"Panda"-mania in Hollywood (Fashion Wire Daily)

Los Angeles - As Universal Studios burned just over the hill on Sunday, destroying sets from some of Hollywoods classic films, a happier scene played out on Hollywood Boulevard at Graumans Chinese Theater, as "Kung Fu Panda" premiered.

The latest animated offering from DreamWorks features an all-star cast, led by comedian Jack Black, who left his wife and new baby at home as he led the afternoon celebration. Prancing across the red carpet along with his alter ego, a giant panda named Po, Black also traded karate chops with studio head honcho Jeffrey Katzenberg and squished co-star Lucy Liu in a big bear hug.

Fellow "Panda" voice actors Dustin Hoffman, Michael Clarke Duncan, and James Hong made the sunny scene, too. Cartoon fans like Lou Diamond Phillips came for the fun, also, along with all his kids, as did Wayne Brady and Maria Bello.

But it was Black who stole the show, cutting it up for photographers and fans alike. As he told reporters earlier in the weekend, the five-year process of voicing the lead character in "Kung Fu Panda" was one of the easiest acting jobs the 38-year-old has ever had.

"Playing Po was very natural, very easy in some ways. Its very much me," he admitted. "And I think actors want to do animation because its fun. Its a more relaxed job. You go in with no makeup and hair, no costumes, no real pressure of schedule. And you get to be in something that has potential to be a classic for generations. Everybody wants to be a part of something special."

Liu, who plays Viper the slithery snake in the comic cartoon, agrees with Blacks assessment of the sheer joy of only using her voice to create a character.

"I think the great thing about animation is its all about your imagination," she said. "Its about appreciating yourself. Its about putting yourself in a place that you have never been before."

And as Jack Black added, there was even more to it for him than just that.

"I knew that Dustin Hoffman was in the movie," he grinned, "and so I absolutely wanted to be method acting with my performance and not to be out shown by the master himself."