Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
Director: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, Conrad Vernon
Cast: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith
Rated: PG-13
Running time: 82 minutes
There's only so much you can do with a threequel. Most times when a movie has a three or higher number attached to the title, there is little reason for its existence other than to relieve fans of their hard-earned coinage. This is doubly so when it comes to kid cartoon fare involving wacky talking animals with familiar celebrity voices. So it is all the more wonderful when a film like Madagascar 3 comes along and chooses to go the Toy Story route and not the Shrek route.
The film again has the four zoo celebrities (Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, and Jada Pinkett Smith) out in the wilds of Africa. Having sent everyone's favourite penguins in their monkey plane to Monaco, the animals start to get worried and decide to break into the casino. From there they become hunted by an indestructible French animal control officer voiced by Frances McDormand, leading to many chase scenes.
When they hook up with a Euro circus, the 3D definitely steps into high gear with lots of high-flying action. While some animated films attempt to have some bearing in the "real world," Madagascar 3 makes no such effort and we are the better for it. From the physics-defying chase scenes to the lemur and bear love affair that involves visiting the Pope and a tiger jumping through a tiny ring, reality does not come to play and that works to everyone's advantage.
In the end it's nice to be pleasantly surprised by a movie that the kids were going to drag you to regardless of its quality.
