Madagascar

Let's face it, it's hard to put out a good animation movie that is equal to Shrek, The Incredibles or Finding Nemo. Those are hard movies to follow but Madagascar is by no means a bad movie. In fact, I will still rate this pretty high, as I enjoyed it without watching the clock.

The plot was very easy for children to follow while not so simplistic that adults become bored in the middle. The simple plot was that 4 animals raised in a zoo venture out into the wild and quickly realize how easy they had it back home in the New York Zoo.

There was quite a few humorous scenes in Madagascar, but my favorite has to be the "distinguished" chimps who get offended that the thought of looking or smelling like a monkey is bad. An honorable mention is the penguins who also got more than they bargained for in Antarctica.

While some of the graphics are sub-par to other movies I've mentioned, like Alex the Lion (voiced by Ben Stiller) for instance. At times they look sort of like clay-mation or something, and other they look positively life-like. The scenery and the lemurs stand out as the most beautifully rendered parts of the movie.

This movie is great for getting the kids out of the house and not too bad if the normal adult wants to get away and enjoy something more suitable for the family as well.

'Madagascar' is by no means the worst CGI animated flick but it's far from the great movies Pixar has given us over the last 10 years. Storywise, it is simple enough for kids to enjoy but there are too many plot holes so forget about educating them about animals. The pacing is quite bad as it really slows down in the middle. Some of the gags are overdone and as a result, they fall flat. The dialogues are mostly okay.

The CGI is far from terrific but the vivid colours somehow make up for it. The virtual Madagascar is colourful and spectacular to look at. There is plenty of energy (sometimes a bit too much) to keep the audience tuned.

The characters are a tad over the top. Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith are alright. Ben Stiller tends to be a little irritating. McGrath, Knights and Miller totally rock as the three penguins. For me, the penguins were the best and funniest parts.

'Madagascar' may not be the best example of entertaining CGI flicks but it makes for a decent one time watch as long as the viewer is willing to suspend their beliefs to a certain extent.

Lots of fun - I saw it with the grandkids and a theater full of families. a great time was had by all. technically speaking, one might say that the story was 'uneven' in places (can you say *that* about animated films? (-:) -- I mention this because there has been some needlessly negative feedback here at IMDb. On the whole, though, the presentation is quick-paced, bright, happy, and delightful to the eyes and ears. There are also some unique, quirky scenes (i.e. animals nonchalantly getting on a subway?) - I love to see stuff I haven't seen before. that's not easy to do, you know - by all accounts, "everything has been done on film already.." - (if you catch my drift). so, give credit when due! enjoy!(-:

There are so few movies that you can enjoy as a family, so perhaps I've given this more stars than it deserves. I did laugh out loud several times. The jokes are mostly "pop culture" references; for example, (the zebra (Chris Rock) has a treadmill in his area (not a cage, really) at the zoo.

This is sort of a twist on the fish out of water movies, as the zoo animals, according to the local animal rights activists, don't belong in the zoo; they are shipped off to Africa. Hilarity ensues; the animals don't end up at the planned destination and find out that they don't necessarily belong in the wild either. What I found unique about this movie is that for once, the actual nature of the animal is acknowledged. Ben Stiller's lion character realizes that everyone looks like a steak and wants to eat everyone. Of course, he realizes that he's "wrong" (HUH??) and tries to change. The kids loved it, I wasn't totally bored out of my mind, and the animation was pretty good, I thought. The penguins were especially cute. Wish they'd had more screen time.

I just love this movie. It's funny I don't care. This is a movie from my childhood that I still love.