Blu-ray Review: Modest Release For Surprisingly Fun ‘Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted’

CHICAGO – An injection of A-list voice talent (including Bryan Cranston, Martin Short, Frances McDormand, and Jessica Chastain) along with a new setting proves to be just what the “Madagascar” franchise needed. “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” is the best of the three films, a fun, clever ride that works for both kids and adults. While the past two films had tons of bonus material with their Blu-ray releases, this one’s a little lackluster. But the movie itself should make thousands of wee ones happy this holiday season.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

“Europe’s Most Wanted” is no Pixar-level animated classic but it’s just a fun movie. The cast gels better than ever and each of the characters gets a nice arc, along with some entertaining new ones. The movie still gets weighed down in too many pop culture references but it’s more fun than a vast majority of increasingly lackluster animated franchises (I’m looking at you “Ice Age”).

The previous Blu-ray releases for “Madagascar” films included new shorts and copious bonus material. While there’s a commentary here, there’s no new short and the rest of the material is somewhat lackluster. The deleted scenes are more storyboards than anything else and some of the featurettes run just a minute or two.

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted was released on Blu-ray and DVD on October 16, 2012
Photo credit: DreamWorks

Synopsis:
Your favorite characters are back, in their most hilarious adventure yet! Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria find themselves on-the-run through Europe in this wildly entertaining and outrageous comedic adventure that film critics are calling “charming and very funny!” (Bill Zwecker, Chicago Sun Times). With the fame-loving King Julien and the take-charge Penguins along for the ride, the whole crew joins the circus to escape Captain Dubois of Animal Control. Full of high-flying action and colorful new characters, it’s a MAD extravaganza everyone will love. Get ready to wig out!

Click here to buy “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted”

Special Features:
o Marty’s Rainbow Wig
o Big Top Cast
o High Flying Deleted Scenes
o Mad Music Mash Up
o Filmmakers’ Commentary
o Get Them To The Train
o The Animators’ Corner
o Trivia Track
o Ringmasters
o Madagascar 3 Round Table
o High-Flyin’ Deleted Scenes

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com