REVIEW: Brave 3D

MOVIE
Brave

CAST
Kelly Macdonald,
Emma Thompson

RATING
PG

RELEASE
June 22, 2012

DIRECTOR(S)
Mark Andrews,
Brenda Chapman

STUDIO(S)
Disney·Pixar

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 33 minutes




STARS
***3/4









REVIEW:

Pixar is notorious for have setting the bar for all animated films out there.  The last film of theirs that people really fell high over heels for was 'Toy Story 3,' and that has since become something of a phenomenon in society.  'Cars 2' people felt was to childish and made more for money rather than passion.  The marketing for their latest film 'Brave' made it seem that Pixar might be starting to lose their magical touch on the human heart and soul.  Well to the doubters out there who didn't think 'Brave' was going to be good, they should be ashamed of themselves unless they go in expecting another tour-de-force film like 'Up' or 'Finding Nemo.'  'Brave' is a hilarious, beautiful, and visceral movie that any audience can enjoy if their minds are in the right place.  Sure it isn't the masterpiece that Pixar usually pops out, but it is still great fun and it should probably make those who disliked 'Cars 2' a lot happier.

The advantage of 'Brave' is that it features Pixar's first female protagonist in the form of Merida.  Merida is the princess to a Scottish kingdom ruled by her mellow dad and her uptight mother.  Her mother wants her daughter to set an example for the kingdom, as well as be the rightful heir to the throne.  This involves finding a husband for the young girl, for who doesn't want to get married.  It just so happens that Merida is a skilled archer and wants to choose her own destiny in life rather than her mom deciding what she will and won't do.  Things get really insane when Merida starts playing around with witches and trying to change her fate, when things go in a way that pulls everyone for a loop.

The voices for the characters are very good and very Scottish.  Kelly Macdonald of 'Boardwalk Empire' fame gives her voice to the heroine Merida.  Not only is Macdonald's voice fantastic for Merida, but she puts so much of a teenage angst into the character that you can somewhat relate to Merida's problems with her mother.  Speaking of mothers, Emma Thompson is also great, playing the queen of the land and Merida's uptight parental figure who fails to show much love to her daughter throughout the first half hour of the movie.  Billy Connolly lends a comedic voice to the king of the land/Merida's father, who has a grudge against all bears after one took his leg.  All of the voice actors in this film are great overall, but the characters who steal the show are the three young brothers of Merida.  These little guys love to eat any type of sugary treat and will stop at nothing to get these treats in the most comedic and mischievous ways you could think of for a movie set hundreds of years ago in Europe.  All of the characters are great for what they're supposed to do.  Some are supposed to be funny, some are supposed to be there for action, and the rest are there for the heart of the film.

A strong key in this film is that it, not only tells a great story of a likable girl and her uptight mother, but also gives a deep message about the importance of family and how far things could go if someone would want to change their fate.  Pixar is notorious for presenting strong messages in their films, and 'Brave' is no exception to this trend.  This film is funny, moving, and darker than any other Pixar film to date.  It's not as deep as the opening 10 minutes of 'Up' or the final 15 minutes of 'Toy Story 3,' but it may not be the best film to take younger kids to.  The animation, especially in 3D, is absolutely stellar to look at.  The voice cast could not have been better for this type of movie.  The story, while predictable, still keeps the audience in its grasp for the 93 minutes this film runs.

'Madagascar 3' is out there for the younger kids, as well as those looking for some humorous laughs.  'Brave' should be seen by older kids who want to follow a brave but single minded girl on one crazy adventure.  If one is looking for the next masterpiece from Pixar, then chances are they will be very disappointed in this movie.  However if one is either A.) over the age of 8, or B.) not expecting anything spectacular from this studio, then the odds of enjoying 'Brave' are more than likely.  Overall, 'Brave' is a worthy addition to the Pixar family, despite being different than most other movies to come out from the studio.  

PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:


Wreck It Ralph


Finding Nemo 3D


Monsters University

REVIEW: La Luna 3D

SHORT
La Luna

RELEASE
June 22, 2012

DIRECTOR
Enrico Casarosa

STUDIO(S)
Disney·Pixar

RUNNING TIME
6 minutes 53 seconds






STARS
****








REVIEW:

Pixar always outdoes themselves every time they make a short film.  From unique works of art like 'Day & Night' to humorous ones like 'Geri's Game,' the guys behind these wonderful shorts always have something magical up their sleeves.  Their new short 'La Luna' is no exception to this long standing fact.  'La Luna' tells the story of a boy, his father, his grandfather, and the moon.  Saying anything else will ruin how unique this is from all other Pixar shorts.  This short has more subtle humor rather than laugh out loud jokes.  It also tells such a beautiful story using only visuals rather than cheeky dialogue.  The way things turn out at the end of the short are not only sugar to the eyes, but just so unbelievable and so clever at the same time.  When you go to see 'Brave,' you're going to see this without a doubt.  Even if you don't enjoy the main film, you will still look back and think of this wonderful short film.  'La Luna' is an exhilarating and beautiful short film that, with the help of some great 3D, takes you in to a world unlike anything Pixar has ever created.

REVIEW: Rock of Ages

MOVIE
Rock of Ages

CAST
Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
June 15, 2012

DIRECTOR
Adam Shankman

STUDIO
New Line Cinema (WB)

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 3 minutes





STARS
***1/2










REVIEW:


If you haven't seen the 2007 musical remake 'Hairspray,' then I would highly recommend it. The director of that film, Adam Shankman, really knows how to put an audience into a different time period and have your toes tapping to some great songs. If you have seen 'Hairspray,' then you might want to know that Shankman is back with another musical, which takes place 25 years after 'Hairspray' and is not a PG family friendly film at all. Instead, 'Rock of Ages' portrays the slogan of the 1980s "sex, drugs, and rock and roll" very accurately. The key to liking a musical like this is the music itself. If someone doesn't appreciate 80's music at all, then they will not appreciate this film whatsoever. However if one likes 80's music, then they will have an absolutely great time watching this film. Thanks to the fantastic music/dance sequences, great storytelling, and terrific cast, 'Rock of Ages' proves to be one of the summer's more entertaining popcorn flicks and one of the most fun movie-going experiences to be had all year.

 The year is 1987, and Sherrie is a small town girl from Kansas who wants to make it in Hollywood and become a singer. Coming to the big city, Sherrie is able to meet Drew, who is also an aspiring singer and a busboy at the famous Bourbon Room. Sherrie gets a job at the Bourbon thanks to Drew, and they start forming a connection through the power of rock and roll, along with soft core 80's love songs. Meanwhile, the mayor's wife, Patricia Whitmore, wants to shut down the Bourbon and redesign the entire Sunset Strip, as well as get rid of Rock & Roll, more specifically the iconic rock star Stacee Jaxx, once and for all.

I'm just going to say this off the bat: if you're not a fan of 80's music, chances are you will not like this movie at all. If you're not a fan of movie musicals or just musicals in general, chances are you won't like this movie much. This is the type of musical where, once the music starts playing, you can't help but dance in your seat or tap your feet on the ground. Heck, I was even jamming from the likes of 'Wanted Dead or Alive' and 'Paradise City.' However the music at a certain point fells like a bit too much. The blame there could be the film's long two hour run time, because it felt like a song was being piled on every 5 minutes or so and you'd just want to get more of the story and more involvement with the characters themselves. Still though, this is the type of soundtrack that one can download onto an iPod and jam to long after the credits begin rolling at the end of the film. It's a good thing that the actors could sing just as well as they could act, because in a musical the cast is quite vital to how it overall turns out. Luckily, the casting in this film could not have been better.

Julianne Hough was the female star in one of last year's biggest surprises, the 'Footloose' remake. In this film she plays Sherrie, the small town girl "living in a lonely world." Hough's performance of the small town girl with big dreams was absolutely great. I still believe that she might be able to become one of Hollywood's smartest actresses because of her great streak at the moment. To be honest, I didn't even know she was a singer before seeing this film. Her voice fit very well with the 80's music that she belts out to, so much so that it reminded me a lot of Cyndi Lauper when she sang. I didn't even know that her co-star Diego Boneta, who plays Drew in the film, was a singer either. Come to think of it, I had no idea who Boneta was before seeing this movie at all. That makes it all the more refreshing to see unknown stars actually act very well along with the fact that they have incredibly good vocal chords. The trick with the bigger actors in the movie, like Tom Cruise for example, is to see if they can sing well and act the part. Lucky for everyone who sings and acts in the movie, they all succeed beautifully.

To not talk about Tom Cruise as the fictional rock god Stacee Jaxx would be a real crime to the film itself, because Cruise really steals the show in every scene he's in. It was very fun to see Cruise playing himself if he was a rock diva/god from the 80's who was down on his career and was looking for something to make him want to perform again. Not only was Cruise great acting wise in the film, but his singing was surprisingly great. His rendition of Bon Jovi's 'Wanted Dead or Alive' has been played on my iPod at least once every day after I got the soundtrack from a friend of mine. Cruise might not get any recognition for his portrayal of Jaxx, but he is stellar throughout his time in this movie. Same goes for Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand, who play Dennis Dupree (the owner of the Bourbon) and Lonnie Barnett (the manager of the Bourbon/best friend of Dennis) respectively.

These guys are the true comedic reliefs of the film, as well as participate in some great song mash-ups. I knew Brand could sing thanks to his insanely funny songs from 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' and 'Get Him to the Greek,' but Baldwin I had no idea he could sing. He and Brand work perfectly together both musically and comedically, providing some great jokes as well as some great 80's nostalgia that works perfectly with these two guys, who both look like hardcore rockers. Even Paul Giamatti gets some good voice work going along with his villainous work as Paul Gill, the record producer behind Stacee Jaxx's band Arsenal who is looking for a fresh new act to replace Stacee. Giamatti is always great playing a villain, and this film is no exception to that. He is a conniving, sleazy character who, like all villains in films, gets exactly what's coming to them. However what Giamatti has coming to him is too awesome to give away, so let's just leave it at that. Bryan Cranston wasn't advertised at all in the ads for this movie, but sure enough he is in it. He doesn't sing at all in the movie, but Cranston is good for the part he was given. Let me put it this way: it leaned more towards his role in 'Malcolm in the Middle' than in 'Breaking Bad.' Overall all of the guys were great in this film, both vocally and acting wise. However the ladies of the film have far more superior voices then the men do.

Catherine Zeta-Jones is no stranger to musicals whatsoever. She won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Velma in 2002's 'Chicago,' which also won the Oscar for Best Picture that same year. In this movie, Zeta-Jones plays the mayor's wife/main antagonist of the film, Patricia Whitmore. Patricia is a very wacky character in all of the right ways. She sings one hilarious rendition of 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot,' as well as an amazing mash-up with Russell Brand of the songs 'We Built This City' and 'We're Not Gonna Take It.' Not only is she a fantastic singer, but her portrayal as a villain is just plain fun to watch. Sure she isn't as great as other notable musical villains, but her crazy persona in the film makes up for that. Malin Akerman of 'Watchman' fame plays a writer for 'Rolling Stone Magazine' named Constance Sack who is mesmerized by the ways of Jaxx.

Akerman provides some great acting during her small presence in the movie, as well as one fantastic duet with Tom Cruise. You'd think that everyone in this film is good in their parts, right? Well, there is one actress who was really unnecessary in this movie, and her name is Mary J. Blige. Blige basically shows up in the second half of the film, doing some impressive vocal work, and hires Hough's character as a stripper where they sing 'Any Way You Want It.' After that, she is just in the movie to be a part of various musical numbers. There was nothing else for her character other than singing. Blige's singing might be stellar, but she isn't given anything really to act with or have any other character arc aside from owning a strip club. Overall, if you like the music that this film features and the strong performances by the cast, then odds are you will have "nothing but a good time" when watching this movie.

'Rock of Ages' has a story that goes in all directions, music that's wild and zippy, and a cast that knows how to rock it and work it when it comes to singing and acting. If you're not a fan of musicals or 80's music at all, then you probably won't dig this movie very much. There are references to 80's satire that at some points are actually clever and funny. The others are just regular old homages that are good but nothing really special. The cast rocks for the most part, with the most acting effort coming from Tom Cruise. The music will have you singing and dancing in your chairs if you're into that type of thing. If not, then you can giggle at the fact that someone would actually sing and dance to these jukebox songs. However to that person who does geek out to this type of thing, do not feel ashamed to take a mind trip into the 1980s, because that's exactly what 'Rock of Ages' is meant to do. The Broadway show is probably better, but for the most part this movie adaptation makes me want to rock out and belt out 'Pour Some Sugar On Me' in front of random strangers. If one is looking for a solid and fun theater experience this Father's Day weekend, or just wants to rock out to some great 80's covers done by some of today's best stars, then take a time trip to 1987 and experience the pure fun of 'Rock of Ages.'



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Magic Mike


The Great Gatsby

REVIEW: Snow White & The Huntsman

MOVIE
Snow White & The Huntsman

CAST
Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
June 1, 2012

DIRECTOR
Rupert Sanders

STUDIO
Universal Pictures

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 7 minutes






STARS
**








REVIEW:

It's only June of 2012 and we've already gotten two films based on the classic tale of 'Snow White.'  The first one, which came out in late March, was called 'Mirror Mirror.'  That film was made generally for families and those who wanted to laugh at something.  That film surprised many critics and audiences alike and faired moderately well at the box office.  I didn't get the chance to see that on the big screen, so a DVD watch is likely in my future.  However I did manage to find some time to check out the other 'Snow White' movie.  The other 'Snow White' movie is a more action and adult oriented version with bigger cast members and a first time director.  In fact, this film, entitled 'Snow White & The Huntsman,' looked far more superior to 'Mirror Mirror.'  While not having seen 'Mirror Mirror,' I'm guessing that it's a tad better than this film.  What could've been a fast, action-packed, and fun film end up being slow, over the top, and bizarre at times.  'Snow White & The Huntsman' is a disappointing summer film that odds are will make a ton of money opening weekend.

If you know the story of 'Snow White,' then you should probably know that this adaptation is only loosely based off of the original material.  Instead of Snow White being an innocent young girl, she is a more mature and smart woman with some combat skills of her own.  The Huntsman does more than attempt to kill Snow White and save her instead.  He actually tags along with her and tries to defeat the evil Queen.  The Evil Queen in this version rather than just act menacing is a sorceress who in order to stay young has to suck the youth out of young girls, and suck the life out of people to stay alive.  Instead of the seven dwarfs being the pivotal comedic element of the story, they have a few more tricks up their sleeves, and one of them is a wise blind man.  It's all obviously going to go down hard with Snow White and The Evil Queen, but we are just in it for the action-packed elements and maybe get a good story and decent acting on the side.

Kristen Stewart was quite possibly the best part of the entire movie for me.  This role for her was quite an improvement over biting her lip and screaming "Edward!" or "Jacob!" for no reason whatsoever.  Despite this being her best performance that I've seen, she does go a bit over the top by shouting a few of her lines for no apparent reason at all.  Plus we see something we have rarely seen from Stewart before: her smile.  As joking as that was, Stewart actually shines in this movie the most, which really isn't saying a lot compared to her co-stars.

Charlize Theron is a wonderful actress.  Not only did she win an Academy Award for her insane role in 'Monster,' but she also entertained audiences in 2008's 'Hancock.'  It's understandable that she wants to be in more mainstream movies, but this film wasn't the right choice for her.  In the majority of the movie, Theron is screaming out her lines as if she's being tortured by the screenwriter to spill them out.  In some scenes it was just painful to see her yelp these awful lines like "Bring her to me!" and "I'm sorry brother!"  I can't see how people are calling her great, unless they were referring to her more subtle scenes as a villain, then I would only say she's good in those.  Theron was decent in this film overall, but she left a lot for me to desire.

Chris Hemsworth plays the other name in the film's title, The Huntsman.  In the original story, The Huntsman is only there to hunt Snow White down, and then let her escape due to her beauty.  In this film, the filmmakers had to, not only add a back story to his character, but also have him tag along with Snow White and become of the two love interests.  Hemsworth from the trailers looked like he was going to steal some of the thunder from the leading ladies; however instead he felt more like a really unnecessary character who was just there because either A.) his name is in the title; and B.) the screenwriters wanted to put in a really bland love story for fun.  This character could have been a hard core bad ass with some clever jokes and an interesting story of his own.  Instead he is a bland, misplaced character with not much of a purpose in the movie other than to replace Prince Charming.  There are more characters to talk about, like the "Prince" William, The Queen's brother, and the Seven Dwarfs.  Unfortunately they are not even worthy of being talked about much, which is why this huge section about the cast comes to a close here.

The visual effects are what really drove the movie on the "summer blockbuster" route.  If the movie was only intending to look really cool, then it did its job right.  This movie is quite stunning to look at throughout.  From the Enchanted Forest to the destruction of dark armies, the cinematography and visual effects of the film look absolutely stunning.  In fact, this goes without saying that the cinematography and the visuals could possibly be nomination worthy if this year lacks in the special effects department, which by the looks of it won't at all.  As for the cinematography, there will be far more wide scoped films to come out and snag nominations come awards season, but the film makes you feel like you are in this insane and magical world because of its large epic scope throughout.  The film overall looks really amazing, but that doesn't stop it from being a mediocre mess.

If this film had a better script, director, and even cast, then 'Snow White & The Huntsman' wouldn't have been such a disappointing summer film.  The trailers made this movie seem like one fun and bad ass fantasy trip with great performances by all.  Instead what was given was a poorly acted, often slow, yet visually stunning movie that seems to be a part of the generic Hollywood formula these days.  It seems the movie industry lacks a lot of creativity, therefore can only copy ideas and see if anyone notices.  Can't movies just be original ideas that stimulate the mind rather than rehashing old stories and make them look really nice and glossy?  Let's hope that filmmakers have something up their sleeves very soon, because the creativity of films is slowly depleting and will soon be gone.  Everything in 'Huntsman' could have been so much better, but sadly what is given is 127 minutes of over the top acting and a bad story/script.  People seem to really dig this movie, yet I don't see why.  If one does have interest in seeing this movie, just watch it on a big HD TV when it comes to Blu-Ray.  Unless Hollywood can find some better way of making the 'Snow White' story fresh and new again, the "fairest one of all" has taken her last bite from an apple for a while.  

PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:


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The Amazing Spider Man


Brave


Total Recall


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REVIEW: Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted 3D

MOVIE
Madagascar 3:
Europe's Most Wanted

CAST
Ben Stiller, Chris Rock

RATING
PG

RELEASE
June 8, 2012

DIRECTOR(S)
Eric Darnell,
Tom McGrath, Conrad Vernon

STUDIO(S)
DreamWorks Animation,
Paramount Pictures

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 33 minutes






STARS
***3/4









REVIEW:

Was it really necessary to make a third 'Madagascar' movie?  Who was asking for one final adventure with Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman?  Probably little kids and the bank, so DreamWorks decided to make 'Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.'  This film has the four beloved animals still trying to get back home to their beloved Central Park Zoo in New York.  Circumstances lead them into a circus from Europe traveling to America, so of course the animals tag along for the ride disguised as circus animals.  DreamWorks has surprisingly been on a roll when it comes to their movies, almost coming up to the same level as Pixar films.  'Kung Fu Panda 2' and 'How to Train Your Dragon' are probably good examples for Pixar comparisons.  While this may look like pure slapstick and nothing else, slapstick usually doesn't get selected to screen in the most prestigious film festival circuit of the year, the Cannes Film Festival.  That's right: 'Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted' was selected to screen at Cannes.  After seeing the film, I can say that there is much more to this movie than just slapstick and silly jokes about "circus afros."  'Madagascar 3' portrays Europe in such a beautiful and often comedic way that the audience can't help but have a smile on their face.  This is one of those rare instances where the third film in a franchise turns out to be the best film in the entire series.

The four main cast members of the series (Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pickett-Smith) are surprisingly better than ever in this movie.  Ben Stiller, instead of sounding like his usual self most of the time, adds that special something to his role of Alex.  In this film, he deals with personal issues about whether he actually wants to go back to New York or not, which was something nice to see in a film where its main trademark is the song "I Like To Move It."  It may seem from the trailers that Marty, Chris Rock's character, is only there to see the cultural phenomenon that is the "Afro Circus" song, which coincidentally was written by Rock himself.  While Rock is here to be one of the key factors to the slapstick comedy, he actually is quite tolerable and not as annoying as you'd expect. Rock is a very funny comedian, but hearing his voice out of a zebra in a circus is all the funnier.  Then comes the other two characters, Gloria and Melman, played by David Schwimmer and Jada Pickett-Smith.  These characters deserve more screen time than they are given, because these two lovebirds are great animals to watch.  Their chemistry in the films has provided some of the series' best jokes.  There could have been more scenes showing how they are now married and are trying to become a family.  But alas, that's a story that could be great for a spin-off film.  The four leads are great as always, however the supporting animals outshine them in almost every way imaginable.

Sacha Baron Cohen, Andy Richter, and Cedric the Entertainer are back as King Julien, Mort, and Maurice respectively.  The lemurs have always been my favorite characters of the series, so it was great to see them with some personal stories of their own.  Actually it was more of King Julien's story than Mort and Maurice, who are just there to successively back up the mishaps of their glorious leader.  Julien ends up in a love story with a bear on a tricycle in the circus.  Not only is this just funny to think about, but it is also the single funniest thing in the entire movie.  There is a scene involving a "revamping" of the bear's tricycle that is absolutely priceless.  It's not just the lemurs who should be getting all of the credit, because the notorious penguins and the crazy but small rolled monkeys also are quite great.  The penguins and the monkeys team up at the very beginning of the film; and the scenario they're in is quite entertaining to watch.  Plus what they do with the circus is also proof that penguins and monkeys are smarter than the average human being.  The original animals are all great, but with every animated movie there has to be new characters.  This film has quite a few enjoyable ones, and one really crazy one.

Frances McDormand plays Captain Chantel DuBois, who is the chief animal inspector and the film's main antagonist.  This character has some funny moments and all, but overall this character is incredibly insane and a bit too over the top.  The fact that she's actually following these animals across Europe just so she can get Alex's head for her wall is a bit too much, and it gets really twisted and weird with her during the third act.  I understand that this is a kid's movie and shouldn't be taken too seriously, but there's a fine line that a character shouldn't go over, whereas McDormand's character in fact did.  She's still entertaining to say the least, but overall a bit of an over-exaggerated character.

Bryan Cranston, Martin Short, and Jessica Chastain play some of the animals in the circus who are a little worried of Alex and the crew.  Cranston dons a Russian accent if I remember correctly, and he gives some great moments in the film.  His back story was even really interesting, despite playing on the fact that this is an animated kids movie and characters can do insanely cool things.  Martin Short probably provided the most laughs out of the four new characters playing a seal named Stefano.  Short is great in animated roles, and I hope that he is in a lot more of them because it seems that his fame has gone to waste recently.  Finally, Jessica Chastain plays a tigress, but that doesn't really matter much due to her being the love interest of Alex.  There wasn't much to expect from Chastain as a love interest, so it was good to see the "love story" not get as irritating as you'd think.  Overall the newcomers to the series have some great lines and some funny moments, but they cannot compare to the original characters of the series.

The 3D in this film is surprisingly really effective for the vast majority of it.  There are a lot of jump-out-of-the-screen moments that are really fun and cool to see.  It reminded me of the first time I saw a 3D movie and everything immersed me into this awesome world.  There is an entire sequence where the circus is performing that looks absolutely jaw dropping in 3D.  I swear my eyes were given free candy and was enjoying the heck out of it!  Sure this movie will be just as good in 2D, but the added 3D element creates an entire new perspective on the film.  Even though I haven't seen the 2D version of this film, I can't imagine seeing this in any other way.  To those outside of the U.S. who are getting this in IMAX 3D, you guys are in for an absolute treat if you pay to see this on the big BIG screens.

It's a darn good thing that DreamWorks hired Noah Baumbach, who directed 2010's 'Greenberg' also starring Ben Stiller, to write this movie because without him this probably would have been just another DreamWorks movie.  'Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted' is fresh, upbeat, and very very funny.  This is the one film this summer that families should not miss going to see.  Sure some of the jokes are incredibly silly, and the film falls to the typical drama cliché at the end of the second act, but if you can forget about all of that, you will have a very fun time at the movies.  The cast work is great, the script is fantastic, and the 3D animation is some of the best 3D that will probably be seen in all of 2012.  'Prometheus' also comes out this weekend for the 17+ crowd, so you may want to check this out if you have the chance.  Adults and kids alike will really enjoy this movie a lot, which really says something because before 2008 only Disney and Pixar were able to do this.  Pixar has some pure competition on their heels when it comes to sequels, because these two studios seem neck and neck right now.  Do yourselves a favor, and pick up a passport, put on 3D glasses, and take a fun, wild trip into the beautiful and eye popping Europe with the 'Madagascar' crew.  Don't forget to don a circus afro when seeing the movie.