Doing the ‘Kung Fu’ hustle

‘Kung Fu Panda’
Directors: Mark Osborne, John Stevenson
Cast: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie
Rating: PG
Grade: 4 Globes

REVIEW. “Kung Fu Panda” begins with a 2-D animated sequence that is so gorgeous, it makes you wish animation houses still made feature-length, mass-market, ink-and-paint cartoons. They don’t, and that sucks. But a good computer-generated feature of the new school can ease the pain.

“Panda” is such a movie — the best such film so far not made by the Pixar studio. This one comes instead from DreamWorks, the folks who brought you the overrated, overexposed “Shrek” series. “Panda” may not offer the subtle sophistication and narrative curveballs of Pixar’s best (“Ratatouille,” “The Incredibles,” the “Toy Story” films), but it’s a solid adventure comedy with few weaknesses and plenty of great moments.

The story — about a panda (Jack Black) who falls (literally) into the tutelage of a kung fu master raccoon (Dustin Hoffman) and becomes the unlikely hero — is boilerplate Joseph Campbell. But directors Mark Osborne and John Stevenson build a well-paced script from Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger that shows off great comedic rhythm. On top of that is built a visual world that can seamlessly switch gears from graceful to slapstick. Its crowning moment comes in a comic fight scene that would please Jackie Chan (who lends his voice in a supporting role) or Stephen Chow.