Kung Fu Panda began as a DreamWorks animated film in 2008, following Po, an unlikely panda who trains to become the Dragon Warrior, and it grew into a long-running franchise of sequels, television series and games. Short clips from the films spread widely on soundboards, social video and meme pages, where their humour and instantly recognisable characters made them easy shorthand for confidence, training and unexpected success. The franchise remains popular because its mix of martial-arts action and comedy still appeals to both children and adults.