MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE'S MOST WANTED

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)
Grade: B-
Featuring the Voices Of: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Tom McGrath, Martin Short, Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, and Frances McDormand
PREMISE: Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippo join a traveling circus to try and get back to their native New York and to evade capture by local authorities.

RATED PG (contains action, comic mischief and some crude humor)

Okay, so, let's get something straight here: no matter how much I may quibble about a movie like Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted-the second sequel to 2005's Madagascar-it won't make a fig of difference in most people's opinion of the movie. The film has already reeled in $60 million worth of opening weekend revenue, and will undoubtedly receive more. Most children-and many older kids and adults-will laugh their heads off and get exactly what they consider to be their money's worth. So the fact that I'm a critic, and take movies seriously, may make me seem like a killjoy--I won't deny it. But, though I laughed a good bit during the third Madagascar, I have plenty to gripe about.

I think I can sum it all up by reminding you, reader, of the concept of too much of a good thing. One need look no farther than that when reviewing Europe's Most Wanted. In an age when most of the most popular, talked-about movies in our society are five minutes long or less, receive millions of views per day on Youtube and leave people quoting them for years to come, the makers of Madagascar and its sequel, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, clearly reviewed their previous films' popularity and success and thought: more of the same. Thus, Europe's Most Wanted, though it does have a narrative thread, plays mostly like a series of broad comic skits strung together in a brisk, hour-and-a-half movie. New characters are introduced and dilemmas occur and action sequences blaze across the screen, but the real money scenes are obvious: the classics, be it the primping/acting of self-absorbed lion Alex, the do-anything nuttiness of zebra Marty, the constant awkardness of Melman the giraffe, the ongoing adventures of the supersmart and curiously-militant quartet of penguins, and, of course, the randy, self-centered Julien, King of the lemurs, voiced by the irrepressible Sacha Baron Cohen. Don't get me wrong: I laughed a lot, and not just because I'm a big fan of both the previous films (particularly the original). But the movie critic in me died a little bit each time a new crazier, out-of-left field gag splattered across the screen.

Plot: First they were stranded on the island of Madagascar. Then they reached the African mainland. But no matter how interesting the main foursome's adventures get, showman Alex (voice of Stiller) wants to go back to New York, where he was popular, safe, and loved. When their fellow zoo escapees, the penguins, take their makeshift plane to Monte Carlo, Alex, Marty (voice of Rock), Gloria (Pinkett Smith) and Melman (Schwimmer), and the two chimpanzees who've been in all three movies go after them, meaning to commandeer the plane to get back to their beloved NYC. Their attempt to locate the penguins doesn't go as planned, however, and it lands them squarely in the crosshairs (literally) of French animal control vamp Chantel DuBois (series newcomer Frances McDormand). To escape the relentless DuBois, who wants Alex's head on her wall, the group is forced to board a train of circus animals, whose primary inhabitants are a juggling sea lion (the vocally-diverse Martin Short), an jaguar acrobat (Jessica Chastain) and a world weary, hoop-jumping tiger (Bryan Cranston). When they find out an American circus critic will be overseeing the show in London, the main foursome vow to impress him, even it means buying out the circus owner and running it themselves. The problem? The circus's old-fashioned act has long gone stale. So it's up to the main foursome to use their knacks for showmanship (Alex), adventure (Marty), and awkward but earnest sensitivity (Melman and Gloria) to enliven the show enough to impress the critic, to buy them a ticket to America and home. Oh, and the daffy King Julien has fallen head-over-heels in love with another circus performer, Sonya, a tricycle-riding bear.

What Works?
Even a snobbish, high-minded critic like me can't fail to be entertained by this bunch. Stiller's awkwardness, Rock's energy, Cohen's irreverent kiddie-naughtiness and even the farcicial humor of the penguins still remain entertaining, though it doesn't hurt a bit to add to that Short's flamboyance and Chastain's endearing, down-to-earth gameness. Cranston's tiger, a tough Russkie, might be the best of the bunch with his talent for jumping through hoops (and much, much smaller spaces) with little visible effort. The animation is, of course, dazzling, the energy level is high and, even in a movie like this-that doesn't even know what planet concepts like "subtle" or "modest" exist on-it's the little things that you'll remember, like two big cats (the lion and the tiger) play-fighting briefly with a ball of yarn, or the likeable jaguar's mimicking Alex's trapese moves, even as the out-of-his-depth lion badly botches them.

What Doesn't Work?
How much is too much? Another one of those commonly-heard questions the filmmakers might want to ask themselves. This movie functions much less as a narrative then a random collection of jokes and funny scenes and stunts, particularly as it includes the ludicrously-relentless Captain DuBois. Even for a movie like this, the makers go out of their way to top every hijink with something bigger, something that, if you're looking for a serious movie, gets a little numbing after a while. It's not that it's not fun. It's just crazy.

Content:
Please. These movies have always had a lot of mischief, which here extends to a woman (DuBois) being run over by a motorcycle and the same woman running straight through the walls of an office building while in hot pursuit of our havoc-wreaking heroes, and may even include some gender-confused circus dogs, but there's nothing legitimately harmful. It's edgy enough that teens and adults won't go to sleep, but nothing obviously over-the-line that kids will pick up.

Bottom Line (I Promise):
Randy, random, and spectacularly silly. If that sounds like your kind of movie, run to the theater to see Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. Most of the fresh gags that made the first two movies so clever are getting a little long in the tooth, but great animation, unbelievable energy and some very inventive stunts make this a decent escape entertainment.

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)
Directed by Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, and Conrad Vernon
Written by Eric Darnell and Noah Baumbach
Rated PG
Length: 85 Minutes