I am not a fat panda ...I'm THE fat panda. Very close to great, but with a few minor quibbles.

Rating: 8/10 (3 January 2009)

Po dreams of a life of action where his Kung Fu skills are so awesome that they blind his opponents with their awesomeness, however during the day in his waking hours he is a mere waiter at a noodle restaurant, with his father is on the verge of telling him the secret ingredient to his famous noodle soup. However, after the legendary Kung Fu master Oogway has a vision that the Kung Fu criminal Tai Lung, is about to escape, a ceremony is held to find the new DRAGON WARRIOR! Desperate to see the outcome Panda crashes the ceremony and is inadvertently picked to become the dragon warrior of legend. However due to the fact that he knows no Kung Fu and is only successful in getting his butt kicked, it seems there is little chance of him saving the Dragon Scroll from falling into Tai Lung's hands.
This is a skillfully crafted movie that is very funny, touching in parts, and beautifully made. The performance from Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman and Ian McShane are all first rate and they, along with Randall Duk Kim as the awesome Master Oogway are first rate. The supporting cast of David Cross, Seth Rogen, Jackie Chan and Lucy Lui have little to do in their roles, but do it well, with Rogen yet again getting the best out of the little screen time he has. Angelina Jolie for me is the only disappointment in the film as she clearly does not have a voice that lends itself well to animation. The moments of action and tension are impeccable with a sense of danger that, for me, is more real than anything in "The Incredibles", with the two big stand-out scenes being the bridge showdown and the "You are free to eat" sequence which is clever, moving and performed with a real sense of panache by both the voice artists and the animators. The score is also brilliant and in depth and tone is very much like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" in it's subtleties and complexity.
Another thing that this film does not suffer from and is a problem in a number of other fight movies is that thing were a bad guy appears awesome earlier in the film, then goes cr*p right before the end fight, leading to an easy win for their opponent, like in "The Forbidden Kingdom". In this film, we understand how the fight goes the way it does as it is clear from everything that has gone before why things move the way they do in the universe.
Sadly with Wall-E Pixar have not just raised the bar but placed it on a skyscraper which then makes a film like this seem, well, mediocre, when in truth, it's not. This is a well-written and superbly directed film that is worthy of the high marks it is getting on this board.
Although it is my second favourite animated film of the year, there is nothing about it that is second rate.
You are free to enjoy the film.