May 18, 2012 (Cannes)
June 8, 2012 (United States)
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted is a 2012 American animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and PDI/DreamWorks and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The third installment in the Madagascar franchise, it is the sequel to Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008), and was the first film in the series to be released in 3D. It was directed by Eric Darnell, Conrad Vernon and Tom McGrath from a screenplay by Darnell and Noah Baumbach. The film stars Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights, and Vernon reprising their voice acting roles from the previous installments, alongside new cast members Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, Martin Short and Frances McDormand. In the film, the main characters—a party of animals from the Central Park Zoo whose adventures have already taken them to Madagascar and Africa—attempt to return to New York City, and find themselves traveling across Europe with a circus while being chased by a relentless French Animal Control officer.
DreamWorks Animation announced the third film in August 2008, three months before the release of the second film. The amount of animation and visual effects were done at DreamWorks Dedicated Unit, an India-based unit at Technicolor. Like other films in the franchise, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted features several songs from various artists, with original music score composed by Hans Zimmer, returning from its predecessors.
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted premiered out of competition at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2012, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 8. It received generally positive reviews and was the eighth highest-grossing film of 2012 and the highest-grossing film in the franchise, with a worldwide gross of over $746 million on a production budget of $145 million. A spin-off, Penguins of Madagascar, was released in November 2014, following the events of Madagascar 3. A sequel, Madagascar 4, was initially planned for a May 2018 theatrical release, but was removed from the release schedule following a restructuring of DreamWorks Animation in January 2015.
Storyline[]
Shortly after becoming the co-leaders, the penguins and the chimpanzees leave Africa for Monte Carlo in their modified airplane. When they do not return, Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria, King Julien, Maurice and Mort decide that they should go find them and return to their home at the Central Park Zoo in New York City. They find the penguins and chimpanzees at the Monte Carlo Casino. Chaos ensues, and the animals escape from Captain Chantel DuBois, a the head of Monaco's Animal Control, who is determined to add Alex's head to her taxidermy collection.
When their aircraft crash-lands in France, the animals board a departing circus train. The circus animals—a sea lion named Stefano, a jaguar named Gia, and a tiger named Vitaly—are suspicious of outsiders, so Alex lies about them being American circus animals. The circus is headed for a performance show in Rome, followed by one in London where they hope to impress an American promoter in order to get their first American tour. To allay suspicion, the penguins purchase the circus from its human ringmaster with the fortune they gained in Monte Carlo. In Rome, Alex becomes enamored with Gia while Julien falls in love with performing bear Sonya. DuBois chases Julien and Sonya, but fails to catch them and is arrested for stealing the motor scooter.
The performance at the Colosseum in Rome is a disaster: the animals' acts go awry and they are chased off by the angry audience, though they escape on the train. Stefano explains to Alex that the circus was once famous and Vitaly was its star, skillfully jumping through ever-smaller hoops. However, a severe burn during one of Vitaly's stunts caused him to lose his passion and the entire circus suffered as a result. Alex convinces the circus animals to come up with a new and exciting all-animal act that will restore their former glory. Marty and Stefano find a new passion in being shot out of a cannon, while Melman and Gloria become adept at dancing together on a tightrope. Gia persuades Alex to teach her "Trapeze Americano" and the two begin to fall in love. Meanwhile, DuBois escapes from prison from printing a document photo of Alex performing at the Central Park Zoo and recruits her henchmen who were injured at the chase in Monte Carlo.
In London, Vitaly is afraid of failing again and considers ditching the show, but Alex helps him rediscover his passion for performing the impossible. At Alex's suggestion, Vitaly lubricates himself with hair conditioner instead of olive oil, and succeeds in jumping through the hoop. The show is a spectacular success, and the promoter signs the circus to a contract. DuBois shows up and the penguins manage to foil her attempt to capture Alex. However, the printed document she was carrying reveals that Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria were zoo animals all along. Feeling betrayed and deceived, the circus animals eject the foursome.
After the argument with Julien and Sonya, the zoo and circus animals go their separate ways but arrive in Central Park at the same time. Looking in at their old home, the zoo animals realize how much their adventures have changed them and decide that their true place is with the circus. They are then ambushed by DuBois, but before she can behead Alex, the zoo staff arrive and incorrectly believe that she is returning the missing animals. Julien makes it back to the circus with the news and reconciles with Sonya while Gia and Vitaly convince the others that they should rescue their friends. The zoo animals awaken in their old enclosures, now surrounded by high fences. DuBois is being honored by the zoo staff, but she rejects their reward and secretly loads a poison-filled dart and takes aim at Alex. They are soon saved by the circus animals and together defeat DuBois. Alex and his friends permanently join the circus with Alex and Julien starting a romantic relationship with Gia and Sonya, respectively. As retribution for causing their troubles, the penguins ship DuBois and her henchmen in crates to Madagascar, reminiscent of how the animals were shipped in.
Also See[]
- Madagascar: A Little Wild
- Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) (TV Spots)
- Madagascar (2005)
- Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)
- Penguins of Madagascar (2014)
- The Penguins of Madagascar
- All Hail King Julien