A child-friendly summer movie not to be missed, the third chapter of this 90 minute animal themed movie teaches values and morals such as teamwork, friendship, determination, the truth will always come out and helping others. This movie carries on from where the previous chapter ended-- in Africa. Alex the lion has nightmares of ageing in Africa and unable to return home.
Alex and his friends have a strong desire to return back to where they originally came from, the Zoo in New York's Central Park. With that, Alex, Gloria the Hippo, Melman the giraffe and Marty the Zebra set off to Monaco by scuba diving (as shown from their head gear when they pop out from underneath the sea) in search of the penguins and King Julien. They reach the casino and trouble ensues when teamwork does not go as planned-- introduce the villian, Captain Dubois, for the first time ever in the movie.
The casino is wrecked apart and a high speed chase through the streets with the penguins piloting the van, which is later taken over by Marty who is unable to drive on the right side. Their plane is damaged as they attempt to escape back to New York and they encounter a traveling circus train and claim that they are circus animals in order to fulfill their dream of reaching back, as Vitaly the tiger was very stern and did not allow stowaways on board. Gia the snow leopard and Stefano the sea lion are the main characters on board the trains carriage.
At the circus in Rome, the show goes bust and finally on board the train to London, Alex decides to help Vitaly, Gia and Stefano rediscover and remodel what a circus is all about. Vitaly is a defeated tiger whose days of being the star have faded due to a freak accident while performing. King Julien meets Sonya the brown bear and falls in love with her, through the streets of Italy, she acquires a new motorbike going into a shop and scaring the customers and owner. On the way to London, Alex has convinced Vitaly to give it another shot and the troupe begin rehearsing in the mountains, fleeing when the cops strike. Meanwhile, Captain Du Bois is still hot on her heels to chasing down Alex in order to have his head mounted on the wall of prized catches. She makes her moves in calculated fashion. In London, Alex's relentless effort pays off with the boss awarding the traveling party a contract to perform in New York after a slam-dunk performance with dazzling lights and lots of intriguing stunts.
However, once they arrive in New York outside the gates of their old home, Captain Du Bois manages to capture Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria. They are locked up in prison style cages and Captain Du Bois is given a reward for finding the Alex. However, she rejects it and reveals her evil intention. Her plans are foiled by Vitaly, Stefano and Gia, (whose feelings were hurt and when the truth was revealed to them that Alex and his friends were masquerading as circus animals) who rescue them as their circus act was revived. Another round of antics sets of the fireworks and inflated balls given to the children, ending the movie off with a bang.
The penguins were not featured as much as I would have loved them to be shown in the movie, but all in all, every leading character was given an equal amount of face time which enabled the audience to decipher their character and personality. The catchy tunes such as Everybody Dance Now by CC Music Factory, Hot In Here by Nelly, I Like to Move It and Firework by Katy Perry will certainly get you grooving in your seat! And as for "We Speak No Americano", if you've watched Alvin and the Chipmunks, you might recall hearing it, in the chipmunk version. The adults could relate to it with this song originally released in the 1950's. I'd gladly watch this movie again, wholesome educational fun for the family!
(Side note: I would recommend watching this movie in 3D, the effects are way more stunning), credits to Pat who advised me to.
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