Movie review: 'Madagascar 3'

OPINION

“Madagascar” was made famous by the phrase: “I like to move it, move it. I like to move it, move it. I like to… MOVE IT!”

But now, through “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted,” children are all singing: “Da Da Da-Da-Da-Da-Da Da Circus Da Da Da-Da-Da-Da-Da Da Afro, Circus, Afro, Circus, Afro, polka-dot, polka-dot, polka-dot, AFRO!”

“Europe’s Most Wanted” is the recent movie to the three-part saga. Alex (Ben Stiller), Marty (Chris Rock), Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith), and Melman (David Schwimmer) are still trying to find their way home. The first movie started their predicament with Marty escaping the zoo to get to the wild. Instead, they end up in Madagascar, trapped with monkeys and lemurs. “Madagascar Escape 2 Africa” landed the clan in their homeland, where Alex finds his mother and father.

Now, the friends leave Africa to try and get back to The Big Apple. Their adventure continues through Europe - France, Italy, and England. This time the evil Captain Chantel DuBois of France’s animal control (voiced by Frances McDormand) follows them. Her special hobby is collecting animal heads on her wall. Her next target? The king of the jungle: Alex.

To avoid the almost-invincible lady, they hitch a ride on a circus train where they meet Vitaly, the Russian tiger (Bryan Cranston), Stefano the sea lion (Martin Short), and Gia the jaguar (Jessica Chastain). To remain incognito, the zoo animals masquerade as circus animals.

The movie is hilarious. There is a perfect amount of humor for adults, and all of it is humorous for children. The voices of Rock and Stiller make a perfect team as they nag and pick at each other throughout the film. Schwimmer’s sweet and tedious voice as Melman is still enjoyable, and Smith does an excellent job with Gloria’s booming yet caring voice. Also look out for voice roles from Sacha Baron Cohen, Andy Richter and Cedric the Entertainer.

All the art done for the movie is brilliant. For all the Madagascar movies DreamWorks does an excellent job at portraying the world the animals live in. In the third movie, the car chase in the streets of France is alive and exhilarating. I found myself at the edge of my seat.

I especially enjoyed how the films have been originally created. The films are really one story; a group of animals escape from the zoo, roam the wild, and try to find their way back home. But the way DreamWorks separates the films makes it unique for the audience and draws them in.

Sequels rarely capture the feeling and magic of the original movie, but “Europe’s Most Wanted” isn’t one of those sequels. It is funny, wonderfully-directed and produced, and the art design is fantastic. I didn’t see it in 3D, but the animal’s circus act would have been a sight to see coming out of the screen.

For a children’s movie it has great depth as well. With Alex falling in love with the beautiful jaguar, and Gloria and Melman’s trusting love growing, it was enough for children to understand and admire.

I think DreamWorks did a great job with the third installment. Five out of five stars.