In this third instalment of the Dreamworks franchise, Alex the lion (Ben Stiller), Marty the zebra (Chris Rock), Melman the giraffe (David Schwimmer) and Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) are living in the African savannah, but still yearn to return to NYC’s Central Park Zoo.
When Alex’s friends build him a sandcastle replica of Manhattan for his birthday, he becomes particularly homesick, sighing wistfully for “Times Square, with its modern corporate lack of character!”
As the animals – voiced with good humour by the cast of old pros – attempt to get home, their journey takes them through Monte Carlo casinos, snowy Alps, Roman streets, New York skies. There’s not much plot but non-stop energy, a cascade of one-liners, pop-culture references and parodies.
The visuals fall between beautiful and absurd. At one point the animals blag their way into a Russian circus and perform in an incredible, fantastical spectacle. As they trapeze on randomly floating neon orbs and jet-pack through balloon bouquets, the effect is nonsensical, but damn pretty.
Overall, Madagascar 3 proves a broad crowd-pleaser.