All good things don't always come in threes

Photos courtesy: rottentomatoes.com 

The funny foursome is back. In Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted,

Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Gloria the hippo and Melman the giraffe are still trying to get back home to New York, having lost their way in Part 1 of the much-loved sequel. And they’re still getting into a lot of trouble all the way from Madagascar to New York enroute Monaco, Rome and London.

This time they must join a circus and reinvent it Madagascar-style, all to get to the Big Apple and also more importantly escape the clutches of French animal inspector Capitaine Chantel DuBois (Frances McDormand) who must have Alex in her prized collection.

A circus in the storyline obviously means more characters join the pack, who are fun but not really memorable.

 There’s tiger Vitaly (Bryan Cranston) who’s hurt, low on confidence and sports a mean Russian accent. He was once the circus' main attraction but an accident ruins his star-act. 

There’s jaguar Gia (Jessica Chastain) who’s sole purpose for being brought in may just to provide Alex with a love interest, but she’s nowhere near as spunky as him.

 By far the most lovable is Stefano the sea lion and an Italian one at that (Martin Short) and the love story that actually works is the one between the slobbering Sonya the bear and Julien (Sacha Baron Cohen).

The character of Chantel is one that we predict you’ll enjoy the most – she hunts with her nose and in the middle finds time to touch-up her blood red lipstick. The 3D effects, and there’s ample of it, adds that extra bit of fun to the film which will work well if the giggling kids in the cinema were anything to go by.

All in all a fun film, but one that pales in comparison to the laughter of Part 1 and the sheer genius of Part 2.

Note: This article has also appeared in the 9 June edition of Financial World