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'Kung Fu Panda'

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BY RAFER GUZMÁN | rafer.guzman@newsday.com

June 6, 2008

PLOT

A tubby panda becomes the unlikely choice to battle a martial arts supervillain.

CAST

Voices of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan

LENGTH 1:32

PLAYING AT Area theaters

BOTTOM LINE This is well-worn territory, from the cuddly slapstick to the Chinese wisdom, but the movie redeems itself with some surprisingly smart and tender moments.

DreamWorks Animation, the studio behind hip-and-edgy cartoons such as "Shrek" and "Antz," may not like to hear this, but there's something old-fashioned about its latest feature. That's a good thing: Instead of tweener slang and current pop-culture snark, "Kung Fu Panda" has a big, soft, Disney-shaped heart. It may not be a classic, but it's refreshingly timeless.

The hero of the story is an overweight panda named Po, voiced like an excitable grade-schooler by Jack Black. In his dreams, he's a kung-fu whirlwind, but in reality he slings noodles in his father's restaurant. As it happens, his father is a goose (affectionately voiced by James Hong), a fact Po doesn't quite pick up on - but we do, and it lends their relationship a comic poignancy.

When news comes that the evil snow leopard Tai Lung ( Ian McShane) is heading for the village, the local wise man (er, turtle) must anoint a Dragon Warrior to vanquish the villain. But instead of choosing one of the legendary Furious Five - such as Tigress (Angelina Jolie) or Monkey (Jackie Chan) or Viper ( Lucy Liu) - he hands the title to Po. Can the chunky, clumsy panda rise to the occasion? And, perhaps, overcome that eating problem?

Directors John Stevenson and Mark Osborne do well at action (an escape from a stone prison in mid-crumble is great fun), even if some of the slapstick feels lukewarm. The Furious Five, despite their A-list casting, never develop into worthwhile characters. The best moments come from Master Shifu, the aging but agile instructor voiced by Dustin Hoffman, whose curmudgeonly charm brightens up the dull spots.

Remarkably, this is one martial-arts movie whose cryptic koans may actually contain wisdom. Stay through the credits for a brief, touching moment involving a peach, a panda and a symbol of growth.