No prior knowledge of the Madagascar films is required to enjoy the third and best instalment; co-written by Noah Baurmbach, it’s a genial romp that finds the escaped zoo animals loose in Europe and infiltrating a circus for cover. Gia (Jessica Chastain) and Vitaly (Brian Cranston) run the operation, and there’s a choice dilemma for Alex the lion (Ben Stiller) and his gang; to stay with the circus where they are regarded as an inspiration, or admit that they’re losers on the run. The be-all-you-can-be message is exemplified by a dazzling montage set to Katy Perry’s Firefly, a sequence that elevates Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath and Conrad Vernon’s film to high art. And the regular appearances of a chimp in a Louis X IV wig are cause for hilarity in themselves; not quite on message with the rest of the gang, this baroque figure is the trickster incarnate.
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