the Middle, Monkey gave Po a wedgie. Finally, in Secret Admirer, Po tried to rip off Monkey's pants with a branch, but Monkey redirected it back on Po by using his tail to move the branch into Po's pants.

Kung Fu Panda
Monkey was first seen training with Master Shifu, along with the rest of the Furious Five, in the Training Hall's courtyard, where Shifu told him to improve on his speed. After Master Oogway envisioned Tai Lung breaking out of prison, Monkey later partook in the Dragon Warrior Tournament at the Jade Palace, though his singular performance was not seen. When Oogway sensed that the Dragon Warrior was among them, Monkey gathered along with his fellow team members for the choosing of the warrior. Just as it seemed that Tigress would be chosen, Monkey and everyone else were stunned when a giant panda by the name of Po Ping fell out of the sky and landed right in front of her. Oogway saw this as a sign and declared Po as the Dragon Warrior, leaving Monkey, the Five, Shifu, the villagers, and Po himself astonished.

After the tournament, Monkey and the others of the Five went over to the Training Hall to train. It was here that Po eventually entered the hall as well (with Shifu accompanying him) to see the Five training with the various contraptions, Monkey with the Seven-Talon Rings. He and the Five stopped their training to watch Po spar with the Adversary, who then got thrown into the course and failed every stage.

That night, Monkey joined the Five in mocking Po as they headed for the student barracks, unaware that the panda had heard every word and was disheartened. In the barracks, when Po was having an awkward conversation with Crane, he attempted to imitate some kung fu moves, only to create a hole in the paper wall separating Crane and Monkey's rooms, where Monkey was seen clearly scowling after having been disturbed from his meditation.

The next morning, it appeared that Po had quit when his bedroom was found empty. However, when the Five and Shifu arrived at the training courtyard, it was revealed that Po had gotten there first and was even attempting to use the apparatus designed for honing flexibility. When the panda's training began, Monkey was the second kung fu master to spar with him, catching him off guard and beating him over the head with his staff. When Shifu sparred with Po himself, and then literally kicked him out of the palace and down the stairs in frustration, Monkey and the Five watched him tumble down. Tigress, who had contempt for the panda, stated that "if [Po was] smart, he won't come back up those steps". Monkey, however, was the first to note Po's tenacity and implied that he would be back.

Back in the student barracks, Po was unsuccessfully being administered acupuncture by Mantis and Viper, and Monkey was seen trying to ignore Po's yelps while meditating in his room. He then later listened in with Crane silently as Tigress told Po the history between Shifu and Tai Lung.

In the kitchen later that same night, Monkey and the Five (sans Tigress) began to warm up to Po some more after enjoying a bowl of his delicious noodle soup. Monkey and the Five (again sans Tigress) also began laughing when Po ate his soup and ended up having a noodle string on his lip resembling Shifu's mustache, and Monkey responded the greatest when Po began making amusing impressions of the old master. Their enjoyment was cut short when the real Shifu arrived with some bad news: Tai Lung had just escaped from prison, and Oogway was dead. Tigress pleaded with Shifu to let her and the rest of the Five go and stop Tai Lung, but Shifu refused, finally believing that Po was the Dragon Warrior. After it soon became clear that neither Po nor Shifu had any idea how Po would be able to defeat the snow leopard, Tigress decided to go anyway alone, though she was soon pursued by Monkey and the rest of the Five. When Viper stated that they were not trying to stop Tigress, but were coming with her, Monkey gave their team leader the "thumbs-up" in agreement.

After days of travel, Monkey and the Five eventually intercepted Tai Lung at the Thread of Hope, an enormous rope bridge above a bottomless chasm outside the Valley of Peace. Monkey assisted in battle by rescuing Viper after Tai Lung caught her by the throat, and then beat him back along with the rest of the Five. Just when it seemed like they had won, Tai Lung took them by surprise when he soon recovered and struck Monkey with a nerve attack, paralyzing him instantly. Tai Lung proceeded to paralyze the rest of the Five except Crane, who was forced to carry his defeated comrades back to the palace as a message to Shifu and the Dragon Warrior.

Crane managed to carry Monkey and the rest of the Five back to the Jade Palace, where Shifu quickly freed them from paralysis and decided that Po was ready to receive the Dragon Scroll, having succeeded in training him while the Five where absent. Monkey was present when Po opened the scroll, and was surprised along with everyone else when the scroll, the secret to limitless power, was revealed to be blank.

As a last resort, Shifu ordered the Five and Po to evacuate the Valley while Shifu stalled Tai Lung in a battle, which he and everyone else knew would inevitably cost him his life. Shifu and his students gave each one last respectful bow before departing. During the evacuation, Monkey helped a young child find their mother. Later, just as they were all leaving the Valley, Monkey, his comrades and the villagers were surprised to see a rippling explosion in the village. The Five and the villagers returned to investigate and found that Po had succeeded where the Five had failed: he defeated Tai Lung. Amazed at the panda's skill, Tigress led Monkey, the rest of the Five, and the villagers in a respectful bow to Po as a kung fu master.

Kung Fu Panda TV Series
Monkey was eventually forced to contend with his past when Wu Kong began terrorizing the Valley of Peace, with Monkey taking the blame for his crimes due to the evidence implicating a monkey thief that Wu Kong left behind. Though aware of Wu Kong's actions, Monkey felt bound to protect his brother due to the promise he had made to their mother, and thus refused to reveal the truth. However, when Po discovered Wu Kong and was then to be left for dead, Monkey realized that he could not stand idly by while his brother acted in evil, and fought Wu Kong to save Po. Wu Kong then surprised the pair by admitting his guilt, but then reverted to his usual nature by fleeing justice.

Kung Fu Panda 2
Like the rest of the Five, Monkey was first seen cheering on Po, who was trying to fit forty bean buns in his mouth. When Crane slapped Po on the back in congratulations, Monkey was knocked backwards by a multitude of buns.

Later that day, he helped fight off wolf bandits in the Artisan Village, and later helped Po save a pig from falling to his death. When the lead wolf attempted one last assault on Po, Monkey was as surprised as the others when Po froze. After the wolf hit Po in the face with his hammer and fled, Monkey, like the others, was curious as to why Po hesitated.

Some time later, Monkey and his friends learned some sinister news: Master Thundering Rhino has been killed in Gongmen City by a peacock called Lord Shen, and a mysterious weapon which could destroy even kung fu. As the Five and Po left for Gongmen City to combat this threat, the six of them were stopped by Mr. Ping, who had packed things for Po. Monkey laughed when Mr. Ping told (and showed) Po that he had packed Po's action figures.

During the last part of their journey by boat, Monkey and his friends were awoken when they overheard Po and Tigress talking outside the cabin, and stepped outside to give Po emotional support. Their conversation was cut short, however, when they arrived in Gongmen City.

Monkey and his friends attempted to sneak through the city towards Shen's palace by traveling across the rooftops. After a while, they realized that Po was missing, and then were gobsmacked when they spotted the panda attempted to sneak through the streets in a dragon costume. The Five stealthily joined Po inside the costume: Monkey was the first inside, and was accidentally slapped by a startled Po. They soon learned from a sheep they had rescued that Masters Storming Ox and Croc, two kung fu masters who had witnessed Thundering Rhino's death, were still alive and imprisoned in Gongmen Jail. The six were soon spotted by Boss Wolf and his pack, but were able to escape and reach the jail.

When the Five and Po snuck into Gongmen Jail, Monkey volunteered to be on watch for any enemies, and he'd alert them with "crane noises" (which was "Ka-kaw, ki-ki!"), much to Crane's indignation. After three wolves (including Boss Wolf) discovered them (with Monkey giving the signal after they had entered), Monkey and Crane defeated two of the wolves and Boss Wolf fled. The six of them then raced after Boss Wolf through Gongmen City until they were surrounded by an army outside the palace. Po finally surrendered on behalf of the group, much to everybody else's confusion.

The Five and Po were placed in cuffs and led into the palace, where they were placed before Lord Shen himself. After some back and forth banter between Po and Shen, Shen attempted to fire his cannon at the six, but the fuse was put out each time the wolf tried to light it. It was then revealed that Po had placed his Mantis action figure in the cage in place of the real Mantis, and Mantis was the one that kept dousing the fuse. Viper successfully picked the lock on Tigress' cuffs, and then Tigress proceeded to free the others before they destroyed Shen's cannon. Everything went awry, however, when Po froze once again when facing Shen, and the peacock was able to escape the tower. Monkey and the others stared after him, and were horrified to see that he had a multitude of cannons which he proceeded to fire at the tower. Thanks to Tigress' quick thinking, the Five and Po were able to escape and disappear into the city.

Back in Gongmen Jail, Monkey and the others confronted Po over letting Shen get away. When Po refused to tell the truth, Tigress ordered that he stay behind while the Five go after Shen. Po attempted to leave the jail, and Monkey and the others watched in fear as he and Tigress fought. Po was swiftly subdued and finally revealed that Shen knew what had happened to his parents, and then claimed that the "hardcore" (meaning Tigress) couldn't understand. Tigress lunged at Po, seemingly angered. Expecting Tigress to attack Po further, Monkey and the others got a shock when she hugged him instead. However, Tigress made it clear that she did understand and did not want Po to get himself killed, and the Five left without him. When Crane tried to take advantage of Tigress' empathetic moment by asking if she did not want him to get killed and she told him to stop being a wimp, Monkey commented that "she's back".

The Five followed Shen to the Fireworks Factory, quickly plotting to destroy the building and the arsenal of cannons inside by blowing it up with nearby kegs of gunpowder, which they'll roll inside with a wheelbarrow. The Five had done so and had turned to leave before they caught a glimpse of Po battling Shen high up on a ledge. They quickly doused the fuses and were set upon by dozens of wolves. During their struggle, the Five heard a cannon fire above them, and watched in horror as Po was blasted out of the factory seemingly to his death.

Monkey and the rest of the Furious Five were then captured by Shen. The night after the factory battle, Monkey was the first to try to rally the Five after Po's apparent death while the group was chained up, heading for execution as Shen and his armada make their way out of the city. He turned to Tigress for some support, only to see that she had lost all hope.

However, Po returned alive, and while fighting Shen's army, Po tossed up an axe which Monkey grabbed with his tail and broke the chains with. They battled against Shen's army, and were soon joined by Master Shifu, who had arrived from the Valley of Peace, as well as Masters Ox and Croc. Monkey and the other kung fu masters almost won, but were blasted into the Gongmen Harbor by Shen's cannon, leaving them all badly injured. Monkey watched, along with everybody else, watched in shock as Po stood on an upturned boat in the middle of the harbor, and deflected all of Shen's cannonballs.

By the time Shen was killed, Monkey was up on dry land along with the rest of the Five. And when Po emerged out of the water, Monkey was one of the first to hug Po, along with Mantis and Viper. Monkey then happily watched the fireworks along with all of his friends.

Kung Fu Panda 3
Monkey joins Po and the other member of the Furious Five in visiting the noodle shop for lunch just prior to being informed that Po will oversee the Five's training from now on. When Kai launches his first attack on the valley, Monkey and Po both hit upon the name "Jombies"-Jade zombies-for his minions at the same time. He then remained in the valley while Po left with his father Li Shan to visit the Panda village and while Crane and Mantis left to track Kai to his lair. Unfortunately, the latter pair were captured by Kai and became another pair of Jombies, who assisted Kai in capturing Monkey and Viper when he attacked the valley in person. Monkey's Jombie then fought as part of Kai's army in the attack on the Panda village, before eventually being freed after Po mastered his Chi and defeated the evil Spirit Warrior. Monkey, the Pandas, the villagers, and the other Masters then joined in a massive group training session to learn to harness the power of Chi.

Video Games
Monkey is a playable character in the following video games:
 * Kung Fu Panda
 * Kung Fu Panda 2
 * Kung Fu Panda Showdown of Legendary Legends

Quotes

 * “If you beat me, I will go. If not, then it is you who must leave—without your pants!”.
 * — Monkey when confronted by Oogway
 * “We should hang out".
 * — Monkey in Po's dream
 * Tigress: “One would think that Master Oogway would choose someone who actually knew kung fu".
 * Crane: “Yeah, or could at least touch his toes".
 * Monkey: “Or even see his toes".
 * — The Five talking about Po after the Dragon Warrior Tournament
 * Monkey: “At the first sign of trouble, I'll give you a signal. Ka-ka! Kee-kee!”.
 * Po: “You mean like Crane does?”.
 * Monkey: "Yeah!"
 * Crane: “Excuse me? When have I ever make that noise?”.
 * — At Gongmen Jail
 * Monkey: “[to the wolf bandits] Here's your New Year's gift!”.
 * Mantis: “Hope you like it, 'cause you can't return it!”.
 * Tigress: “[looking up in the factory's rafters] Po? What's he doing here?”.
 * Monkey: “RETURN IT! RETURN IT!”.
 * — In the Fireworks Factory
 * Tigress: “[to Po] The hardcore do understand, but I can't watch my friend be killed. [pause] We're going".
 * Crane: “Hey, uh, maybe you can't watch me be killed?”
 * Tigress: “Stop being a wimp".
 * Monkey: “And... she's back".
 * — At Gongmen Jail
 * “We cannot give up hope. Po would want us to remain strong, hardcore. Right, Tigress?”
 * — Monkey trying to encourage the rest of the Five while captured
 * "I thought he was dead".
 * — Monkey talking about one of the Masters in Kung Fu Panda 3

His Mother
Very little is known about Monkey's relationship with his mother. He showed her much love by coming only to her funeral, and keeping a promise to her in his young age.

Wu Kong
Wu Kong is Monkey's older brother. The two would also play pranks with their mother. But after Kong went down to a life of crime, the two didn't get along after that. It was because Kong had shamed his family, and after he fought Monkey their mother die from seeing their fight when Kong came to steal from her.

He then became a skilled thief as he was nicknamed King of Theives.

When Monkey was now a skilled fighter in Kung Fu, Kong returned and caused pranks in the Valley of Peace. He would leave drawings on his victims and fur behind at the scene of the crime. When Po met Kong he mistook him for Monkey as the mammal did the same prank Mobkey did with Po by giving him a butt chalk. When Mr. Ping came the next day with angry mob, Monkey knew it was his brother but stayed quiet about it.

Monkey lied to everyone saying he was the thief and ran off, leaving Po to go after him. At first Po didn't believe it was Monkey and was happy that he was right when he met Kong again.

Inside the mill Monkey wanted to get Wu Kong to leave immediately. Unfortunately, Po tracked them down, and attempted to take Kong in. Monkey defended his brother, leading to a brief skirmish between him and Po that ended in Wu Kong knocking Po unconscious while he was distracted. With the angry mob quickly approaching the mill, Wu Kong prepared to leave, offering to take Monkey with him. When he planted a bag of money next to the unconscious Po with the intent to frame Po for the thefts, Monkey chose doing the right thing over keeping his promise and battled Wu Kong at last.

Wu Kong attempted to distract Monkey by pulling the helpless Po onto a conveyor belt slowly dragging him towards a pair of grinding stones, making the battle more difficult, but eventually ended up falling towards the grinding stones along with the panda. Monkey barely managed to save them both, only for a chain attached to his foot during the fight to get caught in the grinding stones, threatening to drag Monkey to his death. With Po desperately trying to save his friend after regaining consciousness, Wu Kong prepared to escape.

However, seeing his little brother facing certain death caused him to rush back and grab his brother just as he was falling towards the stones. Unfortunately the force of the stones pulling on the chain caused Wu Kong to lose his grip, but Po managed to save them both and carry them out the mill before the building collapsed. When the mob confronted Monkey again, Wu Kong revealed himself as the true culprit before striking Po and Monkey down and making his escape. At the end of the episode, Wu Kong was seen at Peach Tree Hill, looking out over the village before departing.

Due to Wu Kong escaping Monkey and Po were force to re piant the rebuilt Mill building.

Oogway
When Master Oogway was summoned to get rid of Monkey, Monkey was surprised by this new foe, as all the previous warriors were far more fearsome looking. Still, Monkey was confident that he would defeat the tortoise. But since Oogway didn't wear any pants, he was a match for Monkey as he avoided his speedy tricks and mischievous pranks. When Monkey was about to be crushed by a falling beam, Oogway pulled him out of the way, surprising Monkey with his compassion. When asked why he had saved him, Oogway gently told Monkey that between his mischief and great skill, he sensed great pain from his youth. This brought Monkey to tears, and he turned to leave the village as per their agreement. Oogway stopped him and assured him that he should stay and use his compassion to help others who didn't give it to him, therefore Oogway taught him a great lesson in dignity and compassion.

Po Ping
These two appear to enjoy having a good laugh with one another. When Monkey was hypnotized by Scorpion into destroying Po, the panda managed to snap him out of it by making him remember their friendship. However, Monkey has more than been landed on by the accident prone panda.

Monkey and Po have also invented "dizzy kung fu" together. The two make themselves dizzy by spinning at a great speed in the Training Hall's jade turtle, and then try to fight each other. Po claimed it to be "the best idea they've ever had".

Monkey even refers to Po as his family by calling him "bro".

Mantis
He and Mantis get along to the point that Mantis rides on Monkey's shoulder.

Shifu
As Shifu's student, Monkey greatly respects his master and follows his teachings to the letter.

The Furious Five
Monkey appears to be the jokester of the Five and he gets along well with them most of the time, but also tries to trick them from time to time. This is shown when he tried to get Tigress to shake his hand rigged with a joy buzzer.

Mr. Ping
Like Po, Monkey also can't stand how the goose enjoys noodles instead of Kung Fu. Even to the point of hearing boring stories of noodle makers that don't do Kung Fu because the story lacks action and excitement from his perspective. When he and Po were fighting bandits in the noodle shop Monkey and Po accidentally destroyed the place which made Ping live in the Jade Palace. Monkey was force like Po and the others to help serve noodles in the Palace, however Monkey along Shifu and the five couldn't bring themselves to ask Ping to leave. So Po did it for them by telling Ping to leave as he and the others heard this conversation by eavesdropping as the conversation was in Po's room. After Ping left Monkey helped everyone re make a new noodle shop for Ping as an apology.

Knownable Relatives

 * Monkey's Mother (Dead)
 * Wu Kong (Older Brother)
 * Po Ping (Surrogate Brother & Best Friend)

Trivia

 * Monkey is one of three animals of the Furious Five to resemble Chinese zodiacs, the others being Tigress and Viper.
 * Monkey enjoys almond cookies, and hides them on the top shelf of the Jade Palace kitchen.
 * Monkey's battle weakness is revealed to be his tail. Similar to Kid Goku in Dragon Ball.
 * Monkey's voice actor Jackie Chan is also a Kung fu master.
 * In Kung Fu Panda 3, the Chinese voiceover for Monkey is provided by pop singer Jay Chou, who also sings the theme song for the film.

Voice Actors
all information on Monkey came from http://kungfupanda.wikia.com/wiki/Monkey
 * Japanese : Hiroya Ishimaru (Films & Shorts), Kosuke Goto (TV Series)
 * English : Jackie Chan (Films, Christmas Short & 1 Video Game), James Sie (TV Series & Video Games)