‘Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted’ has the animals headed in too many directions

Pixar films have historically prided themselves on their simplicity. Look at Wall-E or Up. These are small tales told in big ways, and the impact is quite high. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (definitely not a Pixar film) takes the opposite approach. Rather than finely focusing its story and characters, the film decides to throw everything up into the air, hoping that something might stick before the end credits roll. Luckily, the third installment in the family-film franchise is able to hit a few high notes, but that still doesn’t excuse all the headaches along the way.

Alex the lion (Ben Stiller), Marty the zebra (Chris Rock), Melman the giraffe (David Schwimmer) and Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) are all back for another long, wayward journey from Madagascar to the Central Park Zoo in New York City. There’s a cadre of militaristic penguins around for some good laughs, plus one annoyingly spunky lemur.

Marty remains the most grating character, with every line of dialogue being a cheap joke or silly dance number (the Afro Circus song is particularly annoying). Melman and Alex remain the most interesting and memorable. Gloria shows up for a few scenes, but the writers have largely forgotten about the 3,000-pound hippo in the room.

The plot is…well, largely non-existent.

How’s this for a gaping hole? The gang needs to cross the Atlantic and find the Big Apple, but rather than heading west, they head north to Monaco, for no other apparent than to join up with a traveling circus and speed pass some beautiful continental cities. The four animals are in Africa one scene and then on the shores of France the next. Why can’t they make the trip to America? They seem to be perfect swimmers to Europe.

The circus animals they meet up with are largely lacking in personality. The only one who proves memorable is Stefano the elephant seal (Martin Short). After performing with the circus actors and gaining their trust, Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria eventually find themselves traveling across the ocean to New York City to set up camp in Central Park. How wonderfully convenient.

The story is, by and large, terrible. But it allows for that one Madagascar mainstay: Montage sequences involving cute animals singing annoying pop songs. And, yes, a Katy Perry tune is played.

The first Madagascar dug a little deeper into these four central characters, offering older and younger audiences a chance to laugh and learn some basic lessons about friendship. Madagascar 3 follows in the same vein as Madagascar 2 and Cars 2. The franchise has become a cash cow, with little thought of nuance, subtlety or a lasting impression.

Watching Europe’s Most Wanted is never boring or dull. The energy level is high (perhaps too high), and the visuals are stunningly colorful and varied. The animators at DreamWorks have earned their keep (although those squared-off fingers are still unusual).

Hopefully for the fourth outing, the creators will be able to add more than just the visual factor. Let Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria get back to their roots. They (and we) deserve better.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapboxcom

• Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted

• 2012

• Directed by Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath and Conrad Vernon

• Written by Darnell and Noah Baumbach

• Featuring the voice talents of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Martin Short, Cedric the Entertainer and Frances McDormand

• Running time: 93 minutes

• Rated PG for some mild action and rude humor

• Rating: