I never thought I'd say this on American soil, but the Rooskie's right.

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted

(2012)

Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath have shown remarkable dedication to their escaped zoo animal animated franchise, returning to steer each of the sequels (here joined by Conrad Vernon). As such, the formula is tried and tested; bring back the four main players (Stiller, Rock, Schwimmer, Pinkett Smith), let the support steal the best gags (Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, McGrath as the penguin leader), ensure there are multiple hyperbolic set pieces and sprinkle liberally atop all of this a number of Euro-cheese dance tracks. Oh, and don’t forget to include a dollop of sentiment/moralising.

This is the DreamWorks formula, and whether it is more or less successful creatively it usually pays off in box office. Indeed, careening from this path hasn’t enamoured their shareholders (see Rise of the Guardians), although it could be argued that if they tried to stretch themselves a bit more they’d have more critical successes like How to Train Your Dragon. Madagascar 3 is perfectly serviceable and often very funny, but it’s largely indistinguishable from the previous installments (I say that having enjoyed both of them, which is just as well as they seem to be shown on a loop on TV).

This time round, the quarter follow the penguins and monkeys to Monte Carlo (it appears that they got there just by swimming, whereas the penguins flew by plane; given the travel difficulties established later in the film, it’s just as well this is glossed over) to persuade them to return to New York. Almost immediately they are subject to the unwanted attention of Chantel DuBois (Frances McDormand, excellent) an Animal Control officer who has been amusingly rendered as both ungainly of body and super-agile. It’s unfortunate that the highlight of Madagascar 3 is the breathless, hilarious chase sequence that takes up the first 20 minutes. It’s *****-star entertainment, and one of the studio’s greatest achievements to date.

After that, alas, things turn fairly run-of-the-mill. The characters join a travelling circus, and of course there are lessons to be learned, friendships to be tested and Animal Control to be dodged.

The main guest vocals all acquit themselves splendidly; Bryan Cranston is Vitaly the Russian hoop-diving tiger, Jessica Chastain plays a rather sexy leopard and Martin Short is an endearingly dim sea lion, Stefano. Nevertheless, as usual it’s Sacha Baron Cohen’s lemur who steals the film. Julien’s romance with a performing bear is both ridiculous and delightful. Elsewhere the penguins’ strategies are ever-inventive, but the prize ruse must go to the monkeys disguised as the King of Versailles.

Enjoyable as the Madagascars are, they should really probably call it a day on the franchise now. The anarchic impulses of the supporting characters tend to be balanced by the more melodramatic pursuits of the leads (albeit, Rock’s zebra usually gets to embrace the crazy) and there doesn’t seem to be much place left to take the former (particularly with the finale taking place in New York).

It’s fashionable to embrace Pixar and deride DreamWorks, but nothing is that simple. The first Shrek and How to Train Your Dragon rank with the very best CGI animation and, while Dreamworks’ tendency to sequelise is lowest common denominator, Pixar has now followed exactly the same pattern. I wasn’t all that taken with the Kung Fu Pandas, but I’d watch them any day over Cars and Cars 2. Perhaps the best compliment I can give the Madagascar series is that when I inevitably find one showing on the box I give it at least a couple of minutes before switching over.

***

Comments

Nanobots aren’t just for Christmas.

No Time to Die (2021) (SPOILERS) You know a Bond movie is in trouble when it resorts to wholesale appropriation of lines and even the theme song from another in order to “boost” its emotional heft. That No Time to Die – which previewed its own title song a year and a half before its release to resoundingly underwhelmed response, Grammys aside – goes there is a damning indictment of its ability to eke out such audience investment in Daniel Craig’s final outing as James (less so as 007). As with Spectre , the first half of No Time to Die is, on the whole, more than decent Bond fare, before it once again gets bogged down in the quest for substance and depth from a character who, regardless of how dapper his gear is, resolutely resists such outfitting.

Maybe the dingo ate your baby.

Seinfeld 2.9: The Stranded The Premise George and Elaine are stranded at a party in Long Island, with a disgruntled hostess.

Big things have small beginnings.

Prometheus (2012) Post- Gladiator , Ridley Scott opted for an “All work and no pondering” approach to film making. The result has been the completion of as many movies since the turn of the Millennium as he directed in the previous twenty years. Now well into his seventies, he has experienced the most sustained period of success of his career. For me, it’s also been easily the least-interesting period. All of them entirely competently made, but all displaying the machine-tooled approach that was previously more associated with his brother.

I’m giving you a choice. Either put on these glasses or start eating that trash can.

They Live * (1988) (SPOILERS) Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of They Live – I was a big fan of most things Carpenter at the time of its release – but the manner in which its reputation as a prophecy of (or insight into) “the way things are” has grown is a touch out of proportion with the picture’s relatively modest merits. Indeed, its feting rests almost entirely on the admittedly bravura sequence in which WWF-star-turned-movie-actor Roddy Piper, under the influence of a pair of sunglasses, first witnesses the pervasive influence of aliens among us who are sucking mankind dry. That, and the ludicrously genius sequence in which Roddy, full of transformative fervour, attempts to convince Keith David to don said sunglasses, for his own good. They Live should definitely be viewed by all, for their own good, but it’s only fair to point out that it doesn’t have the consistency of John Carpenter at his very, very best. Nada : I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick a

Ladies and gentlemen, this could be a cultural misunderstanding.

Mars Attacks! (1996) (SPOILERS) Ak. Akk-akk! Tim Burton’s gleefully ghoulish sci-fi was his first real taste of failure. Sure, there was Ed Wood , but that was cheap, critics loved it, and it won Oscars. Mars Attacks! was BIG, though, expected to do boffo business, and like more than a few other idiosyncratic spectaculars of the 1990s ( Last Action Hero , Hudson Hawk ) it bombed BIG. The effect on Burton was noticeable. He retreated into bankable propositions (the creative and critical nadir perhaps being Planet of the Apes , although I’d rate it much higher than the likes of Alice in Wonderland and Dumbo ) and put the brakes on his undisciplined goth energy. Something was lost. Mars Attacks! is far from entirely successful, but it finds the director let loose with his own playset and sensibility intact, apparently given the licence to do what he will.

He tasks me. He tasks me, and I shall have him.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) (SPOILERS) I don’t love Star Trek , but I do love Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . That probably isn’t just me, but a common refrain of many a non-devotee of the series. Although, it used to apply to The Voyage Home (the funny one, with the whales, the Star Trek even the target audience for Three Men and a Baby could enjoy). Unfortunately, its high regard has also become the desperate, self-destructive, song-and-verse, be-all-and-end-all of the overlords of the franchise itself, in whichever iteration, it seems. This is understandable to an extent, as Khan is that rare movie sequel made to transcendent effect on almost every level, and one that stands the test of time every bit as well (better, even) as when it was first unveiled.

It's something trying to get out.

The Owl Service (1969-70) I may have caught a glimpse of Channel 4’s repeat of The Owl Service in 1987, but not enough to stick in the mind. My formative experience was Alan Garner’s novel, which was read several years earlier during English lessons. Garner’s tapestry of magical-mythical storytelling had an impact, with its possession theme and blending of legend with the here and now. Garner depicts a Britain where past and present are mutable, and where there is no safety net of objective reality; life becomes a strange waking dream. His fantasy landscapes are both attractive and disturbing; the uncanny reaching out from the corners of the attic. But I have to admit that the themes of class and discrimination went virtually unnoticed in the wake of such high weirdness. The other Garner books I read saw young protagonists transported to fantasy realms. The resonance of The Owl Service came from the fragmenting of the rural normal. When the author notes that he neve

Isn’t sugar better than vinegar?

Femme Fatale (2002) (SPOILERS) Some have attempted to rescue Femme Fatale from the dumpster of critical rejection and audience indifference with the claim that it’s De Palma’s last great movie. It isn’t that by a long shot, but it might rank as the last truly unfettered display of his obsessions and sensibilities, complete with a ludicrous twist – so ludicrous, it’s either a stroke of genius or mile-long pile up.

Beer is for breakfast around here. Drink or begone.

Cocktail (1988) (SPOILERS) When Tarantino claims the 1980s (and 1950s) as the worst movie decade, I’m inclined to invite him to shut his butt down. But should he then flourish Cocktail as Exhibit A, I’d be forced to admit he has a point. Cocktail is a horrifying, malignant piece of dreck, a testament to the efficacy of persuasive star power on a blithely rapt and undiscerning audience. Not only is it morally vacuous, it’s dramatically inert. And it relies on Tom’s toothy charms to a degree that would have any sensitive soul rushed to the A&E suffering from toxic shock (Tom’s most recently displayed toothy charms will likely have even his staunchest devotees less than sure of themselves, however, as he metamorphoses into your favourite grandma). And it was a huge box office hit.

Twenty dwarves took turns doing handstands on the carpet.

Bugsy (1991) (SPOILERS) Bugsy is very much a Warren Beatty vanity project (aren’t they all, even the ones that don’t seem that way on the surface?), to the extent of his playing a title character a decade and a half younger than him. As such, it makes sense that producer Warren’s choice of director wouldn’t be inclined to overshadow star Warren, but the effect is to end up with a movie that, for all its considerable merits (including a script from James Toback chock full of incident), never really feels quite focussed, that it’s destined to lead anywhere, even if we know where it’s going.

Now In Full Color, with a Happier Ending

Search This Blog