Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted Review

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted is a 2012 animated comedy film by DreamWorks animation and it is the third entry in this franchise. It is definitely the best of the three.

The heroes arrive to Europe where they are hunted by Animal Control officer. As a means of escaping, they join a circus where they become friends with other circus animals. In the end, they all come to realize what home really means. Yes, this movie finally has something deep about it and that whole ending is just phenomenal and the reason to see not just this entry, but the whole franchise which is frankly mediocre overall. That scene in which they go back to their home zoo is so emotionally satisfying and powerful. And it is definitely sophisticated as it shows us how we all glorify our childhood places when in actuality they were not that fantastic to begin with and it is all our nostalgia at work. I really loved that about this movie.

But the plot overall has its moments. The backstory with the Russian tiger is really well done and one of the highlights and the movie is definitely more engaging than the previous two entries. But the story is still mediocre in most parts as the film relies so much on stupid humor and fast pace that the whole first act suffers as it is quick and simply ridiculous in nature.

Alex is again the most developed of the bunch, but unfortunately, with the introduction of more characters, Melman, Gloria and Marty suffer as all three of them are so forgettable and even underused here. King Julien is again funny and even funnier than before as his newly established relationship with Sonya the bear is ludicrous, but fun. The Penguins are once again hilarious and they get their hysterical moments. As for the newly introduced circus animals, they are a mixed bag. Vitaly is annoying at first, but receives a nicely emotional treatment with his backstory and is the best developed character here without a doubt. But Gia is a typical female character with an annoying and over-the-top Italian accent. As for Stefano, he is definitely frustrating in his typical demeanor and humor, but he was at least funny and even hilarious from time to time. The lines about his intelligence were of the funniest in this movie. Captain Chantel DuBois is so typical and such a stupid, clichéd villain. She is such an evident rip-off of Cruella de Ville that it is embarrassing. But she is just plain unnecessary and they didn’t go anywhere with her and that is one of the movie’s biggest flaws.

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted has a stupendous animation that really caught me off guard. It is such a vast improvement over the previous two entries that it was really interesting to watch and such a pleasant surprise. The cities are wonderfully depicted and are so beautiful to behold, especially Rome. And it is wonderfully colorful and has an incredibly improved attention to detail, especially in interior design. Yes, it came out in 2012 which is four years apart from the second movie, but it is still such an incredible improvement that anyone would guess it was a larger year gap and that is such a commendable achievement.

The film is badly paced. It starts off abruptly and the first third is so incredibly quick and just annoying whereas the third act is slower. The pacing is all over the place in this one. And the soundtrack is better here as it has more pleasant songs, but that still doesn’t change the fact that the film uses modern pop songs and even uses one of them twice which is such a lazy choice. The imagery is great and the tone is okay as it has its emotional moments, but they are rare unfortunately. The humor is okay and the film is funny from time to time and even hilarious at some points, but it is still typical and gearing towards kids and immature adults with obvious gags and jokes. Also, the movie is sometimes too silly and even ridiculous, especially in its action which I found to be just stupid and so over-the-top that it is annoying and frustrating instead of being funny and thrilling. The overall movie is forgettable in its story, but the performances are again fine and the circus elements are charming making it a passable diversion. This is definitely the best entry in this franchise as it easily beats ‘Madagascar‘ and ‘Madagascar Escape 2 Africa‘ as they are both mediocre. This is the only movie that is okay and has its inspired moments and the only one that I would recommend watching as this franchise is forgettable and typical.