Mark Osborne and John Stevenson's computer animated comedy does exactly what it says on the tin, spinning a familiar story of triumph against the odds around a rotund bear with a passion for martial arts.
Jack Black is perfectly cast as the voice of the eponymous guzzler, who sees himself as "a legendary warrior whose fighting skills were the stuff of legend".
"He was so deadly, his enemies would go blind from his awesomeness!" adds the bear in a h
ilarious opening monologue, complete with two-dimensional animation, to tip us off that the portly protagonist has a febrile imagination to match his considerable girth.
Big is beautiful in Kung Fu Panda, the best family-orientated offering from DreamWorks Animation since box office smash Shrek.
Colourful visuals and excellent performances, including Dustin Hoffman as an acerbic mentor, guarantee a lively 92 minutes of low blows and last gasp victories, disproving one naysayer who sneers "that flabby panda cannot possibly be the answer to our problems".
He's definitely the answer for parents who need to keep pint-sized charges amused this weekend. Po (voiced by Black) has a passion for kung fu, though no natural ability. Instead, he is destined to inherit the family shop run by his long-suffering father, Mr Ping (James Wong).
Unthinkably, local sensei Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim) anoints Po as the next Dragon Warrior, who must protect the village from the threat of escaped prisoner
Tai Lung (Ian McShane).
Oogway's choice of successor stuns his protégé Shifu (Hoffman) and loyal students Crane (David Cross), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Tigress (Angelina Jolie) and Viper (Lucy Liu), better known as The Furious Five.
These fighting masters feel certain that Oogway should have chosen one of them instead and wait patiently for Po to fall by the wayside.
Under the tutelage of a despairing Shifu, Po aims to meet his potential – as long as he can keep his paws off the temple's stash of cookies.
Kung Fu Panda wins us over instantly with its lovable characters and affection for martial arts clichés as the overweight hero discovers his inner strength somewhere within that growling belly.
With lots of heart and a profusion of broad humour, Osborne and Stevenson's film gently promotes Mr Ping's mantra that "to make something special, you just have to believe something is special".
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