> May 27 - Madagascar
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> And do we need this? In the wake of so many good 3D animated films with heart to them, it's a let-down to see one like this that seems like it's so desperate to get a laugh or two that it tries too hard. It's a bit like seeing "The Emperor's New Groove" come out of the studio that made "The Lion King" a few years earlier.

Funny, but I really liked "New Groove" a lot. Whereas when I finally officially became the last person on Earth to see "The Lion King" a few weeks ago, I couldn't for the life of me see what all the fuss was about.

To charge a Disney movie with being "formulaic" is not much to the point, I realize. But "Lion King" felt like it was on autopilot from start to finish. I started getting interested in the story around the time Simba began adapting to life outside the pride -- and then, of course, the intervening years were skipped over completely to drop me right back in the storyline I didn't care about.

It's a matter of taste, I guess, and mine is by no means greatly refined. But give me "New Groove" over "Lion King" *any day*.

Iss "Beauty and the Beast > YOU ALL" achar