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".

Big is beautiful in Kung Fu Panda, the best family-oriented offering from DreamWorks Animation since Shrek.

Colourful visuals and excellent vocal performances, including Dustin Hoffman as an acerbic mentor, guarantee a lively 92 minutes of low blows and last gasp victories.

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 (Wong).

Unthinkably, local sensei Master Oogway (Kim) anoints Po as the next Dragon Warrior, who must protect the village from the threat of escaped prisoner Tai Lung (McShane).

Oogway's choice of successor stuns his protege Shifu (Hoffman) and loyal students Crane (Cross), Mantis (Rogen), Monkey (Chan), Tigress (Jolie) and Viper (Liu), better known as The Furious Five.

Fight sequences are animated at breakneck speed, matched by quick-fire banter between Black's ill-equipped saviour and Hoffman's dour master, whose entire reputation rests on a dreamer who runs out of breath half way up the temple steps.

Thankfully, the film keeps up a head of steam(ed dumplings) until the rousing final frame.