DreamWorks Pictures’ newest animated epic, “Kung Fu Panda,”
is the culmination of everything truly great about children’s movies. The film
tells the story of Po (Jack Black), a chubby, kung-fu
obsessed panda who is chosen as the Dragon Warrior and must save his Chinese
Valley of Peace from Tai Lung,
the snow leopard super villain who
recently escaped from the maximum-security prison specifically designed to
contain him. This is all, of course, much to the chagrin of Po’s
father, who comes from a long lineage of noodle-making geese and believes his
son should follow suit — “Broth runs through our veins!”

Everyone is shocked when Po is
bizarrely named the Chosen One by turtle guru Master Oogway, including Po’s
new instructor Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) and his elite students. But Oogway stands
by his decision, reminding his apprentice that there are no accidents as he
disinigrates in an angelic cloud of peach blossoms. So Shifu eventually embraces
Po, realizing that the valley’s only hope is this big
klutzy bear, and begins teaching him with the only incentive to which Po
really responds: food. (Cue “Rocky”-esque training sequence with dumplings.)

Yes, with a star-studded cast (including everyone from
action-adventure bombshells Angelina Jolie and Lucy Liu to funnymen Black and
Seth Rogen, and even featuring classic kung-fu hero Jackie Chan), humor that
big kids can appreciate and top-notch animation, “Kung Fu Panda” is easily the
best movie of its genre since 2001’s “Shrek.” June 6.