Kung Fu Panda is the latest offering from the animation wing at Dreamworks studios, who in the past brought us the likes of "Shrek" and last year's "Bee Movie." "Panda" steers clear of the pop-culture references that permeated those other animated tales in favor of a more traditional story this time around with a lovable flawed character at it's center. Jack Black's Po, a Kung Fu loving Panda in the Valley of Peace, is part Curly Howard, Spanky McFarland and Elmer Fudd all wrapped up in a fuzzy Panda Bear costume, albeit a digital one. The animation is at times breathtaking, coupled with a sweeping music score by John Powell and Hans Zimmer, but at the core of the film lies a touching and funny performance by it's star, Black. Jack Black is no stranger to animation, having voiced Lenny in 2004's "Shark Tale," but he's grown as an actor since then and his Po stirs both pathos and belly-laughs (quite literally). Po works in his father's noodle shop, Mr. Ping (voiced by the prolific Asian actor James Hong) but all the while dreams of his heroes "the furious five," a collection of Kung Fu warriors voiced by the likes of Angelina Jolie and Jackie Chan to name a few. After a hilarious hi jinks accident, Po is mistakenly chosen as the "Dragon Warrior," and is enlisted to battle the film's bad guy, the dreaded Tai Lung. A fallen hero in the body of a white tiger with an axe to grind, Tai Lung is voiced ferociously by English actor, Ian McShane. Po of course has no formal martial arts training, but with the help of Dustin Hoffman's Shifu, a "Jedi-like" master, Po is trained in the ways of the great warriors. Po's journey is a touching one. He doubts himself at first as does master Shifu, but when Po's stop-at-nothing penchant for finding food is discovered, the old master finds the key to training this most unlikely of warriors. The martial arts fighting sequences are often reminiscent of the old Warner Brother's cartoons, where no one gets hurt when falling great distances and suffering such violent brawling, but it's all for laughs and completely harmless. And laughs are frequent and genuine thanks to Po's narcissism and self-doubt and just being so darn lovable. Black finds funny little asides that are animated quite realistically by a team of animators listed at the films end who all deserve credit for the final performance. The relationship between Hoffman's Shifu, Hong's Mr. Ping and Po respectfully, is completely believable and often touching. Po is completely honest in his own way, and his constant efforts to please make him all the more likable. With fine direction by animators-turned directors, John Stevenson and Mark Osborne, Panda paints a broad portrait in beautiful wide-screen of an ancient Chinese world inhabited entirely by animals prevalent in Asian culture. Even it's closing credits are beautifuly animated all to the sounds of 1974s "Kung Fu Fighting," sung here by Cee-Lo Green and Jack Black. Written by a team of writers with backgrounds in TVs "King of the Hill" and martial arts films like "Bulletproof Monk," it's story may seem simplistic and not one hundred percent original, but it takes you in hook, line and sinker thanks to charming and credible performances by it's stars. I found myself laughing hardily throughout right along with the dozens of kids-of-all-ages who also found it's title character irresistible.
