Madagascar is the latest adventure to some our way from DreamWorks Animation; a studio that has created such works as Shrek and Shark Tale. DreamWorks’ latest outing did not fail to disappoint but didn‘t quite manage to be great. Madagascar tells the tale of Marty the Zebra, Alex the lion, Gloria the hippo and Melman the giraffe, inhabitants of New York's Central Park Zoo. The story is set in motion when Marty decides to go on a trip to Connecticut, what he believes to be the wild. The others go on a quest to find him which results in a media frenzy and the animals of the zoo being shipped far away, to Africa.
After the ship is hijacked by penguins (crazy, I know, but remember, everything‘s possible in animation), our main characters end up stranded on the island of, guess where…Madagascar. This is where the humour really begins. We are introduced to King Julian, voiced by the hilarious Sacha Baron Cohen, and his band of Lemurs. Our first glimpse of the lemurs is one of the most memorable moments in the film; the entire jungle comes to life for an ensemble performance of “I like to move it” lead by King Julian. Sacha Baron Cohen is very impressive in the role of King Julian; he somehow manages to concoct a voice he hasn’t that is in many ways perfect for the big-headed, delusional, King Julian.
Madagascar presents a relatively uncommon argument in relation to what animals want. The last thing the zoo animals (particularly Alex) want, is to be in the wild. Fresh air? Living off the land? Why would they want that? Especially when they have steaks and medical care at the zoo. Madagascar is most certainly an original story; it’s a splash of “the grass is always greener” a dash of “be careful what you wish for” and smidge of anthropomorphism. How original can you get?
The characters that deserve an honourable mention are definitely the penguin. They’re shifty fellows with delusions of 007hood and they are, essentially, the catalysts for the majority of the events in the film.
The casting for the film couldn’t have been better. Ben Stiller voices Alex the lion, it’s interesting to see, or should I say, hear, Stiller in one of the more masculine roles. He’s the king of the jungle, and he pulls it off very well. Marty, the exitable zebra, is voiced by Chris Rock. Naturally, Rock manages to bring that Chris Rock craziness to the role. Arguably the best vocal work comes from David Schwimmer as the hypochondriac giraffe, Melman. He brings Melman’s whininess to life and manages to personalise the role at the same time. A role that didn’t get as much time to develop is that of Gloria, voiced by Jada Pinkett-Smith. She does as much as she could with the role and for that she cannot be faulted, unfortunately , her role simply did not require much.
Madagascar is far from perfect. It is, essentially a very simple storyline that requires little to no thought to process. It is because of the this that I class Madagascar as a children’s film that was not necessarily designed two work on two levels for children and adults. It is humorous and entertaining, but repeat viewing (for those aged 13 or above) is not particularly beneficial.
Madagascar is a film is strongly recommend, but it fails to live up to the level DreamWorks established with Shrek.
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The penguins steal the show. In the sprightlyMadagascar, a mid-life crisis inspires Marty ... more
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 (Ja...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The penguins steal the show. In the sprightlyMadagascar, a mid-life crisis inspires Marty ... more
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 (Ja...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
At New York's Central Park Zoo a lion (Stiller) a zebra (Rock) a giraffe (Schwimmer) ... more
and a hippo (Pinkett Smith) are best friends and stars of the show. But when one of the animals goes missing from their cage the other three break free to look fo...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
The friendship between a New York City lion and zebra is tested when fate brings them out ... more
to the unforgiving wilderness in this computer-animated feature. Chris Rock does the voice of Marty the Zebra, whose longing to explore beyond his cushy Central P...
![Madagascar [DVD] [2005]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78493523.jpg "Madagascar [DVD] [2005]")
![Madagascar [2005]-DVD](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/106081111.jpg "Madagascar [2005]-DVD")
Jun 2nd, 2008
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