Toon panda finds its mojo with all ages

There's no cuter member of the animal kingdom, so why has he taken so long to land a starring role in Hollywood? Truth is, we like our cartoons to be the less attractive eccentrics, like mice and rats.

But in Kung Fu Panda, Jack Black's panda isn't cuddly; he's an overweight dreamer who puts the giant in giant panda.

The adaptation of such a delicate creature to the summer blockbuster habitat could have created a bloated bore of a film. But Kung Fu Panda is surprisingly fun and light. It's also easily the best DreamWorks animation film yet, surpassing the look of Madagascar and Shrek and close to Pixar's level.

Kung Fu Panda begins with a stylish, brilliantly coloured dream in which Po (Black) imagines he's part of the Furious Five, a group of elite kung fu fighters. They're a Noah's Ark of warriors: Angelina Jolie is Tigress (who looks a bit like Tony the Tiger's sister); Seth Rogen is Mantis, an insect whose skills exceed his size; David Cross is the bird Crane; Lucy Liu is the snake Viper; and Jackie Chan is Monkey, whose species you can guess.

But when Po wakes up, he's far from their ranks and can't even conquer a flight of stairs. He's the son of a noodle shop owner, a goose voiced by James Hong. How a bird fathered a panda is genealogy jokingly alluded to in the film, but never resolved.

"I don't dream about noodles, Dad," Po says. "I love kung fu."

The Furious Five are led by the Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) whose own guru, the turtle Oogway (Randall Duk Kim), fears their nemesis Tai Lung (Ian McShane) will return and destroy their Chinese valley. All Oogway wants, like Loretta Lynn, is peace in the valley.

To defend them, Oogway must find the "Dragon Warrior" to fulfil an ancient prophecy. As you might guess, Po is unexpectedly thrust into the role despite any evidence of talent, and the movie is essentially about whether he can live up to this destiny.

The elaborate fight sequences (a memorable one is with chop sticks) are as inventive as anything in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but the film scores on comedy, with deadpan looks and perfect pauses.

Co-directors Josh Stevenson and Mark Osborne, both animation vets helming a major film for the first time, ensure the comic timing is exact and their cartoon creations have well-animated eyes. The right eye-roll (there are many) always trumps a punchline. The voice work is good, particularly from Black, McShane and Hoffman. Jolie is entirely forgettable, but it's a sign of success that the A-listers recede as the movie rolls. As summer movies get bigger, the audience feel smaller. The bright Kung Fu Panda is a simple and lighthearted exception.


The numbers

$80m: Opening weekend revenues worldwide for Kung-Fu Panda, which was released on June 6 in international markets.

$60m: The film's US domestic box-office revenue in its first weekend, according to boxofficemojo.com.

$200m: Expected minimum total worldwide gross for Kung-Fu Panda.