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The Madagascar crew are back, and still fighting to get home to their beloved home; the Big Apple. Things don’t quite go as expected when Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller), Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith), and Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer) end up in Monte Carlo, arousing the suspicion of Captain Dubois (Frances McDormand) in animal control. Luckily, they stumble across a travelling circus; the perfect guise to hide from customs.Not being a fan of the previous Madagascar (I fell asleep) nor Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (I fell asleep even more frequently); I was pleasantly surprised by Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. Despite the irritating trailers (POLKA DOT, POLKA DOT, AFRO), and my dreadfully low expectations; I found myself loving Darnell’s animation adventure. It’s frequently funny (I laughed audibly and, more than likely, obnoxiously) throughout, and left the cinema with an uplifting glow I have yet to experience since. The animation is superb, and far superior to its predecessors. It’s difficult to strike a balance between silly enough for children, and smart enough for an older audience; they’ve really cracked it this time. Who’d have thought that Katy Perry’s Firework, an incredibly cute creature vomiting pink frosting and nods to Inception would make one of the best animations of 2012? They certainly wowed me.