The new trailer for Madagascar 3 makes it seem less awful than the teaser did

The new trailer for MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE’S MOST WANTED has made its way online and I was very hesitant to even watch it. The teaser for the film comes on every single time my kids watch the PUSS IN BOOTS Bluray and it makes me cringe with discomfort.

From the outset, MADAGASCAR 3 felt like Dreamworks equivalent to CARS 2. It reeks of global box office pandering by plugging Europe into the storyline to make the movie perform better overseas. The MADAGASCAR franchise also seems to be the most market friendly and, like CARS 2, means that the toy sales will far outweigh the quality of the film.

I will just put a disclaimer here that I hated the first MADAGASCAR but I really enjoyed the second. MADAGASCAR 2, while blatantly using the same plot as THE LION KING, was a fun film with some good sight gags.

MADAGASCAR 3’s plot is as follows: Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, and Gloria the Hippopotamus set out to return to New York after escaping to Africa. Dependent on the mechanical know-how of the notorious chimpanzees and penguins, their plan inevitably goes awry and they find themselves stranded in Monte Carlo, where they try to escape Europe from animal control led by Captain Chantel DuBois by joining up with a traveling circus by chance. Led by the venerable Siberian tiger Vitaly, the animal-centered circus has seen better days. During the course of a tour through a series of European cities that ends in a fabulous big top in the heart of London, Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria help Vitaly the tiger, Gia the jaguar, and Stefano the sea lion, rediscover their passion for show business and reinvent circus performance.

Now after having seen that, I feel a little more inclined to watch the movie with my kids. It seems to have some funny moments, mostly those involving the Sacha Baron Cohen voiced King Julian. While I still do not love the blocky animation style, I did smile a couple of times watching this.

MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE’S MOST WANTED stars Ben Stiller, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric The Entertainer, Bryan Cranston, Jessica Chastain, Frances McDormand, Andy Richter, and Martin Short. The screenplay was written by Noah Baumbach (GREENBERG), so that could always be a sign of improved quality. I hope. Decide for yourself when it opens June 8th.