This was surprisingly funny. I haven't been as big a fan of this franchise as I have of the other DreamWorks fare. It tends to fall under the "children only" category, not "fun for all ages". I don't know how this would hold up to repeat viewings but it at least made me interested in seeing the Penguins spin-off.The four New York zoo animals, Marty (Chris Rock), Alex (Ben Stiller), Gloria (Jada Pinkett-Smith), and Melman (David Schwimmer) find themselves abandoned in Africa after the penguins and the chimps take a plane to Monte Carlo, instead of for rescue. Alex gets fed up with waiting and decides to hunt down the penguins and force them to help the refugees get back to the zoo. They find the penguins living it up in a casino but must quickly change their plans as they come into the sights of an overzealous animal control officer (Frances McDormand). As a cover, the mismatched group joins a traveling circus that has seen better days. In order to get a contract to perform in America, the circus must impress a talent scout in Rome. Alex and crew must reinvent this sad troupe into a group worthy of attention if they ever want to see home again.
There was one moment in this film that made me laugh so hard I had to hit pause. It is the only real dark comedy gag and it was so unexpected and delightful that the rest of the movie could have been shit and I would still recommend it. It is worth it for that moment alone. The rest of the movie is cute, don't worry, but that scene is the real stand-out for me.
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