Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)

In animation, the next best thing to a grand vision is crack comic timing. The third chapter in the saga of Alex the lion (Ben Stiller) and his Central Park Zoo pals — now nostalgic for New York after their foray into Africa — has timing up the wazoo. It's there in a (literally) over-the-top chase through the skies of Monte Carlo, in the grouchy fun of a troupe of Euro circus animals our heroes hook up with, and in bits like Marty the zebra (Chris Rock) singing a circus jingle inspired by his psychedelic Afro wig. The story in Madagascar 3 is functional, but the antically civilized spirit is infectious. B+