Martial-arts action should not be too intense for young viewers of "Kung Fu Panda," and the fight sequences are fluid and dynamic. Parents ought to find this a winner, as will fans of animation and martial-arts movies across the age spectrum. (Photo provided by DreamWorks Animation)

In the animal kingdom, pandas are notoriously lazy. They often don't even have enough ambition to mate.

So how, then, does Po (Jack Black) become "Kung Fu Panda," the Dragon Warrior?

It's all about destiny. And dumplings.

DreamWorks scores its best animated entry since the first "Shrek" film with "Panda," a fun, lighthearted, thrilling pageant of chops, kicks and "ki-yahs" that kids will love and adults will savor.

The film's action takes place in China, where Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) is searching for the warrior who will fell the mighty, vicious Tai Lung (Ian McShane of "Deadwood"), who quickly escapes from a prison in which he's the only inmate, with 1,000 guards watching him.

When Shifu's wise old master, Oogway, selects Po as the chosen one, Shifu and his team of superhero martial artists, the Furious Five --comprising Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Viper (Lucy Liu), Mantis (Seth Rogen) and Crane (David Cross) -- think he's gone bonkers.

They doubt that Po, who has toiled his life proper in his father's noodle stand, has what it takes to beat Tai Lung, Shifu's greatest student, who turned on him when he wasn't anointed the Dragon Warrior.

The story is relatively bare-bones. Po is your typical slacker charged with an enormous responsibility, forced to buck up and find his calling. We're not exactly blazing new trails here.

But what "Panda" does, it does well. The fight sequences are fluid and dynamic, often breathtaking. One where the Furious Five battles Tai Lung on top of a suspension bridge, beginning with the bridge's ropes snapping, is as creative and thrilling a battle as you'll see in any martial-arts film.

The comedy is unabashedly slapstick, but largely avoids fart-and-poop jokes in favor of more creative fat jokes. Black's bumbling stoner shtick shines through even in animation.

The supporting cast is strong, but mostly anonymous in execution. Rogen, Hoffman and Black were the only voices I recognized, and they let Po be the star of the show. No Robin Williams scene-stealing here.

Perhaps what the film does best, though, is preserve its kung-fu gravitas without getting too scary or violent for younger audiences. There is no blood, and while death is discussed, the body count is zero.

If you have kids or are a fan of martial-arts movies, "Kung Fu Panda" will not disappoint.

Kung Fu Panda

Rated: PG

Running time: 88 min.

Starring: Voices of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Ian McShane, Lucy Liu

Directors: Mark Osborne, John Stevenson