(Where the HELL is Animal Control?!?! Oh, wait... there she is)
CAST: Voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Frances McDormand, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric The Entertainer, Andy Richter.
DIRECTORS: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, Conrad Vernon.
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and more zoo-escapees trying to get their furry asses back to the Big Apple - straight ahead...
IT'S LIKE THIS: In 2005's MADAGASACAR, we met pretty-boy lion Alex (Ben Stiller), crackhead zebra Marty (Chris Rock), nervous giraffe Melman (David Schwimmer), and sensible hippo Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith) when all four of 'em were unexpectedly and unceremoniously uprooted from their cushy NYC zoo home - and transported via seafaring cramped cargo crates to the lovely isle of, uh, Madagascar. There, our comedic foursome discovered Mother Nature can be a bitch - and made the acquaintances of: (1) King Julian (Sacha Baron Cohen), a bizarro lemur who makes Marty look like the epitome of normalcy; (2) Maurice (Cedric The Entertainer), Julian's much more normal number # 2; (3) Mort (Andy Richter), Julian's tremulous bitch-boy who is forever in fear of his own shadow - and everyone else's; and, last but certainly the craziest: (4) The Penguins (Tom McGrath, Christopher Knights, Chris Miller, Conrad Vernon), four nutty tuxedo birdies who will make you rethink your idea of penguins as harmlessly cute zoo animals.
Then, in 2008's MADAGASCAR 2, we further followed the furry foursome's continuing misadventures and growing pains as they realized that they really, really, REALLY missed the Big Apple. Enough to put their faith on those four fucking insane penguins and a plan to get off the island that makes your average James Bond plot look downright believable. It involves: (1) a plane with no engine; and (2) putting their faith on those four fucking insane penguins and (3) a plan to get off the island that makes your average James Bond plot look downright believable. Only they end up on the mainland continent of Africa, which our furry foursome decided was good enough. Right. Four prima donnas who are used to the amenities of the En-Why-Cee? Let's see how long that lasts. Compared to where they just came from, anything is a step up. But not for long. At least the Penguins prove to be fairly smart after all: they see the writing on the wall (i.e., they will be bored out of their skulls in, like, three days), take that rickety-ass plane, and hightail it to Europe. Monte Carlo, to be exact. The End.
Which brings us to MADAGASCAR 3 - which starts with Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria getting a traveler's version of The Seven Year Itch. In other words: "what's our next destination?" Seems they've gotten really bored with Africa, and Alex plans on using the Penguins' plane to fly them all to NYC - when they return from Monte Carlo, that is. Now, folks, I don't have to tell you that this plan depends on one very big assumption: that those goddamned tuxedo birds are even going to come back in the first place. Think about it... if you were a crazy-ass party-animal penguin, would you hang out in the glam environs of Monte Carlo where booze and music and money runs wild - or would you stay in the quiet savannahs of Africa where there's more than a passing chance of getting eaten by something very big with sharp teeth? Yes, folks, Alex should not hold his breath.
Before you know it, Alex and his three buds decide to, ahem, snorkel to Monte Carlo. Hey, if the fucking Muppets can "travel by map", then our furry foursome can snorkel around the Cape of Good Hope, up along the West Coast of Africa, duck through the Strait of Gibraltar, hang a left past Spain, and make a beeline for the shores of... Monte Carlo. Personally, I would've just paraglided - and steered straight for Europe. Like I tried to do a couple of months ago when some Californian friends and I decided to add paragliding to our list of adventures (next up: bungee jumping and Great White Shark Cage diving). I tried to steer the parachute to Los Angeles, which did not please my tandem partner/paraglide pilot at all. On our next flight, I tried to steer towards San Francisco. Still a no-go. Well, we're going paragliding again next month because I'm getting a Paraglide Adventure Package as a present for another friend - and this time I'm aiming for Maui. Wish me luck. Maybe the third time will be the charm.
Unfortunately, owing that there are no paraglide agencies at all on Madagascar, our heroes decide to just swim for it. It doesn't come as huge surprise that they make it to Monte Carlo, no problem. Since this is an animate film, anything goes. It takes even less time for Alex, Melman, Marty, and Gloria to track down those crackhead penguins. Apparently, our tuxedo birdbrains have (with the help of a couple of even nuttier monkeys) decided to impersonate a human being (don't even ask), and try their luck at the gambling tables. After a botched interception attempt that aims to ape the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE setpieces, but fails miserably, our furry foursome, the tuxedo birdbrains, and the two lunatic monkeys have to go on the run through the streets of Monte Carlo.
Which normally wouldn't be a problem, but unfortunately, it appears that Monte Carlo Animal Control has an agent who is like Catherine Banning (Renee Russo) from THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR - but even more relentless, sharp, and formidable (if that's even possible). She is Chantal DuBois (Frances McDormand). And, evidently, she always get her man. Or her lion, zebra, hippo, giraffe, penguins, and monkeys. In other words: run, animals, RUN!!!!
And, run they do. Let's just say that Alex and co. quickly realize just how unstoppable Chantal is - and try to vamoose it out of there. Unfortunately, their rickety-ass plane does what rickety-ass planes do well - fall out of the fucking sky. And just like that, our lovable and furry dipshits are stuck in France without a ride home. You'd think at this point, these fucking animals would FINALLY go to the nearest paraglide shop and try to float and steer their way across the Atlantic to Noo Yawk (this is a cartoon, after all - it's totally do-able). But, no... our quadriped (except for the insane penguins who are bipeds) heroes decide to travel across Europe by... joining the circus. I wish I was kidding, folks, but somehow these cretins think they can "blend" in with the other animals and perform with them so well, that a talent agent from Noo Yawk will hire them and transport them to the Big Apple. As I said before, don't even ask.
So... will Alex, Gloria, Marty, and Melman succeed with their "circus plan"? How will the animals of the circus react? Will they embrace them? Or refuse to let them join? How will Stefano the Italian Seal (Martin Short), Vitaly the Russian Tiger (Bryan Cranston), and Gia the Ukrainian Tigress (Jessica Chastain) help our furry heroes? Will they work together as a team? Or will Vitaly's ego ruin their hard work? Will our furry foursome ever see the Big Apple ever again?
Who cares. They asked for it by joining the Circus and not paragliding their asses across the ocean. I mean, come one: if they can snorkel across the Indian Ocean, the East Atlantic Ocean, and across the Mediterranean Sea, they can sure as hell float all the way to New York. Hell, I almost made it to L.A. and San Francisco - before my dumbass pilot put a stop to that shit. Damn it.
BUT, SERIOUSLY: Following on the heels of the clever and immensely enjoyable MADAGASCAR (2005) and MADAGASCAR 2: ESCAPE TO AFRICE (2008), MADAGASCAR 3 provides the same delightful blend of beautiful animation and irreverent hilarity that the series is known for. What's great about this installment, though, is that it turns all the characters - even Julian, Maurice, Mort, the Penguins and the Monkeys - into "fishes-out-of-water". Whereas Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria were the "odd men out" because of their "city mouse" origins, the entire cast is out of their element in the Monte Carlo setting.
Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, and Jada Pinkett Smith once again bring razor-sharp comic timing and charisma to their roles - and are all stellar. Sacha Baron Cohen is once again a loony delight as King Julian. Unapologetically bizarre and flamboyant, Julian came close to stealing the first two movies - and almost does the same here. Same goes for the goofy quartet of Penguins whose appearance automatically signals some truly hilarious setpieces. Quite simply, these guys are a hoot. As for Mort and Maurice, Andy Richter and Cedric The Entertainer give them their moments in the sun, so to speak, are great support.
Martin Short, Jessica Chastain, and Bryan Cranston are great as the new characters: Stefano, the goofy Italian Seal; Gia, the sultry Ukrainian Tigress; and Vitaly, the potentially villainous Russian Tiger. Each of them aquit themselves well and manage to stand tall next to the veterans of the first two films.
One of the best elements of the new film, though, is Frances McDormand as the determined and implacable "animal detective" Chantal Dubois. McDormand makes Chantal a formidable adversary for our group of animal heroes, and it's great that the writers decided to make the character female. Lesser writers would've gone a predictable route and made Chantal male. The character works better as a woman, and even though she's animated, Chantal brings echoes of Catherine Banning (Renee Russo) from THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR, Gin Baker (Catherine Zeta-Jones) from ENTRAPMENT, and Karen Sisco (Jennifer Lopez) from OUT OF SIGHT - similarly determined female law enforcement agents hot on the heroes' trails.
As with the best animated films, MADAGASCAR 3 combines intelligent and irreverent humor, with great visuals and a genuinely warm sense of community. I cannot wait for the (inevitable) MADAGASCAR 4. And an added plus: the MADAGASCAR theme is one of the most energetic and stirring themes I've ever heard. In fact, when we went paragliding in California two months ago, this music was inexplicably playing through my head as we walked over the edge. Actually, it's the music that plays in my head anytime we do anything adventurous: scuba diving, mountain biking, cliff jumping, or anything outdoorsy. Awesome theme that signifies adventure. Love it. Never fails to send shivers of excitement down my spine.
In closing, MADAGASCAR 3 is just as good as the first two films - maybe even a little better because of the new avenues the story forces our characters down. And because of Chantal Dubois - who is one formidable (and hilarious) opponent.
Please revel in the thrilling MADAGASCAR themes by that wondrous talent named Hans Zimmer:
Then there's the other song that the MADAGASCAR series is famous for: "I Like To Move It" by King Julian and his crew...
