Kung Fu Panda

During the last Jack Black flick I saw in the theater (Be Kind Rewind), I dozed off for approximately 2/3 of the film and awoke to discover that I missed nothing. Don't get me wrong, I like the Jackster, but something about his last few roles just seemed a little...off. But when Black taps into his lazy but loveable comedic stylings under the guise of a squishy CGI panda suit, one thing becomes clear: In Kung Fu Panda, Jack Black is back.

I'd be devastated if a film with a name like Kung Fu Panda didn't turn out as amazing as it sounds, and luckily Dreamworks got it right. In the movie we meet Po, a rotund and clumsy panda who spends his days slaving away in his father's shop. Not content with the idea of being a noodle-slinger for the rest of his life, Po's chubby little heart leaps up when he finds out the famed kung fu master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim) is announcing a new Dragon Warrior. Through a bizarre twist of fate (and an arsenal of fireworks strapped to a chair as a makeshift rocket) Po is declared Dragon Warrior, much to the Furious Five's dismay. After his new master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) and the Furious Five clobber him in training, they can't understand why his spirits aren't broken when most of his bones surely are. But is his iron will alone enough to defeat Tai Lung (Ian McShane), the deadliest kung fu foe on Earth? If dumplings are involved, it's a distinct possibility.