Merry Madagascar

This animated short is about the Madagascar creatures wanting to go back to New York for Christmas, but things get complicated when they meet the amnesic Santa Claus.

I find the story quite festive, given the fact that the setting is mostly in Madagascar. I enjoyed watching "Merry Madagascar" more than the regular "Madagascar", because I find the animals less annoying and more fun. The story is squeaky clean, and can be enjoyed by people of all ages. There are even a few one liners for adults, and it did make me laugh. "Julianuary" is a great invention, I hope they will capitalise on this in future "Madagascar"!

Merry Madagascar (2009)

*** (out of 4)

Fun short has Santa Claus being shot down on an island and is struck with amnesia. Not being able to deliver the presents, the Madagascar gang offers to do it for him because not only do they want to save Christmas but they too want to get back home. This isn't the greatest film ever made but if you enjoyed the features then it's probably a safe bet that you're going to enjoy this. I think the producers made a very good choice in making this a short because there's no way the story could have supported a feature of its own. I think there are some very interesting ideas and jokes scattered throughout the film, although at the same time I will admit that not all of the jokes work. I think the highlight of the film is when Santa's reindeer get ready to do battle with the penguins because originally Santa was doing his business from the South Pole. This was a smart and funny joke that's clearly the best moment of the film. Other highlights include the gang trying to deliver gifts and the first house and its accident is certainly funny. At just around 20-minutes the film moves along well enough and is worth watching during the holidays.

The gang is leaving Madagascar on their home-made balloon when Julien and his lemur subjects shoot them down. They're actually shooting for the red night goblin. When coal starts raining down, Alex fires the shot that takes down the goblin who turns out to be Santa Claus. The reindeers leave after fighting with the penguins over the cold war between north and south poles. The concussed Santa decides to stay with the lemurs. The gang decides to deliver the gifts themselves pulled by the penguins flying with magic dust.

This is a Christmas TV special. The great thing is that the characters are what they are supposed to be. Julien would definitely shoot down Santa Claus. This has all the main Madagascar characters. The penguins have a lot of fun. This is solid work from the family friendly franchise.

I watched this short film at Christmas this year along with countless other films and programmes that feel like they have been made because they have to be for the festive season rather than being a case of someone having a great idea and everyone wanting to do it. The plot is simple – calling him the "Red Goblin", King Julian succeeds in shooting down Santa Claus, meaning that the New Yorkers have to leave the island on Santa's sledge and, with the help of the penguins, make sure that all the presents are delivered and that Christmas is saved. Meanwhile, on the island, an amnesiac Santa joins in the annual celebrations of Julianuary – a festive period where everyone gives the King presents.

This TV special is quite amusing but it is not as funny or as clever as the recent Penguins spin-off show and part of the problem is the same problem I have with the films. This is that the main characters are actually not that good as characters. OK, they are almost a necessary evil in terms of the narrative but really time spent with them makes you think you're missing out on something better with the other side characters. The global sleigh ride is amusing but seems a bit cloying and obvious and the film is at its best where we are back on the island with King Julian. These sections have their own "message" but Julian is a great character and these bits are well written with his usual selfish self-importance and produces plenty of good laughs (such as the carol singing bit). The Penguins produce a few good laughs as well but their role doesn't give them much to do and I didn't think they worked as well as they have done elsewhere. Likewise Mort can be relied upon for easy laughs.

These good bits do well to carry the film while the main animals go around the world – these bits are quite funny but just not as good as the rest. Ironic then that all the stars are back for these main animals while Cohen didn't do Julian. This is not a problem though because, as with the TV show, Jacobs does a very good job of making the character his own and delivering with timing. Overall Merry Madagascar is an enjoyable little festive offering but this is almost despite of itself. It has the feel of something that was a business decision rather than something everyone wanted to do and, while funny, the presence of the four main characters repeats the problem in the films – the strongest material lies with the supporting characters, not the New Yorkers.

I'm not a big fan of Dreamworks movies (the poor man's Pixar) but nevertheless I love the Madagascar work. I bought this from my local supermarket (exclusively they claimed) expecting it to be a poor quality version of the movies, probably with bad animation and replacement voice talent. Hey, I thought, my 12 year old will still like it. I was wrong: this is beautifully animated to the quality of the movies, has all the original actors and is FUNNIER than the movies too. There's a joke involving penguins and reindeer that had we three in hysterics, perfect! This is only 26 minutes long but well worth it and a valid addition to the Madagascar movies. It could in fact be Madagascar 3 such is the quality.