He's more than a talking cute panda, seriously

Rating: 8/10 (7 June 2008)

Outside the "Shrek" franchise, Dreamworks Animation didn't really have much in the way of memorable animated films (even "Shrek the Third" fell into the traps of mediocrity). And while its latest product "Kung Fu Panda" doesn't introduce a groundbreaking chapter in the history of animation, this animated film directed by Mark Osborne and John Stevenson provides a solid entertaining hour and a half.
Set in a fictional ancient China populated by animals, there's Po the Panda (voiced by Jack Black), a die-hard kung fu aficionado who works in his father's (whose being a goose is never really explained) noodle shop. He dreams of one day seeing the temple head monk Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim) crown one of kung fu master Shifu's (Dustin Hoffman) apprentices - Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Snake (Lucy Liu), Crane (David Cross), and Mantis (Seth Rogen) - as the Dragon Warrior to stop prison escapee Tia Lung (Ian McShane) in his quest to lay waste their land in quest for greatness. A series of events lead to Po being chosen as the Dragon Warrior, much to the chagrin of the apprentices and the frustration of Shifu, who's now tasked to train Po to fight Tia Lung, which seems an impossible task considering the Panda can't even bend to see his toes.
Where the story's headed is pretty much obvious with all the trappings of kung fu and sports movies. But its message doesn't come across as mawkishly sentimental and its humorous and light tone keep the proceedings fluid and at ease. The animation is competent and nicely rendered. Also, at 90 minutes, it also doesn't overstay its welcome.
The voice cast is commendable, particularly with Black and Hoffman. Black perfectly provides a comedic geeky quality to kung fu-obsessed Po while Hoffman lends an authoritative facet to Shifu. Chan, Jolie, and Rogen don't have much speaking parts and are only there perhaps for the star value, since anyone else could have performed their parts.
I would have to admit that I didn't expect much of "Kung Fu Panda" since haven't we all had enough of animated talking animals. And maybe that worked for it since the film delivers the laughs and the cuteness in a much needed respite from a grueling work week.