Kung Fu Panda

I now have a fear of walking past any little kid that has seen "Kung Fu Panda" as they may try to kill me with their newly developed kung fu skills. In response, I'll simply say, "Hey, I'm the Dragon Warrior!" They will understand and move on without hurting me. It's for that fact alone, not to mention that it's pretty good, that you should see "Kung Fu Panda" too.

Po the panda (voiced by Jack Black) longs to be a kung fu master but, in reality, is overweight and out of shape. He sleeps as long as possible and is bored working for his dad (oddly enough, a duck) in their noodle restaurant. Meanwhile, the Furious Five, a group of true martial arts experts, prepare to be deemed the Dragon Warrior in order to face the menacing Tai Lung, a bad guy who has escaped from his prison.

Through a series of events, and much to the dismay of the Furious Five and their master, Po "accidentally" is named the Dragon Warrior. We are reminded throughout the story though that there are no accidents. Po trains to become the Dragon Warrior, but is plagued just as much from the disdain of the others as he is challenged by his weight issue.

The story is cute, funny, and surprisingly touching at times. The folks at Dreamworks seem to have broken the Pixar code in making both an amazing movie to look at while matching it with solid storytelling. While it felt longer than 90 minutes, "Kung Fu Panda" is the first movie I've been to in a long time where the audience applauded at the end. A good balance for old and young, you won't be disappointed. I give it an A.

"Kung Fu Panda" is rated PG with a running time of 88 minutes.