Madagascar
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| Director(s) | Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath |
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| Distributor | Dreamworks Video |
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| The penguins steal the show. In the sprightly Madagascar, a mid-life crisis inspires Marty the Zebra (voiced by Chris Rock) to escape from his lifelong home, a New York zoo. His equally pampered friends—Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller), Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith), and Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer)—then escape to bring him back. Unfortunately, their attempt at damage control persuades zoo officials that the animals are unhappy, so all four get shipped to an animal preserve in Kenya…only a squad of maniacal penguins change the destination to… | |
Honors
Reviews
Amazon.com
The penguins steal the show. In the sprightly Madagascar, a mid-life crisis inspires Marty the Zebra (voiced by Chris Rock) to escape from his lifelong home, a New York zoo. His equally pampered friends—Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller), Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith), and Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer)—then escape to bring him back. Unfortunately, their attempt at damage control persuades zoo officials that the animals are unhappy, so all four get shipped to an animal preserve in Kenya…only a squad of maniacal penguins change the destination to Antarctica. The quartet end up on an island where, in addition to meeting some hedonistic lemurs, they learn about the food chain—and that Alex is a different link on the chain from the other three. Madagascar doesn’t achieve the snappy perfection of a Pixar movie, but it tops most other computer-animated efforts; the collision of friendship and predator instincts makes for an unusually gripping conflict. The vocal performances of the central characters is serviceable, but Sacha Baron Cohen (Da Ali G Show) provides topnotch lunacy as the lemur king, and the penguins—voiced mostly by the animators themselves—are the best thing in the movie. —Bret Fetzer
Barnes and Noble
It’s all happening at the Central Park Zoo in New York City, especially for Alex the pampered lion (Ben Stiller), Melman the hypochondriac giraffe (David Schwimmer), and Gloria the maternal hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith). But Marty the zebra (Chris Rock), experiencing a midlife crisis on his tenth birthday, wants to follow his wanderlust to…Connecticut(!), where—he has been erroneously informed—the wild things roam free. He bolts for the train station, and his three friends escape from the zoo to retrieve him—a gambit that is misinterpreted as a cry to return to their natural habitat. But a funny thing happens on their way to a Kenyan preserve. Thanks to a quartet of escape-happy penguins, they are rerouted to the eponymous island, where carnivore Alex discovers the circle of life does not include being brought steaks every night by human handlers. Will he revert to his basic instincts? Madagascar boasts a menagerie of scene-stealing supporting characters, including Sacha Baron Cohen (Da Ali G Show) as a goofy lemur king and Cedric the Entertainer as his second in command. But waddling away with the movie are Mort (Andy Richter), Skipper, Kowalski, Private, and Rico as the penguin commandos who talk like the Dead End Kids. So auspicious was their screen debut that they were immediately signed for their own short subject, The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper, which premiered theatrically with Wallace and Grommit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit and is happily included on this DVD. Madagascar follows the Shrek template: A-list voice cast; irreverent humor; too-hip-for-the-playroom references (HMOs, author Tom Wolfe) for the adults; and a rockin’ soundtrack for the kids. The poop jokes? Come on, they’re for everybody. Alex’s dilemma adds some bite to this culture-shock comedy (and may frighten little ones). If kids loved Madagascar in theaters, they will go wild for this DVD, which comes packed with interactive games, activities, and projects. The penguins even contribute audio commentary! Donald Liebenson
