FILM REVIEW: Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (PG)

After a lacklustre second instalment, which saw Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the hypochondriac giraffe and Gloria the hippopotamus crash-land in Africa, Madagascar 3 rediscovers some of its animal magic.

A circus of performing critters provides the dramatic hook for the usual wise-cracks, and a boo-hiss pantomime villainess generates much-needed dramatic tension.

The setting lends itself perfectly to 3D and directors Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath and Conrad Vernon have a ball contriving outrageous set pieces.

The camera swoops as Merman and Gloria teeter on the high wire, Alex tumbles acrobatically on the trapeze and Marty soars out of the barrel of a giant cannon.

Animals ricochet around the screen at dizzying speed and pyrotechnics explode to the infectious beat of Katy Perry’s self-empowerment anthem, Firework.

Eye candy is plentiful but there’s an inescapable feeling that the flimsy narrative has been tailored to the 3D and the higher ticket prices commanded by the eye-popping format.

You could cheerfully distil the plot into 10 minutes - the remainder of Darnell, McGrath and Vernon’s upbeat adventure is glossy, feel-good packaging adorned with rump-shaking musical interludes from Sacha Baron Cohen’s lord of the lemurs.