REVIEWS
Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted Reviewed by Mark Adams
The animal escapees from New York City zoo con- tinue their world tour (after stop-offs in Madagas- car and Africa in the first two animated romps) with a bright and breezy jaunt to Europe that deliv- ers enough laughs, action and thrillingly staged adventure to keep the young ones happy. This good-natured sequel sees them coming full circle and finally make it back to the Big Apple but, given the box-office success of the franchise, do not dis- count another spin-off in years to come. This is the first in the series to embrace 3D, and
the directing team of Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath and Conrad Vernon make the most of the format, loading the film with plenty of ‘in-your-face’ 3D effects as the characters flip, roll and fly through the story. The process does not dampen the lush colour and the film-makers have enough fun with the for- mat to justify its use. At the end of Madagascar 2, the New York zoo
animals — lion Alex (Stiller), zebra Marty (Rock), giraffe Melman (Schwimmer) and hippo Gloria (Smith) — were left stranded in Africa while their conniving penguin pals had boarded their rebuilt aircraft to fly to Monte Carlo for a gambling spree. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted opens with Alex dreaming of returning to his adoring fans at
OUT OF COMPETITION
US. 2012. 93mins Directors Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, Conrad Vernon Production company DreamWorks Animation SKG Producers Mireille Soria, Mark Swift Screenplay Eric Darnell, Noah Baumbach Music Hans Zimmer Main cast (voices) Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, David Schwimmer, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Frances McDormand, Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, Martin Short
the Central Park zoo, and before you know it the foursome head to Europe for ‘Operation Penguin Extraction’, as they make a beeline for the casino to grab the penguins. Things go crashingly wrong, and the animals find themselves hotly pursued (on a scooter) by the steely-eyed Capitaine Chantel DuBois (enthusiastically voiced by Frances McDor- mand), who is determined to add a lion’s head to her wall of animals captured and killed. After a frantic chase through the streets of Monte
Carlo, they escape by convincing the animals of the Circus Zaragosa that they are in fact talented circus animals and are given refuge on the show’s train heading to Rome, along with the circus animals — including tiger Vitaly (Cranston), sea lion Stefano (Short) and jaguar Gia (Chastain).
After stop-offs in Rome and London the circus
signs a deal to perform in Central Park, and with Capitaine DuBois still hot on their trail the animals make a triumphant return to Manhattan… only to finally realise the adventures and freedom they have experienced on their travels are more impor- tant than the free food and adulation they received back at the zoo. Charmingly, the 3D works to impressive effect as
the stodgy old-fashioned circus is gradually trans- formed into a bright, balletic and stylish Cirque du Soleil affair, with much emphasis put on how the animals’ hard work and creativity pays off, with a spectacular performance set against Katy Perry’s foot-tappingly perfect song Firework as the animals spin and leap through the air with joyful abandon.
n 32 Screen International at Cannes May 19, 2012
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