One can almost see the creative wheels in motion ...

"Hey, you know what would be funny?"

"What?"

"A panda that does kung fu."

"Yeah. Makes me laugh just thinking about it."

And with no other thematic direction than that, a movie was born. Surprisingly, a pretty good movie at that.

"Kung Fu Panda" applies a basic and familiar story line to that one silly idea but moves quickly, with a lot of energy, and applies enough laugh lines to make the movie a summer success.

Jack Black voices the likable Po (now available in plush at toy store near you), an overweight shlub who works in his dad's noodle shop but fantasizes about martial arts greatness.

No word yet on why or how his father is a goose, but I guess they have to save something for the sequel.

Po's boring life is turned upside down when the wizened Oogway, a sage tortoise who apparently invented kung fu, selects him as the fabled warrior -- bypassing every member of the spectacular and acrobatic Furious Five.

This makes the Five -- Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Viper (Lucy Liu), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Crane (David Cross) and Mantis (Seth Rogen) -- a bit, well, miffed.

There's not much time for hurt feelings, however; evil villain Tai Lung has escaped from an inescapable prison -- the movie's best scene -- and is determined to wreak havoc. Only the Dragon Warrior can stop him and save the Valley of Peace.

Black doesn't go too far over the top as Po and provides a number of genuine laughs. Dustin Hoffman was an excellent choice as the Yoda-like Master Shifu, who reluctantly trains the hefty panda and even battles him in another clever scene. The other characters don't get much development, but their kung fu work is primo.

There is nothing new in the story or its completely predictable, and time-tested, life lessons -- work hard and anything is possible, and outward appearances can be deceiving.

"Kung Fu Panda" is a lot of good fun for kids and won't have their parents checking their watches every five minutes. That's more than could have been expected from the original concept.