First things first. It is the sheer tactile beauty of Kung Fu Panda 2 that takes you by the scruff and bounces you across the three dimensional world of a Chinese countryside. We float over trees and watch them meditate in swirly mists. We skim tapestries of  green glades, smell the food in a rustic kitchen, fly over picture perfect villages, are hushed into silence by a river gleaming under the moonlight, can almost reach out and touch lacy waterfalls where Master Shifu chants, “inner peace..inner peace.”

 That chant is central to the quest of the film, beyond the Kung Fu moves, the spectacular, right-in-your-face fight sequences, the gorgeous red lanterns, the fireworks and fireballs and  a showdown that boils down to just this. If you master the demons crowding your inner life, you can conquer any others that manifest in your outer life. And once you are done with the past, even the balls of fire a foe or destiny spits at you will become droplets of water, aching for a leaf.

 The franchise is so successful not just because it is a luxurious visual feast but a little do-it- yourself Zen manifesto we can all use. So Master Shifu (the majestic Dustin Hoffman) admits that his first reaction to Po, the big fat panda (An absolutely inspired Jack Black) was one of shock and disappointment. And only when he realised that his own resistance to the panda was the cause of his misery, he let go and fell into the flow of the universe.  

 It is also remarkable how the film never judges the panda for being a short-cut specialist. He is not a spiritual master like Shifu or a hard-core disciplinarian like the tigress (Angelia Jolie far more likable here than in many of her recent outings). He is who he is. A clumsy overeater who hates climbing steps, cracks inopportune jokes, has a jiggly, rather noisy tummy and no poise but he is destiny’s child, someone chosen to do what no one can. And this really is the film’s mantra. We all are here to do what only we can.

 Like the first film, this one too explores the good and bad aspects of power. And how fireworks that spread light and joy, in the wrong hands can cause havoc. Allusion to nuclear stockpiles? The film pits the artificial weaponry that can cause endless devastation with a minimum amount of effort against the purity of Kung Fu power. A priceless Gary Oldman animates the black soul of a white peacock called Lord Shen who  wants to rule the world with evil weapons. His nemesis is our Po, a black-and-white ball of harmony, a perfect amalgamation of yin and yang though it will be some time before he will make peace with  the memories of having lost his parents in a  brutal attack.

  The noodle and tofu obsessed Mr Ping (James Hong), the  jelly hearted goose could not have been his real dad but what a lovely story of adoption is told when this silly bird falls in love with a ball of baby fur in a radish basket and decides to parent him,no questions asked. 

 It is amazing to what extent, the story tellers (Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger) have detailed the themes that mesh together. Even the villain has a background story of falling out of favour with his parents and never forgiving them for it. A lovely new character is of a wise soothsayer (Michelle Yeoh) who teaches Po that sad beginnings can be turned into happy endings if we choose to stay in the present. 

 Director Jennifer Yuh Nelson is the real find of the film as she not only pulls off the almost operatic fight sequences but also invests much warmth and tangible emotion in the story. There is one lump in the throat moment that makes you forget that the baby being abandoned in a vegetable basket is just an animated panda. The camaraderie of the five warriors is far more moving in this film as the tigress (Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu) and Crane (David Cross) close ranks to fight with and for the panda they have come to love. Hans Zimmer and John Powell have a great time with the musical score and we have a great time at the movies thanks to a bumbling panda who moves and inspires us as much as he makes us laugh.