Kung Fu Panda

Jack Black is hilarious. It's as simple as that. His shtick may get old in some settings, but when he's got a setting to twist it a little bit from his worn out Tenacious D persona I find him extremely entertaining, and Kung Fu Panda does a great job of channeling his energy into a clumsy, kung-fu-obsessed noodle soup chef-apprentice.

Dreamworks Animation has a somewhat checkered history. Where Pixar seems to create unique characters, Dreamworks trades almost exclusively on translating a recognizable actor into some type of animal -- Mike Meyers in Shrek, Will Smith in Shark Tale, Seinfeld in Bee Movie -- and quite frankly those were all pretty useless. But when they hit the mark, as with Jack Black, or Woody Allen in the hysterical Antz, it's a joy to watch.

The animation easily outdoes all their earlier attempts, with fantastic fog-shrouded and exagerated oriental landscapes and beautiful creature design. I would be happy to watch the movie with the sound off for the facial expressions alone, although the brilliant casting choices of Black, Dustin Hoffman, and James Hong would make that a shame. The choreography of the fight scenes is wild, and quite creative. The story is good, if not too surprising, and the ending has a very satisfying zen aspect to it. Great for kids, but also fine fare for those who are fans of the new breed of animated film like Emperor's New Groove that are designed to appeal to adults as well.