Christmas may be a few months away, but there is one man in Gilbert working to build handmade, wooden toys by the holidays.

Kids are often enthralled with the wild kingdom, so it’s fun to do their rooms with animal-themed decor.

Kids are often enthralled with the wild kingdom, so it's fun to do their rooms with animal-themed decor.

Ben Stiller's Alex the lion reviews "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" so we don't have to.

“Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” is energetic if not extremely predictable family fun. Featuring a cast of returning favorites and a slew of new characters, the film boasts mischievous wit and gifted voice talent that are sadly overshadowed by the film’s own banality.

Seeing a sequel to an animated film might have felt surreal a long time ago. But in the past twenty years or so, every animated feature has become obligated to produce a sequel.

CANNES, France — Google "Madagascar" and two of your top three results will not be the country that lies off the coast of southeast Africa, but the DreamWorks Animation movie franchise.

Save the cereal and Saturday-morning cartoons; you can take weekend breakfast to new heights this month at Phoenix Zoo.

This holiday season, the fun begins at night, as residents enjoy the 20th anniversary of ZooLights at Phoenix Zoo.

A couple weeks ago I reviewed "Mr. Popper's Penguins," a bland and predicable children's comedy. While "Mr. Popper's Penguins" was underwhelming, the film did have one redeeming quality that prevented it from being inexplicably awful: None of the penguins talked. "Zookeeper" on the other hand, makes the unwise choice to have its animal cast talk with the obnoxiously familiar voices of big stars. The end result is one of the year's dumbest comedies that makes any of the "Doctor Doolittle" movies look like "Babe." 

A couple weeks ago I reviewed "Mr. Popper's Penguins," a bland and predicable children's comedy. While "Mr. Popper's Penguins" was underwhelming, the film did have one redeeming quality that prevented it from being inexplicably awful: None of the penguins talked. "Zookeeper" on the other hand, makes the unwise choice to have its animal cast talk with the obnoxiously familiar voices of big stars. The end result is one of the year's dumbest comedies that makes any of the "Doctor Doolittle" movies look like "Babe." 

The speed photo enforcement program that created a stir along the state's highways is sputtering away, along with the memories of those who made the cameras famous.

You know it's officially summer when Valley residents, like animals heeding an instinctual cue, go crepuscular for the season, piling outdoor chores, recreation and exercise into the milder hours around sunrise and sunset.

A bumper crop of babies has been born this spring at Phoenix Zoo, and the non-profit park is asking for help to name two of the youngsters: a pair of wobbly legged, fuzzy zebra foals.

LOS ANGELES — The glee club members twirl their wheelchairs to the tune of "Proud Mary" and in joyful solidarity with Artie, the fellow performer who must use his chair even when the music stops.

Once upon a time, the ideal for a child's room was a cozy haven filled with sturdy push-pull toys, handmade dolls and a few baskets of dress-up clothes. That was before batteries, computer programs for toddlers, and the array of stuff that talks, squawks, jangles and jolts in little hands.

Speed camera photos of the man in the monkey and giraffe masks have generated lots of chuckles. But the cops aren't laughing.

You never think about how long a giraffe's tongue is until you're face to face with it.