Directors: Mark Osborne, John Stevenson, PG, 92min

Voices: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Ian McShane, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan

On general release

Just when you thought it was safe to dismiss CGI-animated films as stuck in terminal decline, along comes a film whose wit, gusto and sheer good heart lifts the whole genre out of the doldrums. This is far from the so-so parody that you would expect from the title. On the contrary, it’s more a love letter to kung-fu films than a send-up.

Apparently born to a long line of noodle chefs, Po dreams instead of being a great martial artist. But Po is a panda. A slow, clumsy, snack-happy panda. He’ll never make it. Will he? Hey, this is Dreamworks. We know he will. And with Black doing the voice, he’ll do so in a slightly irritating yet winningly funny and ultimately loveable way. But it takes everyone else a while to get with the programme, even after Po is accidentally chosen to be the legendary Dragon Warrior.

“There are no accidents,” sagely prophesies the wise old turtle who chooses him. His students should pay attention; the turtle is clearly a black belt in Hallmark-Fu: “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery,” runs a typical pronouncement, “but today is a gift – that’s why it’s called the present.” But no, his kung-fu team the Furious Five become even more furious. Why didn’t he make one of them Dragon Warrior? How can they defeat the evil snow leopard Tai Lung now?

The stage is set for some of the most thrillingly choreographed, kinetically directed and brilliantly edited kung-fu sequences yet committed to the big screen. (Very big, in fact: in homage to old kung-fu flicks, it’s shot in CinemaScope ratio; there’s also a remastered IMAX version.) Yet parents can breathe easy. In common with the best martial arts traditions, the film manages to have its dumplings and eat them, propagating positive messages of humility, self-belief and attunement to the “now”, even while kicking some serious butt.

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