Stars: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Cedric The Entertainer, Andy Richter

Director: Eric Darnell

Summary: The friendship between a New York City lion and zebra is tested when fate brings them out to the unforgiving wilderness in this computer-animated feature. Chris Rock provides the voice of Marty the Zebra, whose longing to explore beyond his cushy Central Park Zoo boundaries is the impetus that ultimately strands him and his pals on the shores of savage Madagascar. Marty loves the new, edible scenery, but his best friend Alex (voiced by Ben Stiller) the Lion begins to starve since his diet of thick steaks has been cut off, and the rump of his friend starts to look mighty tasty. Their other friends, a hypochondriac giraffe (David Schwimmer) and a sassy hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith), try their best to think of a solution as the call of the wild slowly turns the starving Alex into Marty's worst nightmare. Meanwhile the hilariously self aggrandising King of the Ocelots (Sacha Cohen) has a plan to use Marty to repel their own carnivore problem. This kid-oriented comedy stays adult-friendly every step of the way thanks to a clever script that mixes New Yorker humour and even some existentialism in with the pratfalls and spit-takes. Jolts of comedic brilliance are supplied by some Arctic-bound escaped con penguins, and a couple of literary apes. It's not a musical, but classic songs from the likes of Louis Armstrong and Sammy Davis Jr. keep the montages flowing loose and sassy.

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Reviewed by: mcdermot7@aol.com
Posted on November 19, 2005 4:56 PM

4 animals from New York Central Zoo escape in search of their friend and find themselves EN route to MadagascaR. It may not be shrek or wallace & gromit, but it still will tickle your funny bone. Alex, Marty, Melman & Gloria will have you chuckling but for me it is the penguins that really steal this film.

Reviewed by: lmacdon2@student.ednet.ns.ca
Posted on December 7, 2005 6:57 PM

This movie was not as good as it showed on the previews but it was pretty close to it. It was funny and had many times were you could cry you were laughing so hard. It is not as good as Shrek but is still worth the money.

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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 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. Madagascardoesn'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 (Ali G) 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, Amazon.com

Aspect Ratio:	1.85 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	I Like To Move It Move It Music Video, Behind The Crates Mad Mishaps, Meet The Wild Cast, See The Tech Of Madagascar, Interactive Activities, DVDROM Downloads
Year:	2005
Release Date:	November 28, 2005
Runtime:	82 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	8302380
Keywords:	Animated, Family, Animals, English, Zoo, Madagascar
Genre:	Family