| “ | Birds are so arrogant. Always flying away at the first sign of danger. Nobody is flying anywhere. Tonight, you're going out with a whimper. | „ |
| ~ Banzou speaking to Peng, his final line before his death. |
Banzou is the main antagonist of the 2018 Netflix animated film Duck Duck Goose. He is an evil Pallas's cat who resides in China. A feature that distinguished him is that he has a dual personality, and is able to alternate between them with the opening of one of his eyes. He is also Peng's arch-nemesis.
He was voiced by Greg Proops, who also voiced the Brain from Skylanders: Imaginators.
History
Banzou is first seen in the trees, spying on Chao and Chi. He waits until night to try and catch them. When the two ducklings attempt to escape the pipe, he scares them and pursues them as they run away. During the chase, he runs into Peng. Though his less villainous side of his personality is at first scared of Peng, his more malicious side of his personality does not hesitate to attack him. However, Peng is able to fly, and Banzou falls into the lake. As Banzou swears revenge, he is swallowed by a fish.
However, he later emerges out of the lake, spitting out the bones of the fish that swallowed him. He interrogates Larry the turtle, to find out where Peng is in order to get revenge. After a few seconds, he gets out of Larry that Peng cannot fly at the moment, and is walking with the two ducklings, Chao and Chi, then sets off after them.
Much later, in a thunderstorm at night, he follows their path to terraces where rice is grown. His more malicious half states that the atmosphere is "positively electric". This jinxes Banzou when a bolt of lightning strikes him.
Nonetheless, he appears at a chicken coop that Peng, Chao, and Chi stayed in during the boisterous storm. The three already left, but he interrogates the chickens there, threatening to eat one of the eggs, until the rooster Stanley tells him the direction that they went after Banzou menacingly asks him.
It is not long after that he chases them across a dirt road, with them in a truck with a trunk full of pigs. The goose and the two ducklings are able to give him the slip when some of the pigs land on Banzou.
When Peng and Chi find Chao in a cave, Banzou once again encounters them, when his shadow is cast on the cave wall. He chases them through the cave, but they find the exit, and rocks fall on Banzou. A little later, he almost emerges, but the rocks give way, and fall on him again.
Banzou's final encounter occurs when he catches Chao and Chi in a Chinese town. When Peng goes to find them, he finds Banzou in an alley holding both of them in his two paws attempting to eat them. Peng gets them away, but near a frozen lake, Banzou prepares to finish Peng off and sadistically says he will take care of the two ducklings once he's dead. But Peng breaks through the ice to sacrifice himself to save them and prevents Banzou from harming the ducklings, but Banzou pulls Peng with him under. Luckily, Chao and Chi rescue Peng. Banzou then comes out of the water, shivering from the cold. Peng asks Banzou why he will not leave them alone, and Banzou tells them that it is because he finds birds arrogant for flying away from danger. When Banzou's malicious side says that they will go out with a whimper, Chao and Chi tie his tail to some fireworks, telling him that he will instead go out with a bang, and they light the fireworks. Banzou yells "no" repeatedly before he rockets into the sky with both eyes open. He flies off to his demise, and the fireworks' explosion forms his face.
Appearance
Banzou is very large, bulky, and fluffy. He has dark gray fur, with a white furred snout and underbelly, along with on the tip of his paws. He has black fur on the tip of his large tail. He has frizzy fur along his face, with stripes that run along the top parts. His less villainous side of his personality is represented by his left eye opened, which is an amber-ish yellow in color and has a black pupil. The more villainous side of his personality is represented by his right eye being open, which is bright red in color, and has no pupil.
Personality
The fact that is Banzou pursued Peng, Chao, and Chi across China proves that he is not just an animal trying to survive. He even seemed to take pleasure in the idea of killing them, and what he says to Peng in the town shows that he has a grudge against birds and he wants vengeance for what they do: Flying away so he can not catch them. He seemed as if he would use almost any means but possible to attain his goals. His right eye side is even more malicious and villainous than whenever his left eye is open. This shows that he has a dissociative personality.
Trivia
- Banzou's voice is also different when utilizing one side of his personality. His yellow eye voice is normal, and his red eye voice is raspy.
- In real life, cats will hunt birds simply out of "sport". Feral cats have caused extinction in most bird species.
- His name means "accompaniment" in Mandarin Chinese. This meaning probably relates to his split personality as they both accompany each other.
- He is never referred to by his name in the film.
- Banzou is a rare villain who doesn't fall, but rise, to his death, and the fireworks resembling his face seals the deal.
- Banzou's death is similar to that of Shan Yu in Mulan. This is coincidental as both films are set in China.