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 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 a feeling the flimsy narrative has been tailored to 3D and the higher ticket prices commanded by the eye-popping format.

Alex (voiced by Ben Stiller), Marty (Chris Rock), Melman (David Schwimmer) and Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith) hanker for a return to New York’s Central Park Zoo. In fact, you could cheerfully distil the plot into 10 minutes – the remainder of the adventure is glossy, feel-good packaging adorned with rump-shaking musical interludes from Baron Cohen’s lord of the lemurs.

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted is undemanding escapist froth.

McDormand gleefully chews the scenery and the script pokes fun at our European neighbours, such as when the chimpanzee quips, “Labour laws are a little more lenient in France. They only have to work two weeks a year!”

Kids will love the slapstick but parents may find the tomfoolery as tame as the four-legged heroes.

Two stars.