Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)

Genre

Animation | Adventure | Comedy

Directors

Eric Darnell | Conrad Vernon | Tom McGrath

Country

USA

Voice Cast

Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Tom McGrath, Frances McDormand, Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, Martin Short, Chris Miller, John DiMaggio, Christopher Knights, Frank Welker, Paz Vega, Conrad Vernon, Vinnie Jones, Steve Jones, Nick Fletcher, Eric Darnell, Daniel O'Connor, Danny Jacobs

Storyline

Still trying to get back to their beloved Big Apple, Alex (Ben Stiller), Marty (Chris Rock), Melman (David Schwimmer) and Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith) travel to Monte Carlo, where they attract the attention of Animal Control led by Captain Dubois (Frances McDormand) who want to make Alex part of the collection. To maintain a low profile, the animals have no other choice but join a traveling circus.

Opinion

The Madagascar trilogy has evolved to dance moves: the poor first film, representing the moment of stillness, has been followed by Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, that took two steps forward, to be in its turn followed by this film, that took a step back.

Less funny than its predecessor, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted is a film for the easily entertained and furthermore delivers a wrong message to kids. 

The film starts off pretty well, with action, chases, and funny gags, but after around 40 minutes it loses altitude, and the main problem is not the circus idea, which seems far-fetched, but the fact that the film doesn't feel like a Madagascar flick at all. 

The plot still revolves around the same animals, but it's quite absurd, and does not relate much to the central goal of the characters, that is trying to get back to America. I don't remember posing this question when I first watched the film, but how did the animals go from Africa to Monte Carlo? By swimming? I really can't see a lion, a zebra and a giraffe swimming.

However, the penguins still make their show - the casino idea with the British chimps was great -, and King Julien, even though he has less fun, is still one of the best characters. 

And now comes the morality of the film. Even though the love affair between King Julian and the bear is rather than strange but delivers a good message of love, the circus animals joining forces with the zoo animals is a great message of friendship, the whole circus thing is just wrong. You can't make animals choose the circus life, so amazingly portrayed here, over living wild and free. I know that at some point the animals buy the circus, and humans are portrayed as evil, but it still makes animals traveling around the world to perform tricks to entertain humans look ok, and it is definitely not ok.

Having said that, I have to admit that the circus scenes with Katy Perry's "Fireworks" was awesome, and is the most colorful and creative sequence of the entire film. The soundtrack also was kind of good.

I'm glad they didn't make a fourth Madagascar film but make the Penguins' instead. 

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)

Genre

Animation | Adventure | Comedy

Directors

Eric Darnell | Tom McGrath

Country

USA

Voice Cast

Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Bernie Mac, Sherri Shepherd, Alec Baldwin, Elisa Gabrielli, will.i.am, Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights, John DiMaggio, Conrad Vernon, Fred Tatasciore, Eric Darnell, Al Roker, Stephen Kearin, Danny Jacobs, Dan O'Connor, Stacy Ferguson, Harland Williams, Bridget Hoffman

Storyline

The animals try to fly back to New York City, but all of a sudden their plane crashes and they land in the wilderness of Africa, where Alex (Ben Stiller) meets the rest of his family, but has trouble communicating with them after spending so much time at the Central Park Zoo.

Opinion

The original Madagascar had a promising premise but it was poorly put together, so making a better sequel wasn't hard at all, even though the chance of making a worse film was just around the corner. Luckily, this one is better than the first entry, and not slightly.

The stronger story, the improved animation, and the funnier jokes make of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa a freshalicious comedy for everyone to enjoy.

The plot is still very simple, predictable and easy to follow - it's a kids movie after all - but the several sub plots make the film much stronger and more entertaining than its predecessor.

The film opens with a brief summary of the first installment, which is a good thing, so there is no need to see the first film to understand what's happening in this one.

This film also has more heart than the original - I actually found myself rooting for Alex -, it delivers a stronger message of friendship, and the characters seem better developed. Marty, Melman, and Gloria all have interesting interactions with the African animals. Also there is more King Julien - he is such a cutie, and so hilarious, and Sacha Baron Cohen really deserves the credits for that - and more penguins, which totally steal the show by the way.

However there was something very annoying about this film: the old lady. I really couldn't stand her. I'm glad she is not in the third movie.

Quotes

Private: In case of a loss of oxygen, please place your masks over your faces to hide your terrified expressions from the other passengers.

Madagascar (2005)

Genre

Animation | Adventure | Comedy

Directors

Eric Darnell | Tom McGrath

Country

USA

Voice Cast

Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Christopher Knights, Conrad Vernon, Fred Tatasciore, Elisa Gabrielli, Bob Saget, David Cowgill, Stephen Apostolina

Storyline

At New York's Central Park Zoo, a lion, a zebra, a giraffe, and a hippo are best friends and stars of the show. But when one of the animals goes missing from their cage, the other three break free to look for him, only to find themselves reunited ... on a ship en route to Africa. When their vessel is hijacked, however, the friends, who have all been raised in captivity, learn first-hand what life can be like in the wild.

Opinion

I remember watching this film for the first time when I was a kid, and I remember I wasn't very enthusiastic about it. Ten years later, my opinion hasn't changed a bit.

The promising storyline, the top voice cast, and Dreamworks crumble when facing Madagascar, a barely decent animation flick that may entertain some kids but can't hold the adults attention for too long.

The script is absolutely horrible. The plot, probably the most simple I've seen in awhile, is easy for kids to follow but completely fails in entertaining the adults, that will soon be bored. The jokes do not work. The film tries too hard to make them work, but they barely make you chuckle.

The four main characters are utterly annoying, especially the prima donna lion. And looking at other animation flicks of the same period, it seems like Dreamworks took a step backwards with CGI - visually speaking The Wild was a better film.

Even though I like King Julien, I think the dance scenes were completely inappropriate for kids. I mean, a group of lemurs shaking their butts, come on!

However, there was something good about it. The four cute and cuddly penguins. They were lovable, more characterized than the other animals, and brought some life to the film.

Penguins of Madagascar (2014)

Genre

Animation | Adventure | Comedy

Directors

Eric Darnell | Simon J. Smith

Country

USA

Voice Cast

Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Conrad Vernon, Christopher Knights, Benedict Cumberbatch, John Malkovich, Ken Jeong, Annet Mahendru, Peter Stormare, Werner Herzog, Danny Jacobs, Andy Richter

Plot

Skipper (Tom McGrath), Kowalski (Chris Miller), Rico (Conrad Vernon) and Private (Christopher Knights) join forces with undercover organization The North Wind to stop the villainous Dr. Octavius Brine (John Malkovich) from destroying the world as we know it.

Opinion

I was 11-year-old when the first Madagascar film was released. I've never missed one ever since. When I heard the penguins were going to have their own film I was excited because they were my favourite characters, and I'm happy to say that the film did not disappoint me. 

Penguins of Madagascar is a very amusing spin-off that entertains not only children but adults as well. 

The film has lots of fun, especially in the first half, with multilayered and calculated jokes so adults do not get bored - even though some jokes can't be understood by a younger audience - and despite there is not much originality in the story, the humor keeps the film up.

Kids can learn a few lessons from the film, but most importantly it's to never judge a book from its cover, because it's what you do that counts, not the way you look like. 

I absolutely loved the villain, Dave, because he is cruel but at the same time funny. The penguins are adorable as usual. The other characters are ok, but the grey wolf resembles too much Alex the Lion.

Quotes

Private: Skipper wouldn't care. Plan or no! Fancy equipment or no! He'd never leave a man behind!