Zoo critters again flee to the circus
By David Germain |
June 10, 2012, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
BEN Stiller's Alex the Lion reviews "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" so we don't have to.
Halfway into the third animated tale about New York City zoo animals on their overseas adventures, Alex tells some new circus friends that their act was not too entertaining for families "because you were just going through the motions out there."
Same for "Madagascar 3," which goes through a lot of motions - explosions of action and image so riotously paced that they become narcotic and numbing.
With Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath, creators of the first two "Madagascar" flicks, joined by a third director in Conrad Vernon ("Shrek 2"), the filmmakers just can't stop stuffing things, to distraction, into "Europe's Most Wanted."
The result: a cute story about zoo animals running off to join the circus becomes overwhelmed by a blur of color and animated acrobatics. The pictures are pretty, but the filmmakers seem unwilling to risk the slightest lapse of audience attention, so they put the movie on fast-forward and let it go.
"Madagascar 3" opens with Alex and zoo pals Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) and Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer) still stuck in Africa, dreaming getting back to New York.
Along with lemur king Julien (Sacha Baron Cohen) and his flunky (Cedric the Entertainer), they follow Skipper (voiced by co-director McGrath) and his wily penguin cohorts to the casinos of Monte Carlo, hoping to hitch a ride home.
The journey from Africa to Europe just happens, with no explanation, begging the question, how much harder would it be for the gang to get back to New York on its own?
The critters raise a ruckus at the casino, setting vile French animal-control officer Chantel DuBois (Frances McDormand) on their tail. The animals may be cuddly as ever, but the design of Chantel is creepy in an off-putting way; she's like an early take on "101 Dalmatians" heavy Cruella De Vil, discarded by Walt Disney out of sheer repugnance.
The animation is grand, and the lovely images may send really young kids away happy. Their parents might leave feeling they've been taken in by some carny sleight-of-hand, though.
Halfway into the third animated tale about New York City zoo animals on their overseas adventures, Alex tells some new circus friends that their act was not too entertaining for families "because you were just going through the motions out there."
Same for "Madagascar 3," which goes through a lot of motions - explosions of action and image so riotously paced that they become narcotic and numbing.
With Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath, creators of the first two "Madagascar" flicks, joined by a third director in Conrad Vernon ("Shrek 2"), the filmmakers just can't stop stuffing things, to distraction, into "Europe's Most Wanted."
The result: a cute story about zoo animals running off to join the circus becomes overwhelmed by a blur of color and animated acrobatics. The pictures are pretty, but the filmmakers seem unwilling to risk the slightest lapse of audience attention, so they put the movie on fast-forward and let it go.
"Madagascar 3" opens with Alex and zoo pals Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) and Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer) still stuck in Africa, dreaming getting back to New York.
Along with lemur king Julien (Sacha Baron Cohen) and his flunky (Cedric the Entertainer), they follow Skipper (voiced by co-director McGrath) and his wily penguin cohorts to the casinos of Monte Carlo, hoping to hitch a ride home.
The journey from Africa to Europe just happens, with no explanation, begging the question, how much harder would it be for the gang to get back to New York on its own?
The critters raise a ruckus at the casino, setting vile French animal-control officer Chantel DuBois (Frances McDormand) on their tail. The animals may be cuddly as ever, but the design of Chantel is creepy in an off-putting way; she's like an early take on "101 Dalmatians" heavy Cruella De Vil, discarded by Walt Disney out of sheer repugnance.
The animation is grand, and the lovely images may send really young kids away happy. Their parents might leave feeling they've been taken in by some carny sleight-of-hand, though.
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