I sometimes have trouble with animated movies. I’m not gonna lie. I know it doesn’t fit with the whole “mom” thing I have going, but I have sat way too many times in crowded, kid filled movie theaters, wishing I was doing something more entertaining, like poking knitting needles into my eyes.
I saw the first Madagascar movie, and it was good. When I say it was good, I mean it was tolerable. When it came time to see the sequel, I left that to the husband.
Am I glad I didn’t miss this movie! The theater was packed, and I barely remember a minute when the kids weren’t roaring with laughter. Or was it the grown ups? Or was it me???
Here’s a bit of the story – life in Africa isn’t nearly as appealing as life in the big apple, and our band of affable animals (most notably Alex {Ben Stiller}, Marty {Chris Rock}, and King Julien {Sacha Baron Cohen}) have decided to head to Monte Carlo to meet the penguins and high tail it back to New York. As you might imagine, they do not roll out the carpet at the Grand Casino to welcome our happy little group. This is where the fabulous Frances McDormand comes in. Voicing the head of animal control, Captain Chantal DuBois, McDormand goes on a cross continent trek to snag Alex, hoping to add him to the decor of her PETA challenged home.
The chase leads our homeward bound heroes straight into the circus, and if you think it’s been fast paced fun up until now, wait until you see what they do to a circus! The colors, the lights, the real feel of an amazing Cirque du Soleil-esque performance – absolutely amazing!
There isn’t a minute of downtime in the whole film, and the jokes the kids don’t catch, the grownups certainly will. There’s a quick debate over the pronunciation of the word “nuclear”; King Julien (who is in love with a big, burly bear) remarks about preferring women with hairy backs; and there’s even a reference to Shock Jock Howard Stern, when a penguin randomly callsl out “Bababooey”.
June 8th is the release date for this movie, and you should be lined up at the door to see it. Now – go wait, right now. It is seriously that good.
