My approach to animated moves is similar to how I previously approached TV programs: if I heard from enough people that a show is good, I'll check it out... eventually. Kung Fu Panda definitely falls into that category of late viewing, since I caught it on a lazy Saturday on cable just a few months back, and totally loved it. Kung Fu Panda 2 is one of the rare instances where I watched an animated movie in a theater, and I'm glad I did since it's the most fun I've had at the movies all year.

Kung Fu Panda 2 picks up not too long after the events of the first animated hit, with Po (Jack Black), fully ensconced as the Dragon Warrior following his victory over the mighty Tai Lung. He's now a celebrity in the Valley of Peace, a status that seems to have helped his father Mr. Ping (James Hong) and his noodle shop, although Po still has a lot to learn. Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) is somewhat chagrined that Po has not yet mastered the art of inner peace, a skill that will, naturally, come in handy towards Act Three. However, during a visit home, Po makes a shocking discovery, one that may be the reason he can't find inner peace... albeit one that seemed fairly obvious to many who saw the first movie. Mr. Ping, a goose, is really not Po's father, having found Po outside his restaurant as just a baby panda and raising him on his own. While Po is determined to seek the truth, he and the Furious Five are tasked to stop an evil peacock named Lord Shen (Gary Oldman), who has constructed a glorious new weapon which can even out-skadoosh the power of kung fu. Po also comes to learn that this new enemy is a central figure in his mysterious childhood.

Kung Fu Panda 2 is just one of those movies where I had a smile on my face literally throughout the 90-minute runtime. Screenwriters Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, who wrote the first Kung Fu Panda and also the DreamWorks Animation hit Monsters vs. Aliens, are in top form here, giving us another fantastic adventure while opening the story up to explore Po's past. While the first movie was more about Po and his training with Master Shifu, the sequel allows more time for the Furious Five - Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Crane (David Cross), and Viper (Lucy Liu) - to flourish as well. We also get a few new kung-fu-fighting characters added to the mix with Master Croc (Jean-Claude Van Damme), Master Oxen (Dennis Haysbert), and Master Thundering Rhino (Victor Garber), who are all sought out by Po to defeat this peacock menace. Also, while I won't give you any specifics, Aibel and Berger's ending is practically perfect, opening up new mysteries and posing more fantastic questions which will likely have moviegoers demanding a Kung Fu Panda 3.

Jennifer Yuh makes her feature directorial debut with Kung Fu Panda 2, after serving as Head of Story on the first adventure. The animated action here is practically flawless, while still hitting the humorous beats with precision and delivering more emotional depth than the first. I'm sure most aren't going into a movie called Kung Fu Panda 2 seeking out emotion or depth, but it's a terrific little surprise that makes you appreciate the experience even more than if it was just a panda and five other animals fighting a peacock. While Pixar has mastered the art of blending adult and kid humor, Kung Fu Panda 2 manages to strike that balance as well, without all the wink-wink-nudge-nudge references, and throwing in some kick-ass action sequences to boot. It won't send you reaching for the tissues like Toy Story 3 did, but Kung Fu Panda 2 more than proves that DreamWorks Animation is stepping up their game in all aspects, creeping up to the lofty apex atop which Pixar sits.

Simply put, Kung Fu Panda 2 outshines the first movie by leaps and bounds, which is no small feat since Kung Fu Panda is no slouch of a movie, by any means. Aided by a 3D presentation done the right way (a.k.a. non-bombastic), the sequel will be hard for any other animated movie to top all year, even with Pixar rolling out Cars 2 next month. Kung Fu Panda 2 does bring the "skadoosh" back from the first movie (literally and figuratively), but, surprisingly, it brings oh so much more and it is a pure delight to watch.