Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) - A Glorious Return to Form

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted - Still Trying to Figure Out How They Wound Up in Europe

Alex (Ben Stiller), Marty (Chris Rock), Melman (David Schwimmer) and Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith) really need to figure out a better way to travel. In DreamWork's 3D computer-animated "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" (2012), the fearsome foursome from the New York Central Park Zoo manage to get just about everywhere but their destination until, in fact, they do reach it and realize they didn't really want to go there after all. They do, though, finally get out of Africa, so that has to be considered progress of a sort. Eric Darnell returns to direct again (with Tom McGrath and Conrad Vernon), and Darnell and Noah Baumbach handle the writing.

Is Alex going to be happy he met her!

When last we left our intrepid castaways, they had settled in to their new surroundings in the heart of Africa after having left New York to be cast adrift on Madagascar ("Madagascar") and then stranded in Africa ("Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa"). The penguins had repaired the plane and flown it to Monte Carlo, and in this film Alex convinces Marty, Melman and Gloria that they should follow in order to get flown back to New York.

The police probably don't get too many suspects 8 feet tall.

After causing chaos in Monte Carlo, everybody gets on the plane in Monte Carlo and once again they set off for New York. Unfortunately, wouldn't you know it, the craft has engine trouble and crashes. The animals, close to being caught, find a circus train and talk themselves on board, where they can hide (sort of like "Some Like it Hot," for old movie fans). It turns out the circus is angling to get an American tour, so that turns out to be a lucky break (and which is reminiscent of a classic Dr. McCoy line to Spock in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture"). The penguins buy the circus, but the next performance in Rome is a disaster.

Frances McDormand once again plays a tenacious cop.

Setting off for London, Alex, who is falling in love with Gia the jaguar (Jessica Chastain), has a brainstorm and convinces the others to re-work the show as an animal-only lights and acrobatic show. The circus animals and the regular characters start to bond. The police officer who chased them in Rome, DuBlois (Frances McDormand), continues to pursue them and forces them to move on before they have completed rehearsals for the new show.

I thought I saw a pussy cat!

The London show turns out to be a great triumph, which enables the show to land its American tour. Returning to New York, Marty, Alex, Melman and Gloria realize that they no longer can go back in cages, but they are captured. The circus animals plan to mount a major operation to free their friends so they can be a part of the circus once again.

"We go out there, see, and we act stupid, see, and... hey, are you paying attention?"

The future of the series had been in some doubt after the lackluster second installment, but "Madagascar 3" works much better. A large part of that is due to the fact that the producers dropped the effort to turn the show into some kind of drama, and instead returned it to its comic roots. The film uses the most cartoon sound effects in any DreamWorks Animation feature, and that helps cover over the somewhat dodgy script.

"My, what big eyes you have!"

The pace also is helped by an assortment of pop songs ranging from '90s hits to "Firework" by Katy Perry. Hans Zimmer again scored the film to good effect. This film is about as cartoonish as you will see from a major studio release these days, and some may find it a bit over-the-top. On the plus side, by giving up any pretensions that they are creating "art" along the lines of "The Lion King"and so on and so forth, the creators were able to harness fully the marvelous 3D animation technology that makes the circus stunts stand out so brilliantly in this film.

Doesn't this look like fun?

It's not difficult to say that this was the most entertaining chapter in the series, but it isn't necessarily the best. You get all sorts of mind-blowing visuals that ultimately lead nowhere. In a way, this film is reminiscent of early 3D efforts that would ostentatiously have characters throwing things and jumping toward the audience simply for the cheap 3D thrill. That may excite the audience, but it also gives them little to think about later. Some of the negative attitudes displayed towards non-Americans also are a bit off-putting.

These two make all the premieres, they must have a piece of the film.

Lots and lots of people love this film, so it is doing something right. It is difficult to see where it goes from here, so the next instalment should be interesting just to see how the screenwriters wriggle out of the fact that the series no longer has anything to do with Madagascar, and the character no longer have any destination. From here on out, they are simply there, without a mission or a purpose, and that usually spells trouble for a franchise.

"Those magnificent men in their flying machines... whoops, those ZEBRAS in their ... whoops!"

Highly recommended and enjoyable, though I wouldn't place this on a part with your typical Pixar film despite the fact that it made Pixar-style money. If you watch the first film, skip the second, and then watch this one, you'll be ahead of the game. It's unclear whether there will be another entry in the series, but spin-off feature "The Penguins of Madagascar" already is set for release in 2015.

2012

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Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) - Full of Heart

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa - Only Problem Is, Madagascar is Part of Africa

"Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" (2008), written by Etan Cohen and directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath for DreamWorks, continues the "Madagascar" adventures of Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller), Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer), Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith), King Julien the Lemur (Sacha Baron Cohen) and their friends. If you saw the first film, you recall that Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria were star attractions in the New York Central Park Zoo until, through a convoluted sequence of events, they wound up castaways in Madagascar (an island off south-east Africa). In this episode, the animals try to get back to New York, and we learn a little bit more about their backgrounds.

This film is kid-friendly.

First, we learn that Alex was born "Alakay" to Zuba (Bernie Mac). Zuba tried to teach Alakay how to hunt, but all the cub wanted to do was dance. Poachers finally captured him after his rival Makunga (Alex Baldwin) challenged him. After the crate he is shipped in falls into the sea, it floats to New York, where Alex grows up in New York's Central Park Zoo. There, he meets Marty, Melman and Gloria.

Hmmm, I wonder what they find so awesome...

Now, it looks as if the animals will be able to return to New York, because they have a repaired plane to fly. They all board the plane, but it runs into trouble and crashes in mainland Africa. Alex reunites with Zuba, Marty joins a herd of zebra who are like him, Melman gains status as a witch doctor, and Gloria is pursued by a hippo named Moto Moto (will.i.am).

....and this is the African plain they are looking at, and it IS awesome.

The penguins set about repairing the plane again, stealing jeeps from tourists to get spare parts. The other characters, though, run into troubles with their new lives: Alex still has to contend with Makunga, who now defeats and banishes him and his family; Marty starts feeling unappreciated as just an unremarkable part of a herd; Melman starts getting "witch doctor disease;" and Gloria rejects Moto Moto.

Look!  It's a bird...  it's a plane.... it's ... DreamWorks!

The stranded tourists add to their troubles. They build a town, stealing all the animals' water and capturing Alex, who eventually escapes. He returns to the others and challenges Makunga to a fight for leadership.

The crew, including direct/writer Eric Darnell

The film doesn't make a lot of sense, but it is full of laughs, which is the main thing. The breakout stars are the penguins, who will delight the children and have a slightly bigger role than in the original. In that way, they are like Scrat in the "Ice Age" series, particularly "Ice Age: The Meltdown," which he really saved from becoming dull. King Julien also proves highly amusing in his appearances. However, much of the storyline involves adult characters which may leave many children uninterested, though scenes with the baby lion should please them.

There is some weird symbolism in this one

A problem with this film is that it attempts to make the characters sympathetic and likeable, rather than just comical. They just want to be loved, isn't that cute? This slows down the comedy, which is the franchise's main draw. In that sense, the character development backfires. In addition, inserting a tired subplot from "The Lion King" may have looked good on paper, but that film did it first and, frankly, better. Making the main characters "deep" while reserving the comic hijinks for the supporting players works, but not as well as it would have if they forgot about trying to make us love Alex et al.and just kept everybody in the comedy loop. Do we care if Alex has issues? Not really, we care if he is funny. We care A LOT about that.

The hit song "You Got to Move It"

The saving grace, however, is the animation. It is crisp, punchy and really captures the mood. The soundtrack also is top-notch, with "I Like To Move It" (written by Erick Morillo and Mark Quashie, performed once by will.i.am and another time by Reel 2 Reel) becoming a genuine breakout hit. "Born Free" by John Barry, "Private Dancer" by Mark Knopfler and Barry Manilow's "Copacabana" (written by him with Jack Feldman and Bruce Sussman) also liven things up. It's a hip soundtrack that may be more enjoyable than the film itself.

Marty talking to his new pals

The jokes are the jokes, if you don't like the current one, another is coming along in a minute. Many of them work, and they are very clever. This film just doesn't seem as funny as the first one, though, maybe because of all the pointless time wasted on trying to make us develop deep feelings for inherently goofy characters.

Ben Still, Jada Pinkett Smith at the Israeli Premiere

As a sequel, "Madagascar: Escape to Africa" isn't bad. It just kind of loses its way a bit. Fortunately, it did enough business to merit a sequel (actually, the sequel was planned before this film was even released). It was not a huge box office hit, barely recouping its budget domestically. Overseas ticket sales saved it - this series is warmly received internationally for obvious reasons. "Madagascar 2," as this is commonly known, is amusing enough, but personally I would watch all the "Ice Age" films first.

Check out this music video of the Madagascar animals dancing to "I Like to Move It":

2012

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Madagascar (2005) - A Fun Trip From the Big Apple

Madagascar: Bored animals Escape from Zoo

"Madagascar" (2005), directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath, is a terrific film for kids of all ages. The presentation is bright, funny, happy, and quick-paced, with all sorts of quirky scenes to keep the story from getting too predictable.  The plot is easy for children to follow while being clever enough to satisfy most adults.  The lead voices are provided by some of the top comics in Hollywood, and Dreamworks delivers the goods as usual with its top-grade animation.

Marty the Zebra in Central Park

Several animals live together in New York's Central Park Zoo:   They have become good friends and are the stars among all the animals, but some of them are getting a little bored.   One day, Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock) leaves the zoo to do a little exploring in the city around them.

Alex the Lion making a call

Marty's friends quickly take off after him to bring him back.  They all wind up Grand Central Terminal, but Alex the lion (Ben Stiller) gets them all sedated when his attempts at communication with the people around them are mistaken for aggression.

Alex, Marty and Gloria caught

The zoo decides to ship them off to Africa, where they can live on a nature preserve.  The penguins that are traveling with them, though, break free and take over the ship because they want to go to Antarctica instead.  During the confusion, the crates containing Alex, Marty, Melmen the giraffe (David Schwimmer) and Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) fall off the ship and wash ashore on ... Madagascar.

Just a few folks riding the subway

The four friends gradually acclimate to their new jungle surroundings, helped by King Julien XIII, the King of the Lemurs (Sacha Baron Cohen). Alex, though, succumbs to his predatory instincts and attacks Marty, which causes the others to banish him to the other side of the island.

Stranded in Madagascar

The penguins then return on the ship, having tired of all the snow in Antarctica.  Realizing this is their chance to return to New York, Marty joins up with Alex.  Alex then manages to control his instincts and helps rescue the penguins from an attack by fossa, and everybody lives in harmony again.

Exploring the jungle

There are many humorous scenes in "Madagascar," such as the reaction of the penguins to their dream-world of Antarctica and the pride some of the chimps have about themselves.   It is not laugh-out-loud funny, but there are decent laughs.  A highlight is Cohen singing "Move It," which many kids will probably sing along to as well.

A surprising sight

One complaint often heard is that so much time is spent meeting the characters and following them to their destination that not much happens in the story.  Since there are two sequels already out and a third on the way in 2015, that is not as much of a problem as when the first film was released.  Now, you can own all three and really get to know the characters without being rushed through one adventure after another.

Birds finding a lovely perch

This is highly recommended for younger viewers, who may not get the references to classic science fiction films like "Planet of the Apes," but should enjoy the funny actors voicing the main characters.

2012

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