Po is back.

Jack Black returns as the voice of mighty martial-arts panda Po in 'Kung Fu Panda 2', the sequel to that 2008 animated gem. After establishing himself as the Dragon Warrior by vanquishing the evil Tai Lung and retrieving the Dragon Scroll in the earlier film, the new adventure involves Po's search for his identity, and his quest for inner peace. He's pitted against an evil peacock named Lord Shen (voiced by Gary Oldman) who killed his parents when he was a baby, and who is now threatening to conquer China using a fiery canon that will all but end the ancient art of kung fu. Tigress, voiced by Angelina Jolie, is also more etched out in this film. But a superhero story is only as good as its villain and Shen, with his flaming red eyes and piercing fantail is nicely nasty. Who ever thought that a peacock could be evil? The action scenes are bigger and better than the last time, and the animation itself is exceptional in terms of textures and lighting. Flashback sequences unfold in rich, comic-book style, and a climatic sequence in which Po dodges deadly canon-balls is the most visually arresting set-piece you've seen in an animation film recently. Kung Fu Panda 2 is exactly what a family needs on a hot summer day.