-DreamWorks Animation kicked off the 61st annual Cannes Film Festival today with an outbreak of “Pandamonium,” as Jack Black, star of DreamWorks Animation’s upcoming June 6th release “Kung Fu Panda,” arrived at the Carlton Hotel pier in style…emerging from a water taxi to be greeted on the pier by nearly 40 true-to-size Po-s, his on-screen persona and hero of the film’s title.

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 will serve as merely the beginning of the “Kung Fu Panda”-monium set to sweep Cannes, as the DreamWorks Animation release is slated for its worldwide premiere, screening out of competition tomorrow night, May 15th, at 7:30pm at the nexus of the Festival, the Palais.

The pre-screening red carpet arrivals will spotlight Black and some of his “Kung Fu Panda” co-stars Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie and Lucy Liu along with KFP filmmakers directors John Stevenson and Mark Osborne, producer Melissa Cobb, and screenwriters Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger and DreamWorks Animation’s Jeffrey Katzenberg, who will be joined by friends and some of the biggest celebrities in attendance at this year’s Fest.

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® 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® 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.

Kicking off the film festival is Blindness by Fernando Meirelles, Brazilian director who brought us City of God, starring Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo and Sandra Oh.

Gael Garcia Bernal, Danny Glover and Julianne Moore were all on the red carpet for the screening of the film and were joined by Cate Blanchett and Sean Penn.

However the talk of the evening was Jack Black let slip that his Kung Fu panda co-star Angelina Jolie and her partner Brad Pitt were expecting twins.

 The lovely Vicki Michelle staying at the prestigious Hotel Du Cap here in Cannes for the 2008 film festival, pictured here with music producer Lisa Voice.

Vicki has recently been seen in Emmerdale and is soon to start rehearsals for the national tour of Allo Allo stage play.

The stage play was promoted by the enormous response last year and producers decided to take the cast on a national tour. She is now in Cannes to discuss a future movie venture – watch this space!