The movie's unlikely hero is a roly-poly panda named Po, voiced by Jack Black. Po is a kung-fu fanatic who daydreams of being a great warrior. His father, a goose (voiced by the ageless character actor James Hong), sees Po's destiny as taking over the family noodle business.
Kung-fu master Oogway (voiced by Randall Duk Kim) declares it's time to choose a Dragon Warrior, destined to protect the Valley of Peace. The villagers assume one of the warriors known as the Furious 5 - Tigress (voice of Angelina Jolie), Monkey (voice of Jackie Chan), Viper (voice of Lucy Liu), Mantis (voice of Seth Rogen) and Crane (voice of David Cross) - will be picked. Instead, Oogway chooses Po.
It falls upon the Furious 5's kung-fu master, the rodent Shifu (voice of Dustin Hoffman), to train the novice fighter before the villainous leopard Tai Lung (voice of Ian McShane) returns to the valley. Shifu first tries to work Po so hard that the panda will quit, but slowly a bond grows between the doubting master and the energetic student.
Co-directors Mark Osborne (whose gorgeous 1998 stop-motion short "More" was an Oscar nominee) and John Stevenson (a veteran storyboard artist) mix Black's good humor with breathtaking animated martial-arts sequences. The movie's sumptuous look - produced by a crew led by production designer Raymond Zibach and art director Tang K. Heng - is as natural as anything in a DreamWorks animated film.
The voice cast is excellent here, and for a change, picking big-name stars pays off. Black, all overamped bravado and childlike excitement, is a perfect actor to give this eager panda his voice. He's well-matched by Hoffman, who gives the diminutive Shifu a brooding soul and a sage humor. Together, they give "Kung Fu Panda" an added kick.
---
* SEAN P. MEANS can be reached at movies@sltrib.com or 801-257-8602. Send comments about this review to livingeditor@sltrib.com.
Kung Fu Panda
* WHERE: Theaters everywhere.
* WHEN: Opens today.
* RATING: PG for sequences of martial-arts action.
* RUNNING TIME: 88 minutes.
* BOTTOM LINE: An unlikely hero learns his destiny in this funny and fast-paced martial-arts adventure.
