DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. kicked off the 61st annual Cannes Film Festival today, as Jack Black, star of the company's June 6 release, "Kung Fu Panda," spread "Panda-monium" as he emerged from a water taxi to be greeted on the Carlton Hotel pier by nearly 40 life-sized Po, the Panda's -- his on-screen persona and the hero of the film.


Black and the other "kung fu pandas" posed for a barrage of photojournalists and camera crews, signaling that the celebrity- and film-fueled glitter of the 2008 Festival had officially begun.

Black's arrival at the Carlton is just the beginning of the "Kung Fu Panda-monium" set to sweep Cannes, culminating with the film's worldwide premiere on May 15th at the nexus of the Festival, the Palais. Enthusiastic, big and a little clumsy, Po (Golden Globe nominee Jack Black) is the biggest fan of kung fu around ... which doesn't exactly come in handy while working every day in his family's noodle shop.

When he's unexpectedly chosen to fulfill an ancient prophecy, Po's dreams become reality and he joins the world of kung fu to study alongside his idols, the legendary Furious Five: Tigress (Academy Award(R) winner Angelina Jolie); Crane (Emmy winner David Cross); Mantis (Emmy nominee Seth Rogen); Viper (Emmy/SAG nominee Lucy Liu); and Monkey (international superstar Jackie Chan) -- under the leadership of their guru, Master Shifu (two-time Oscar(R) winner Dustin Hoffman).

But before they know it, the vengeful and treacherous snow leopard Tai Lung (Emmy/Golden Globe winner Ian McShane) is headed their way, and it's up to Po to defend everyone from the oncoming threat. Can he turn his dreams of becoming a kung fu master into reality? Po puts his heart into the task, and the unlikely hero ultimately finds that his greatest weaknesses turn out to be his greatest strengths.

The film opens nationwide in the US on June 6, 2008.