As a fan the “Madagascar” movies, I was glad to find Skipper, Kowalski, Rico et Private again!
A great, funny team that you discovered as second roles in “Madagascar”.
It is basically the same team as in “Madagascar” (same directors, same producers) and John Malkovich & Benedict Cumberbatch do the voices for Dr. Octavius Brine & Private.
So, everything was there to spend a good time for me & my son on this holiday season !
What I found great about the Madagascar movies was the characters. Each one has his own personality and sensibility. You always watch Alex, Melman, Gloria or Marty with pleasure. They are all a bit nuts & that’s a big part in why you love them.
Unfortunately, here it doesn’t work. The team is also here but it ends up being bland.
Indeed, Skipper is good at running gags, always keen on some action but with no charisma.
Kowalski is introduced as the brain of the gang but he won’t be anything else…
Rico eats everything he can find. And Private, even if he can be surprising, he is suposed to be in the movie just because he is cute. But how can you find him cute? Even a kid would find him just dumb.
So, characters that lack of depth.
Their humor is still good though !
The villain is not that great either. Without giving away any details, he is very unlucky & I’m not only talking about his looks! He has abilities but doesn’t really use them when the trailer sold us somebody ready to rule the world. He will remind you of the Megamind’s villain (makes sens since it’s the same director for both films).
The North Wind, the team the penguins are supposed to help, seems to be here just as a teaser for a potential movie dedicated to them.
As a result, it makes a lot of characters for a movie of 93 minutes long. Yet, the movie has a good pace and it’s not boring.
But you wonder if the movie has only been done to make money…
Kids can appreciate it but you’d rather see it on TV & wait to see Paddington at the movies instead!
