Blog-a-bing. Blog-a-boom.: Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Afroed

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Afroed

Tan-tan-tarararan-taaaa-ran...Circus
Tan-tan-tarararan-taaaa-ran...Afro
Circus! Afro!
Circus! Afro!
Polkadot, polkadot, polkadot...AFRO!!!

If my little boy, Kenji, sings this one more time, I swear I'll snap.

That little ditty --sung in the distinct melody of generic Circus fanfare-- is the Last Song Syndrome that comes with watching Dreamworks' Madagascar 3. No child has ever come out of the movie house without at least humming it or full blown singing it for the next couple of days.

Other than that epidemic, the movie was plain superb! Our adventurous New Yorker animal quartet takes on another road trip to get back home, by way of Europe. Simple plot with a totally unexpected twist. They become circus animals along the way. WHO WOULDA THUNK THAT?!!

There are unforgettable key moments. And I'm hoping I'm not spoiling it for anyone as I lay them down.

Alex the Lion gets a semi-love interest in a jaguar named Jia. They do a trapeze romance. Uh-huh.

There was a lesson in 'I get knocked down... but I get up again' in Vitali the hoop-jumping tiger.

There was a rather creepy first ever humbling experience for narcissistic lemur, King Julien, when he fell in love with the Ducati-riding Sonya the performing bear.

The mainstays the penguins, the chimps, Melman the giraffe, and Gloria the hippo didn't get much depth time. But they did contribute largely to the ...

GUH-LO-RIOUS circus performance to the tune of Katy Perry's Firework! Now THIS is CG choreography production number at its finest. Beauty and the Beast's Lumier of Be My Guest fame will be proud! Now I can't sing Firework without seeing animals jumping and twirling in neon in my head. Whoa. Trippy.

The clincher was when the quartet finally gets home to the zoo! Yes! They're finally home! And at that fateful moment, all they wanted was to go back to the circus upon realizing that they do love freedom more than being locked up after all. Defining...

Lastly, Madagascar 3 has absolutely nothing to do with Madagascar. Except for the ending where the antagonist Dubois gets boxed and shipped to --you got it-- Madagascar. It's a token shot. You might just miss it.

Uh, Marty the zebra is still annoying. Please refer to the first paragraph. But at least he found an annoying soulmate in Stefano, a flying-from-a-canon sea lion. As if one wasn't enough.

All in all, Madagascar 3 is an entertaining ride of a movie. Perfect follow up to the blockbuster series. Kids will love it!
Specially... the song...