Grand Master Oogway from Kung Fu Panda
Grand Master Oogway was an elderly tortoise and the previous senior master of the Jade Palace.[1] In the film's fictional universe, he is the founder of kung fu itself.
Not much is revealed about Grand Master Oogway's past life, although in one of the Kung Fu Panda Legends of Awesomeness episodes it is revealed that the Jade Palace was built to honor him. However, it is implied that he was probably full of questions as a youth, which led to his departure from his home in the Galápagos Islands on a journey of discovery almost a thousand years ago, traveling all around the world and visiting every country until he arrived in China. Grand Master Oogway stood on a hill overlooking the land that would later become known as the Valley of Peace and knew that he had found the place he would call home for the rest of his life.
Highly venerated for his wisdom, knowledge and experience, Oogway was considered to be a sage. It is also apparent that he seemed to be reckoned as a god in the art of Kung Fu, as he was greatly respected by Shifu, the Furious Five, Po, the entire Valley of Peace, and all of China. He is wise and possesses considerable physical skill. He is the only one that Tai Lung could not defeat, instantly paralyzing him. His selection of Po as the Dragon Warrior was strongly doubted by all, especially Po himself, but he stood by his decision, which proved to be the correct one. After convincing Shifu to train Po, Oogway ascended to the Heavens in the midst of dozens of peach blossom petals floating away in the cold night breeze as he disappeared. Among all the proverbs he recites, his most recurring is "There are no accidents."
He makes a cameo in the second film's opening, in place of the moon boy in the DreamWorks logo, and during a flashback wherein Po recounts all the major happenings of his life, including the day he was chosen as the Dragon Warrior. In the accompanying film Secrets of the Masters, it is revealed that Oogway was responsible for uniting the masters Thundering Rhino, Storming Ox, and Croc for the first time. After observing the trio as dishonorable streetfighters and learning of the return of the evil Wu Sisters, Oogway led them on a quest to defeat the villains, leading to the trio's reformation and their part in forming the Masters Council.
More of Grand Master Oogway's past was revealed in Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness. It was shown that Grand Master Oogway broke the Valley of Peace's citizens from Scorpion's hypnosis, fended off his former student Fenghuang, saved the valley from evil demons and their leader Ke-Pa, chose Shifu to run the Jade Palace instead of Junjie, and imprisoned Master Ding in Mugu Mountain after separating him from his Spirit Orbs. In "Ghost of Oogway," Junjie assumed the form of Oogway to trick Po and the Furious Five into letting their guard down. Shifu later assumed the form of the ghost of Grand Master Oogway to fool Junjie. Following Junjie's defeat, Shifu stated to Po that he knew Junjie was impersonating Grand Master Oogway because the real Grand Master Oogway never said "awesome." In the episode's final scene, it was shown that the real ghost of Grand Master Oogway was watching the battle from the peach tree and stated "awesome" before ascending back to the heavens.
"Oogway" is the English approximation of the Chinese word for "turtle" (simplified Chinese: 乌龟; traditional Chinese: 烏龜; pinyin: wūguī).
Quotes·Quotations by Oogway
Today
¶ Panda: How is Shifu ever going to turn me into the Dragon Warrior? I mean, I'm not like the five. I've got no claws, no wings, no venom. Even mantis has those thingies. Maybe I should just quit and go back to making noodles.
Oogway,: Quit. Don't quit. Noodles. Don't noodles. You are too concerned with what was and what will be. There's a saying. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called a "present".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Kung_Fu_Panda_characters