Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted:
Not something you would crave for
Ruwini JAYAWARDANA
After the enjoyable Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa, it is truly
tragic to see the turn of events that takes place in its flimsy sequel
Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. The movie relies on low character
development, insignificant action and bland jokes.
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Alex the lion |
The action begins directly where the 2008 sequel has left off. Alex
the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe and Gloria the
hippopotamus are struck with homesickness in the African wilderness.
They romp through the casinos of Monte Carlo searching for the penguins
so that they could all return to their Central Park zoo life.
Unfortunately they soon have an animal control cop Chantel Dubois hot on
their trail.
Faced with the crisis of not being able to fly to New York the
animals stumble upon a circus that is on a tour across the world and
realize that one of their stops is at their hometown.
The biggest let down of the movie is that all the characters seem to
look alike. They all possess comical, eager-to-please-wide-eyed-looks.
Even new additions like Stefano the sea lion and Gia the jaguar do not
possess any unique characteristics. Directors Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath
and Conrad Vernon should have taken note of this fact and etched
different traits and features to the animations. Dubois’ character
especially seems rather silly and is presented with the hope of bringing
comedy rather that weaving a decent storyline.
The story too goes off the rails and plunges into an abyss. It is
difficult to convince the viewers on why Alex and the gang need to run
away with a circus just because they believe that it is a safe way in
getting home. It is all too predictable and lacks the excitement of
suspense. From the moment that the quartet had met their new circus
buddies, the viewers are able to guess the ending.
The story lacks humour. Even the penguins that brought in the laughs
in its predecessors seem to run out of funny lines and deeds. Silly
scenes like Dubois sniffing around to pick their trail like a hound but
resembling a giant spider and the lemur King, Julian, falling hard for a
massive, bicycle-riding bear tend to bore the viewers. Even well-loved
songs like the Spice Girls’ Wannabe and Katy Perry’s overplayed
Firework, seem stale in the movie’s background and does not liven up the
atmosphere.
Failing in this too the directors seem to have made a desperate
attempt to bring some interest by using flamboyant colours, fireworks
and an overdose of performing animals.
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The Madagascar gang |
Probably the only interesting point is found at the heart of the tale
in the form of the circus’ main attraction, Vitaly the Siberian tiger
that jumps through small rings of fire after lubing up with olive oil.
It relates that after facing failure in a certain point he had lost the
nerve to perform the act. Alex convinces Vitaly that all is not lost and
you can do the impossible if you have the passion for it.
Even though Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted features a
star-studded voice cast, this does not prevent the fate of the movie. It
suffers horribly in comparison to the recently released ‘Ice Age 4’ in
all aspects.
If this is where the Madagascar sequels are heading then another
sequel is not the most vied after aspect at the moment. The producers
need to consider if they have any originality in the plot before
investing money on yet another sequel. |