Movie Review 2: Madagascar

By Frank H. Woodward May 27, 2005, 2:23 GMT

Marty, New York Zoo's very own zebra, dreams of living in the wild.  He and his unlikely trio of friends (Alex the Lion, Melman the Giraffe, and Gloria the Hippo), however, are very used to living in the lap of modern convenience.  Crowds adore them like superstars and the zoo cares for them accordingly. 

There's something off, though, and this is where MADAGASCAR mines most of its laughs.  These animals have had their wild side taken out of them to the point where they represent people more than beasts. Outside of a lion who pals around with a zebra, the menagerie includes a hypochondriac giraffe, a monkey who speaks sign language in between coffees and penguins who are hell bent on a great escape.

The penguins know exactly what's out of whack.  "Have you ever seen penguins running around New York?", they ask Marty.  The answer is, of course, "No".  Following their lead, Marty decides to go on a field trip and see the wild he's always dreamed of.  The nearest wild, unfortunately, is Manhattan.  When Alex, Melman and Gloria break out to recover Marty, they cause an
all out human panic at Grand Central Station.  The animal friends are deported to their natural habitats, supposedly for their own good. 

The problem is these animals haven't been natural for years.  Things get even worse when the penguins commandeer the freighter ship taking them back to Africa.  Marty, Alex, Melman, and Gloria are accidentally washed overboard.

The group lands on Madagascar where they come upon a lemur colony fighting for survival among the island's predators (whenever they're not club dancing, of course).  The lemurs ask Alex the Lion to be their savior.  Due to his uncontrollable hunger, however, Alex starts to remember his predatory tendencies. What ensues is a Jekyll / Hyde struggle that reminds one more of classic Looney Tunes than Simba.

This all sounds like a lot of adventure, but it breezes by at a fresh pace.  The film's energy comes mainly from the wonderfully skewed characters.  In a topsy-turvy way, the supporting characters are more endearing than the principals.  The commando penguins are especially so.  Their use of stealth military tactics to escape back to Antarctica is inspired.

The lemurs of Madagascar are just as cracked.  We first meet their colony in a lavish dance number that is one of the most catchy tunes I've heard in animation for quite some time.  It's not Ashman & Menken, but it will have you chanting as you leave the theatre.

Still the animation is of the usual highly stylized computer stuff we've come to expect from PDI.  The design is lush and vibrant.  The lemurs' eyes, for example, are big lavish candy colors just like their dancing.  The artistry doesn't quite match Pixar's, but it's sharp writing that lifts MADAGASCAR above the norm, much like Warner Brothers in the old cel days of animation. 

Back when Warners and Disney were the cartoon pillars of Hollywood, it was Disney that exhibited the more artistic animation.  Warners, meanwhile,  had better scripts and gags.  In the modern day equivalent of PDI versus Pixar, PDI's clear strength is in this same territory.  Everything from bathroom humor to PLANET OF THE APES references are thrown in MADAGASCAR's mix.  This sometimes can risk dating a film, much like SHREK's pop music moments.  MADAGASCAR avoids these trappings by taking humor from timeless pop culture and, like Pixar, from the characters themselves.  So what if the animation doesn't approach a hyper reality?  If THE INCREDIBLES, and now MADAGASCAR prove anything, stylization helps couch some pretty prickly issues.

For instance, when MADAGASCAR's storyline follows nature.  Alex, as the only meat eater amongst his herbivore friends, goes savage.  This is a dilemma for his best friend Marty the Zebra... also known as Alex's natural prey.   There are a few scary moments where things may not end well for these best friends.  Thanks to humor and style, though, the film is allowed to walk on this wild side and come out unscathed.  It allows MADAGASCAR to be a satisfying piece of entertainment... one of the few to come out so far this year.

You can read more reviews of the film and access media in our database. Photos from the premiere are also visible on this page.