Review of Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) by Thedrauch — 05 Dec 2012

Certainly the most energetic entry in the Madagascar series (so much so that it bears little resemblance to the earlier films), 'Europe's Most Wanted' delivers fairly well with crisp visuals and infectious fun.

There isn't much to chew on for more serious moviegoers and the whole ordeal is rather predictable and ridiculous, but there are so many vigorous burst of color and frenetic action sequences that it's hard to have a bad time.

The laws of physics, reason, and overall common-sense are thrown out the window in the gags that work best. The bits that don't work are really crude and ill formed (they're mostly directed at the kids).

One major complaint I had (aside from the constant, irritating repetition of 'Afro Circus') is that the writers completely threw out any reference to Alex's parents. This is probably because of the death of Bernie Mac, who voiced his dad, but they could have at least done him justice and said something about the father character.

Instead, the four animals departed from Africa without any good-byes, which left a bad taste of neglect in my mouth. There is also one key moment of irony in the film where Vitaly says that 'families aren't having fun because we're going through the motions'.

At times, that can apply to the movie, too, but it's for the kids more than anything.