Star rating: ***
Dirs: Mark Osborne, John Stevenson
Voices: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie

Jack Black was born to play a panda. The School of Rock star has the figure and attitude of a creature that considers munching on a bamboo shoot, never mind getting smoochy with a lady panda, to be way too much like hard work. He is forced to do a bit more in this average rather than awesome animated picture, like carry the movie. Po (Black) has been unexpectedly chosen to take on the fearsome snow leopard Tai Lung. Enter Dustin Hoffman as a kind of Brooklyn Yoda, dispensing wisdom and kick-ass moves. The script is as lightweight as Po is lardy, but making up for that is the sumptuous DreamWorks animation. You'll really believe a panda can shimmy.