Great Animation, Poor Story

Rating: Null/10 (9 November 2012)

In Madagascar 3, Alex the lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo, and Melman the Giraffe are back still trying to find their way back to the New York City Zoo. They join a circus that promises of traveling to America. The circus adds Vitaly the tiger, Gia the jaguar, Stefano the sea-lion, and Sonya the performing bear to the cast. The gang helps to reinvent the run down circus along the way. As they travel through Europe, Captain Dubois of animal control is chasing them.
The imagery in this movie is spectacular. I really enjoyed the big circus scene. The circus acts are fun and fresh and great to watch. The storyline however, is not as good. I found the plot to be a little jumpy and full of little sideshows that don't relate much to the central goal of the characters trying to get back to America. I find the love affair between King Julian and the bike riding bear to be a little strange and unsettling. Although the Penguins take a backseat in this movie, there are plenty of jokes to go around. A few jokes are truly funny, but for the majority of them I can't say I found them to be funny at all. I was rather disappointed that the main character Alex lies to the other characters, especially Gia, to protect himself and to convince them he is something other then what he really is. It is nice to see that the gang, new and old, stick together and help each other. But overall in the end, Madagascar 3 leaves me feeling let down and confused.