Po, a giant panda, is a kung fu fanatic, helps his goose adoptive father Mr. Ping in his noodle restaurant, Po is unable to pursue his dream of becoming a kung fu master himself.

Desperate to see the Dragon Warrior chosen, Po straps himself to a set of fireworks, rockets into the sky, and crashes into the middle of the arena and opens his eyes to see Oogway pointing his finger at him. To the audience's surprise. Oogway proclaims Po as the Dragon Warrior.

Shifu tries to get rid of Po by ridiculing him into quitting kung fu training coupled with a torturous training regime.Meanwhile, Tai Lung escapes from prison as foreseen by Oogway.

Shifu, however, using food as positive reinforcement, successfully trains Po to incorporate these feats into an effective kung fu style. Po is ready to receive the Dragon Scroll, but the scroll reveals nothing but a blank reflective surface.

As Tai Lung arrives and fights Shifu, Po realized that the long-withheld secret ingredient to his famous "secret ingredient soup" is "nothing", explaining that things become special if they are believed to be.

Eventually, Po defeats Tai Lung in combat before using the mysterious Wuxi Finger Hold to finish him off once and for all. Po is praised by the Valley of Peace and earns the respect of all the Furious Five, who fully acknowledge him as a true kung fu master.