Dreamworks seems to be finally entering into Phase 2 in their animation operations. After first achieving the goal of being a worthy competitor to Disney/Pixar's hold on the market, they have been crafting some beautifully soulful works such as KUNG FU PANDA and HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON. However, in order to advance further, they still have to cut the tethers to their more mediocre and mercenary offerings, first starting with the once great SHREK franchise. Now it is MADAGASCAR's turn, ending the blah series of animal buffoonery with a third installment for a perfect DVD trilogy gift for the holidays. Instead of eating a crow or one of my shoes, I will just have to swallow my pride because MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE'S MOST WANTED is shockingly well-managed and entertaining. It is gleefully absurdist and heartfelt but also cloyingly annoying at times, thanks to its previous films' form of comedy for children audiences.
I still have not seen the second film, ESCAPE 2 AFRICA, since the first film was pure malaise and excessively unmemorable. Thankfully, this film treats the first sequel as an after-thought for new viewers and dragged along parents, since all you need to know is to gleam its title. Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe, and Gloria the hippo are still in Africa, waiting for the return of their penguin companions, who flew off to Monte Carlo in order to fund their trip back to the Central Park Zoo. Sick of waiting and making sand-castle versions of the NYC, they travel to the city, create a cartoonish calamity, and are on the run from animal control. Avoiding the heightened senses and psychotic personality of Capt. Chantel DuBois (voiced by Frances McDormand), they lie their way on to a circus trope's train and embark on their adventures in showbiz.
From the surreal prologue to the group stepping on the train, the film is a complete sugar rush for the ADD generation; rapid-firing away scenes and gags with hardly any to no chance to breathe or marvel at the fun the animators are having. Once on the train do the viewers get some semblance of drama and earnest emotions, as if there was a sudden re-write during production, or in this case the talents of co-writer and noted indie director Noah Baumbach. We are introduced to a group of circus animal performers who want to achieve the impossible but have become jaded in their dreams. Their skills have dwindled severely, most especially for their former superstar Vitaly, a Russian tiger who could jump and slide through any size of a ring. They still think they can earn an American tour contract at their London performance but are unable to retain cohesion or match up to those dastardly and successful French-Canadians who work out of Las Vegas. Of course, the fact they are anthropomorphized creatures and can talk is never addressed or acknowledged by their loser human crowds.
This circus story may follow a predictable path but the animation and performances make up for it significantly. The true highlight of the picture is the premiere of the newly re-vamped circus in London. Though it is set to Katy Perry's "Firework", which will cause some concern for the viewer for how on the nose it is, the artistry of their acts and the craftsmanship of the 3D rendering is stupendous. This sequence does seem to justify seeing the film in a 3D supported theater, but it is just as magical in regular 2D. Since we experience all of the fears and ambitions of the circus animals before this, it makes the moment that much better for them. Bryan Cranston has fun in the movie as the tempermental Vitaly, using his gravel voice to great effect even when stomaching and reading through some real groaners. Jessica Chastain, who was last year's biggest breakthrough actress, also revels with Gia, the upbeat Italian jaguar who wants to be an acrobat of the "Circus Americano" style like the lying lion Alex. She also serves as his love interest, the only one available for the four main leads, which yet again underlines the primary error with this franchise.
As it was a problem in the first two, these MADAGASCAR films are very misleading in believing they have four protagonists. The star of the show has always been Ben Stiller's Alex, as he goes through a journey from a caged spectacle to a free-thinking animal. The other three have nothing to offer to the story here; Chris Rock is again irksome as the so-called comic relief Marty while David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith do nil beyond jokes about Melman's height and Gloria's weight respectively. Further to the detriment of this film is the franchise's trademarked way too kid-friendly humor that gets extremely grating. Sacha Baron Cohen reprises his lemur character, again bringing up forgotten dance songs of the past to no laughs. Martin Short is cast as a rambunctious Italian seal lion who you will certainly wish will succumb to not being in water all the time. However, those are absolutely bearable compared to "Afro Circus", that brain-bleeding song devised by Chris Rock that has plagued all the trailers and T.V. spots. Trust me, it gets worst when it is later remixed for the finale and then mash-upped with the series' theme song "I Like to Move It" during the end-credits.
MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE'S MOST WANTED will not completely change my overall opinion of the Dreamworks Animation franchise. Instead, it shall stand as its own entity. Everything does not positively work in the film, especially the oddball moments involving the songs "Time to Say Goodbye" and "Non, je ne regrette rien" of all things, but it should be commendable for trying to succeed from the dregs of the past movies. For that, I am glad that all of the work done by the many talented art departments got to end with a high note.
FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5
No comments:
Post a Comment