rated PG

Pandas, of course, are fuzzy, roly-poly creatures recognized alternately for their impossible cuddliness and for exhibiting a demeanor so slothful they can’t even be bothered to roll over to mate. So the juxtaposition at work in the concept of a high kicking, rabbit punching, village saving warrior panda bear should be inherently funny, and the good news is, it is. The fine balance the animators at Dreamworks have struck between “Matrix” level chop-socky butt kicking and good ol’ Acme style slapstick comedy—let’s call it chopstick comedy (in fact, there is a positively inspirational chopstick duel at one point over a bowl of dumplings)—is joyfully reminiscent of earlier forays by Chinese superstar Jackie Chan (who plays a bit part here as the voice of a kung fu monkey), a man who practically invented the idea of martial artist as circus clown. One wonders in watching the intricately choreographed slap-fests if the animators might actually have consulted the master himself as they assembled the action.

Jack Black may have found a new niche with his voice characterization of panda Po. He tempers and adapts his famously manic, slacker-geek sensibilities to become a great fit as a bear who dreams impossible dreams. Sadly, not as much can be said for the rest of the voices. Angelina Jolie, who’s regularly getting second billing in the “Panda” trailers, has about 10 lines in a strictly second-string role. As a “ferocious” fighting tigress, her voice is two yards of silk and one inch of snarl. Dustin Hoffman also fails to bring much gravitas or humor to his part as Po’s Yoda-esque master.

There’s a sad trend in animation for this kind of vocal stunt casting, which may add some spice to posters and drive flocks to the theater, but does little to increase the quality of the characters the audience will meet once they’ve dropped their cash and taken a seat. Even the fabulously sinister Ian McShane seems here to have had all the gravel raked from his voice, registering more as a frustrated British schoolboy than a vengeful white uber-leopard.

“Kung Fu Panda” marks a welcome departure for Dreamworks’ animation division. The Dreamworks crew is famous for squandering its magnificent design sense in cranking out crass, if crisply rendered, lowbrow affairs like the “Shrek” series, rife with toilet humor and usually woefully short on story. They can generally be relied upon to take the low road, braiding dozens of ephemeral wink-wink pop culture references with an equal number of fart gags, and then sitting back as the mouth breathers of America line up to line their pockets. Unlike their counterparts over at Pixar Studios, their track record has been one that demonstrates an armchair approach to culture, simply commenting on it from the sidelines while making no visible attempt to actually enrich or enhance the world they take such apparent pleasure in skewering.

So, it comes as a refreshing surprise that their latest effort is so wholesomely devoid of such shenanigans, actually attempting to tell a story and allow it to stand on its own strengths. Much like the titular Po, a clumsy oversized oaf who dreams of escaping a dead-end job in his father’s noodle shop to be a hard hitting kung fu superfreak, it’s a little unfortunate that the story’s strengths are not actually as strong as they probably could be. But, at least it tries, and just as poor, fat Po must train and struggle and strive to attain his vision of himself, Dreamworks finally seems ready to work for its laughs.