Even though American audiences might not “get” all of the literary and film allusions in “The Forbidden Kingdom” to ancient Chinese literature and myth or to cult kung-fu films and pulp novels, it would be difficult for anyone to overlook the thematic similarities between this adventure movie and the classics of its genre.

Films like “The Wizard of Oz” (1939) and “Alice in Wonderland” (1951) adapted children’s fantasy literature for the screen, revealing in color and motion unbelievable, twisted landscapes where anything was possible. A formula emerged, perpetuated by movies like “Labyrinth” (1986), “The Neverending Story II” (1990) and “Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006): Take a child out of his or her (usually her) home typically at a time of stress and change — a mean neighbor threatening to have your dog killed, for example — and magically transport the child somewhere impossible.

In this case, Jason — a 15-something, new kid on the block played by Michael Angarano — is whisked away to feudal China.  Jason is fleeing a gang of tough city kids who used him to break into Old Hop’s shop. Old Hop is a wizened old, Chinese man who befriends Jason over their shared love of kung-fu movies. The situations gets violent, and Jason falls out of a window. He wakes up on a rice farm dressed like a native and baring a carved staff.

Jackie Chan plays Old Hop as well as a parallel character in the Forbidden Kingdom, Lu Yan. A drunken traveler and warrior-scholar, Lu Yan takes Jason into his protection when he spots the mystical staff. Quickly, it becomes obvious that Jason’s journey isn’t over. Lu Yan tell him the story of the Monkey King, who needs the staff to escape his prison of stone.

Jet Li, with half a cat’s worth of blond hair glued to his face, plays the Monkey King, a rebellious half man/half monkey immortal. He is the only one who can stand a chance against the Jade War Lord, who has ravaged the land in the absence of the supreme immortal, the Jade Emperor. The Monkey King is a time-honored mythological figure for the Chinese and is a character in the epic novel “Journey to the West,” one of China’s literary classics in which a monk journey’s to India to acquire Buddhist scripture.

Once Jason realizes that the only way to get home is to talk the wizard ... I mean, free the Monkey King, he and Lo Yan set out on their quest. Along the way, they accumulate a healthy band of kung-fu-wielding compatriots, including a silent monk, also played by Jet Li, and a vengence-seeking, orphaned young woman named Golden Sparrow, played by Yifei Liu. On their journey, they are dogged by a white-haired witch named Ni Chang, played by Bingbing Li.

Devoid of overly adult-humor and swimming with just-for-fun action sequences, Forbidden Kingdom is the kind of movie one would expect from Disney’s old guard. Director Rob Minkoff, “The Lion King” (1994),  was on the animation team for “The Little Mermaid” (1989) and enlisted writer John Fusco’s help on the script. Fusco wrote and produced the “Young Guns” movies as well as “Hidalgo” (2004).

The filmmakers put together an idiot-proof movie and plugged in a cast of seasoned entertainers mixed with fresh faces. As Jason, Angarano bares and uncanny resemblance to Shai LaBeouf. Angarano is endearingly awkward, eliciting a sense of shared embarrassment with the audience. Throughout the movie, he beefs up a little and takes on a few action sequences, but the filmmakers are careful never to make him look too capable.

The central, Karate Kid-style theme isn’t taken too seriously. The plot is predictable yet pleasingly lacking any pretensions. Chan and Li balance the bulk of the action and screen time between them, doing what they do best and slipping in a few surprisingly funny and genuine moments.

As in any really good fantasy flick, it’s hard to question the more peculiar elements of this film, but a few a worth noting. The jade thugs all wear emerald-green eye shadow, so it’s easy to believe that a kid from south Boston could kick their butts. Jason’s “learning kung-fu” montage is giggle-worthy at best. (Common’ — nobody is going to master the bow staff in anything less than several years.) Witch Ni Chang’s white wig is both irritatingly messy and fake beyond the point of suspension of disbelief.

The Forbidden Kingdom is rated PG-13 for sequences of martial arts action and some violence and has a running time of 113 minutes. You can catch this movie at Oswego Cinema 7, 138 W. Second St., Oswego, at 4:44, 7:20 and 9:50 p.m. For more showtime information, call 343- 6361.