Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted: 8/10

Utterly ridiculous. And it works., 8 June 2012

The cinematic franchise known as Madagascar is at its absolute best when the jokes are flying, the action is relentless and exaggerated, and you see more of the supporting characters as opposed to the main four. Everyone in the Milky Way knows that the penguins, Julius, and Mort provide the highest percentage of laughs on screen.

So now taking a page from the playbook of Ice Age 3, the third installment stripped away all sanity and logic, removed most of the heart, and increased the speed of the entire production. So what we have here is an extremely fast-paced and random nutty funhouse that is heavy on laughs, heavy in action, and only slows down when the story picks up any sentimentality.

Despite the movie moving so rapid that you don't realize there's a plot----don't worry, I will explain it to you. Alex and company are trying to find a way back to the United States before a psychotic animal hunter catches up to them. Along the way they get chased in Monte Carlo, join a circus, and befriend a group of circus animals that has seen better days. The plot is slightly original but still manages to hit all the clichés. But don't worry; it won't bother you too much.

Not when Julius has an incredibly bizarre (but downright hilarious) love story.

Not when the penguins and the monkeys continue to scheme, beg, borrow, deal, and build their way out of any situation.

Not when Mort's big bulgy eyes and random moments continue to thrive on the big screen.

And not when you are treated to action scene after action scene that breaks every single law of physics humanely possible.

The staff behind Europe's Most Wanted (it's a three-director team, which is why it seems as though this movie wants to head in multiple directions) is fully aware of the power and appeal of the non-main characters---so they gave them more screen time and focused far less on the drama of going home. That being said, it still didn't feel like it's enough. Unlike the support (and their voice actors) the main characters have gone a bit stale; the writing towards them has weakened severely over the years.

But as long as those penguins and lemurs continue to exist, Madagascar will remain a delight for kids and a guilty pleasure for adults. And the third time may not be the charm with the original still being the best, and although once again Madagascar mildly flounders in the third act, it's still a ridiculously dizzily entertaining movie that never overstays its welcome—even if the main characters do.