Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (2012)

Who knew Dreamworks’ animated adventure-comedy "Madagascar" (2005) would churn out two sequels and a cartoon series? The first movie was solid fun as four Central Park Zoo animals -– a lion (Ben Stiller), a zebra (Chris Rock), a giraffe (David Schwimmer) and a hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) -– and a pack of penguins made a break for freedom and ended up in, well, Madagascar. The sequel was a cash-grab mess. "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" is marginally better as our heroes make a break for, well, Europe, as a means to get back to NYC. They join a circus train and bring on the wrath of a rabid animal control officer (Frances McDormand). The animation veers from wildly imaginative (Rome!) to a 3D gonzo neon acid trip for children too young to know the meaning of acid trip. As with most Dreamworks works, the movie relies on sight gags, but the creators trash their best idea: A tiger who can jump through a wedding band. McDormand’s villain is a hoot, yes, but the sight of her taking a saw to the hero lion’s neck veers close to Daniel Pearl territory. B-