****
KUNG FU PANDA (PG)
Action-packed animated comedy
ONE of the problems I find with DreamWorks is that they seem to be going downhill lately with Shrek The Third and the truly awful Bee Movie. But with Kung Fu Panda, they've kicked back to the top.
This film has a great plot, great laugh-out-loud moments and action-packed scenes. It's cast boasts louder than a lot of films I've seen this year.
Po is a fat, lazy panda, who works in his father's noodle shop, but one day dreams of being a kung fu master. And to everyone's immediate surprise (including Po's), he is chosen to be the ultimate saviour of the Valley of Peace: The Dragon Warrior.
Master Shifu and the Furious Five (Tigress, Monkey, Crane, Mantis and Viper) are suddenly in charge of training Po as the evil warrior Tai Lung escapes from a maximum security prison, and is on his way to destroy everything.
The film is rendered in the best computer graphics I've seen from DreamWorks yet and the characters are great too. Dustin Hoffman is perfect as Shifu, while Ian McShane does sterling work as Tai Lung. Also Angelina Jolie does great as Tigress, David Cross as Crane, Seth Rogen as Mantis, Jackie Chan as Monkey and Lucy Lui as Viper. However, Tigress could have stepped back a bit and stopped hogging all the credit. However, the film would have been an exception for five stars if it hadn't been for one thing. Jack Black wasn't himself. For fans of his maniac performence in School of Rock (2003), they could be disappointed.
However this film ties with Horton Hears A Who as the best animation so far this year, but will WALL-E be better? We just have to wait and see but this is fantastic. But if you don't like the movie, just wait for the Shifu and Tai Lung at the end. It's a must-see.