Kung Fu-n

Rating: 8/10 (30 June 2008)

Jack Black is on form with his latest outing 'Kung-Fu Panda' a funny and excellently animated tale of dreams, ambition, self belief and of course Kung-Fu. Po is a panda stuck in his job at his dads noodle shop but as he cooks and serves he secretly dreams of being a Kung-Fu master and part of crack fighting force 'The furious five'. Trained by Shifu the five are being groomed so one will become the Dragon master and protect the village from the wrath of the evil Tai Lung and in a hilarious set up that task falls to the reluctant Po. Cue comedy training scenes and 'Karate Kid' style balances on one leg as the clumsy and unfit Po tries to become the ultimate fighting force. With an all star cast of voice talent here, Black, Hoffman, Jolie and Chan to name but a few, the characters are instantly likable, but what sets this film apart is really the animation which is simply stunning and often uses matrix style slow motion to great effect as the camera whirls you round a fight scene that just stays the right side of not making you dizzy. The story despite being heavy on the morale of believing in yourself and you can do anything rhetoric is a strong one and the script is full of great jokes. Add to this some fun slapstick and it should have the adults laughing along with the kids. To quote Po 'there is no charge for awesomeness' well the price of a cinema ticket anyway, but I assure you its well worth it.