Review of Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) by Griffyn S — 23 Nov 2014

Third and final outing for the crazy animals? probably not lets be honest but do we really need another?. Not overly sure to be honest as this film is pretty bizarre yet admittedly very nice looking and probably fun for the kids.

This is the main negative point for me, yes the film is of course for the kids but there is little here for the adults this time. The last films had touches of comedy or visual moments that a grownup could smirk and giggle at, this new adventure really is a kiddie playground.

The visuals are amazing but is that a surprise? Most animated films these days are amazing looking and offer something quirky in styles. Despite the visuals being this films strongest point they haven't differed to much from the last two films, of course its all sharper, bolder, slicker and brighter but all the characters still seem some what bland and generic. My first impression was the fact that the circus characters kinda look like the characters from 'Kung Fu Panda' just nowhere near as stylized.

That said the circus characters are a breath of fresh air and do look nice. Vitaly the Russian tiger is a grand looking fellow and visually striking...trying not to mention Tigress from...oops!. I also must confess to finding Gia the female jaguar character rather sexy, is that wrong?. Hmmm probably is but damn it she is!! the soft slinky body form, the eyes and that voice!! had to slap myself across the face a few times.

The other issue for me with this whole franchise is the off the wall craziness of it all. The animals act like humans and seem to be able to perform human activities without much shock from onlookers. There is also much silliness such as the old lady character who fights Alex the lion etc...the franchise starts off OK but gets more and more surreal as it goes.

This film goes for broke as the animal characters go totally haywire to the point where you forget they are actually animals in our world, so to speak. There isn't much differentiation between animal or human, not that it will bother the target audience and this is an animated kids flick but I'm picky about these things.

The circus aspect is a welcome sight as the corny thought of the animals running around various famous European landmarks didn't bode well. All the circus sequences are lovely to watch in their ultra neon glory, haven't seen any traditional circus stuff like this since 'Dumbo' methinks. The original four main characters are now quite dull but the circus guys give a much needed boost, but its still the old penguins that save the day although not at their best this time.

Does make you wonder why the franchise is still called 'Madagascar' seeing as it has nothing to do with that island anymore but hey. I feel that another may be stretching the premise end of the day, they have come full circle and we've seen a good array of animalistic sights from the city, native Africa, at sea and a classic circus. 'Always leave them wanting more' I believe is the well known saying, but that doesn't necessarily mean do loads more.