Madagascar

Happy New Year everyone! To start off this great year, I will be looking at the “Madagascar” franchise, starting with the first film, released in 2005.

Kevin Lally started his review by saying, “Madagascar, DreamWorks' latest computer-animated comedy, tests the validity of that celebrated lyric from Kander and Ebb's "New York, New York": "If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere." The four Central Park Zoo animals of this tale are making it just fine in Manhattan: protected, pampered, well-fed and adored in their deluxe accommodations.” However, once they’re lost on the jungle island that the title says, making it to the next day completely changes everything.

Lally stated, “The notion of sheltered New York beasts removed from their artificial environment is irresistible, and if Madagascar doesn't quite deliver on its initial promise, it's still a likeable and loose-limbed addition to the ever-growing CGI family.” The voice actors of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer from the show “Friends” and Jada Pinkett Smith give their individual voices to the animals, but it’s a herd of disobedient penguins and an egomaniacal lemur king who are the highlights.

The movie starts on the tenth birthday of Marty, a restless zebra, voiced by Chris Rock, who has a mid-life crisis as he thinks the same usual schedule of his cage at the zoo. Marty’s best friend is Alex, an impressing lion, voiced by Ben Stiller, who loves being as the zoo’s main attraction. Lally said, “Completing the menagerie are Melman (Schwimmer), a hypochondriac giraffe, and Gloria (Pinkett Smith), a no-nonsense hippo.” At night, Marty successfully escapes and runs to Grand Central Station, where he wants to get on a train for the “wilds” of Connecticut. Alex, Gloria and Melman escape and find Marty at the station, but seeing a lion and his friends start a scare, and the four get drugged and sent by boat to the island. When those abovementioned tricky penguins take over the ship and sail the boat toward Antarctica, the crates that have the four animals fall overboard and eventually wash up on the shores of that beautiful island off the east coast of Africa.

Lally said, “Maybe this is a biased New Yorker talking, but the stronger sections of Madagascar are those that take place back in civilization (a debatable term when discussing the Big Apple).” The Central Park look, which resembles the actual place, is great and it’s a funny delight to watch a giraffe try to board a subway train. (The police horse who gives directions to Marty in a thick Brooklyn accent, voiced by David Cowgill, is also hilarious.) Lally said, “The shipboard sequence is another high point, as those penguins efficiently disarm the human crew, under the orders of a tough-talking leader voiced by Tom McGrath, who co-directed with Eric Darnell.”

Once the movie gets to the title destination, the screenplay has trouble keeping energy. Marty and Gloria adjust so quickly to their new environment. Lally mentioned, “It’s Alex who has the lion's share (sorry) of grief, suddenly deprived of his star perks and daily supply of grade-A steaks. For energy, the movie turns to the local population, a tribe of zany lemurs who love to boogie. Sacha Baron Cohen of HBO's "Da Ali G Show" is inspired as their ruler, a self-enamored goofball who hopes these recently arrived "New York Giants" can scare off their chief nemesis, the vicious, wildcat-like fossas.”

The movie’s one “deep” plot point is Alex’s difficulty with his own animal’s natures, once he doesn’t have meat and he becomes aware of all the possible animals all around him, including his best friend Marty. Lally noted, “Movie buffs will be reminded of the cabin scene with the starving Chaplin in The Gold Rush, and of how good the occasional Chaplin comedy would be for their children's movie diets.”

Lally continued, “Like the Shrek films, Madagascar relies a little too heavily on easy pop-culture gags-a little "Twilight Zone" here, a little "Planet of the Apes" there, even a sendup of DreamWorks' own American Beauty that will baffle the kiddies.” However, Darnell and McGrath also get something new for computer animation: a nice flexible look to character movement that’s similar of the wild artistic of Tex Avery and the Warner Brothers team.

“Madagascar” doesn’t really become a computer-animated classic, but its energetic performances, great designs and once in a while reflects of humor make a admirable start to the summer family-movie season.

If you have little kids, they will definitely enjoy this film a lot. I know I did when I saw this movie, and I think you will too. It’s very funny, beloved and has some great scenery with the animation making it look similar to the destinations in the film.

No surprise, the success of this film spawned two sequels and a spin-off, which we will look at for the rest of the month. Tune in next week when we continue “Madagascar Month.”