MADAGASCAR

I just realized that apart from reviewing a spin-off 3-D attraction at “Universal Studios”, I have yet to review a full length animated film by "Dreamworks", which is odd considering that there's so many of them. And that I've seen plenty of those films on the big-screen when I was a kid. Well no more waiting, I'm finally going to review one. This is...

Hmmm, a little too cliched to be starting with this one, even if I did already review "Shrek 4-D".

 

Don't kill me, but I haven't even seen this or any of the other 2-D animated "Dreamworks" movies. But that doesn't mean won't!



NO, I am not ready to re-watch this one again!



I'll take it!

At the Central Park Zoo, a Zebra named Marty (voiced by Chris Rock) dreams to one day leave his self-contained environment behind to run free in the wild. And after seeing a quartet of Penguins escaping the Zoo to live in Antarctica, Marty decides to do the same. But when his best friend Alex (voiced by Ben Stiller) the Lion, along with Gloria (voiced by Jada Pinkett Smith) the Hippo, and Melman (voiced by David Schwimmer) the hypochondriac giraffe, notice Marty's absence; the three leave the Zoo in search for their friend to bring him back safely. Eventually, the animals are rounded-up by the humans, and put into crates to be shipped to a Kenyan wildlife preserve, until they all accidentally fall over board when the Penguins (who were captured with them) take over the ship. Marty and the others wash-up on the beaches of "Madagascar", and try to adapt to their new habitat. 

I saw this when it first came out in theaters when I was a kid, and despite being skeptical about seeing it since the film didn't look anything that fun or exciting, I got tons of laughs out of it, and would go onto to re-watching it all through-out my Middle School years. And after deciding to revisit this piece of nostalgia again, I still had just as many laughs as when I first saw it. The primary reason why the film is so funny is the constant energy that it has. In spite of how digitized the character designs look that would look nearly suitable for a PS2 video game (Alex's design being the biggest offender), these characters are given so much life through the voice acting and speed of the animation that it's easy to overlook how the animation is not in the same league as say "Shrek", and thankfully not in the same exact uncanny territory as "Shark Tale". And being how energized those elements are, the film throws so many different kind of jokes at you, that it never stops until the film is officially over, and I mean till the film completely fades to black. Even during moments that are supposed to be sad and serious, the film doesn't completely distant itself from its energetic cartoony nature, but it doesn't distract from the emotional struggles that we're supposed to feel from the characters either. It isn't hardcore sad, but it isn't treated too lightly to the point where the humor seems forced. It's surprisingly the right balance. I can easily see people being annoyed by how the characters are always shown to be moving as the film keeps spewing out one joke after another, and I'll admit that not every single joke in the film hits a bulls-eye. But I can't say that I found the jokes and its non-stop energy to be tedious, obnoxious, or offensively cringe worthy, cause even at the film's weakest when it comes to humor, I still found myself being delightfully entertained. And as cheap as the designs for the characters look, they're still at a good half-way point for "Dreamworks Animation" that are in the very least fun and distinctive to look at as they fool around in front of some wonderfully animated backgrounds such as New York City, and the Jungles of "Madagascar" that are inspired by the jungle paintings of Henri Rousseau.

 

Unlike in a film like "Shark Tale" where the celebrities are simply just playing themselves as fish just with a different name, though the actors voicing most of these characters are for the most part recognizable, they're not definitely playing caricatures of themselves as wild animals. If anything they fit their characters well enough for me to separate the actor from the character (much like in "Shrek"). On top of it, as simple as the premise for the film sounds, it wasn't all that predictable. With most of the "Dreamwork" animated films, I can sense where the plot was going, and how it will all turn out in the end, but with this, though I'm sure it will end happily, I was never sure how the characters were going to achieve it. The major part of the film's story that I found to be both engaging and emotional as I wondered how they were going to solve their issue is the relationship between Marty and Alex. They're close friends, but total opposites. Marty is a modest dreamer who hates the life in the Zoo, while Alex on the other hand is egocentric for being the Zoo's star attraction who enjoys his life of luxury. But when Alex is taken out of his environment that he's grown accustomed to, he slowly grows insane to the point where he starts to act on his killer lion instincts with the intention to eat his best friend, now that he has to hunt for meat, rather than having meat being served to him on a silver platter. But considering how close he is to Marty, he tries as hard as he can to avoid giving into his temptation. Stiller and Rock's voices are easily the most recognizable voices in the film, and somehow they hit the nail on the head hard when it comes to emoting and working off the bond that these characters have! They're different in terms of personality, but you buy that these two have been best buds for the longest time from how they interact with each other. And when Alex starts feeling these urges to devour his friend, though you’re laughing half of the time, you still find yourself feeling sorry for the both of them as you are sitting there trying to figure out how Alex is going to resist this urge. The voice acting plays a large part in it, but the writing and how the film shows his insanity is done flowingly where it feels effective. I'm actually shocked that a film as goofy as this, can manage to entertain you and still give you an emotional connection to the characters.

It's just too bad that the film had the need to throw-in two extra leading characters that are clearly not needed. I'm not saying that I don't enjoy Gloria and Melman because I do. Their friendship with Alex and Marty is believable. Jada Pinkett Smith is enjoyably sassy as Gloria, who I am glad that they didn't turn her into a phoned-in love interest for one of the animals. And the voice acting from David Schwimmer as Melman, along with the design and the concept of him being a hypochondriac is the funniest character out of the four animals that we spend time with on this crazy journey. The problem is, when you look at these two characters from a storytelling perspective, they're just as pointless as say the Dinosaurs accompanying the John Goodman Dinosaur in "We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story". They don't really do anything productive, except crack jokes and comfort their friends. It's almost as if the people behind this film didn't think the friendship between Marty and Alex wasn't good enough to carry the film, and decided to take two animal characters who were just supposed to appear in the scenes that take place at the Zoo and forcefully add them into the scenes with Marty and Alex.

And if that were the actual case, it's a pretty weak excuse considering how many supporting characters that this film has. Most of the inhabitants that the characters encounter in the jungles of Madagascar are a tribe of lemurs that love to party. They're a highly festive set of characters, but the one who loves to party harder than all of them combined is their King voiced by Borat himself Sacha Baron Cohen. Originally he was supposed to be a minor character with very little to say, until Cohen gave an eight minute audition of him improvising with an Indian accent as the character, which persuaded the filmmakers to give his character a bigger role. And I'm glad they did, because Cohen owns every single with his crazy dialogue, fun-loving personality, and exaggerated Indian accent. Out of all the big named voice actors in the film, Cohen's performance is the one that I found to be the least recognizable. And when I found out that it was him, I was shocked. Another Lemur that stands-out just as much as Cohen’s is Andy Richter as the smallest member of the pack Mort, who loves to mug the screen with his adorable and wide-eyed innocent expressions. He's a character that is so cutesy that his cuteness annoys the King so much that he tries to find ways of ridding him, which is dark, but given the personality and voice that Richter provides for the character that's a perfect balance of sounding innocent and irritating at the same time, you too would want to feed this little guy to the jungle's predators after a while (and the concept of his character being annoying isn't at all bad and not funny). But then we have Cedric the Entertainer as the King's royal advisor Maurice who's the only one in the pack that doesn't get in on any of the fun, or says anything funny. I get that he's supposed to be the pack's stick-in-the-mud since he's the only character that's suspicious about Alex's behaviors, but he's not a memorable or fun straight character, who falls into forgettable territory for how boring he is. The film also has a bunch of villains that hunt the lemurs known as the Fossa, who are not too memorable either given that there's nothing about their designs and personality that stands-out except that they're wild savage beasts that don't talk. Then there are the two monkeys that escape the Zoo with the others, who are entertaining enough, but don't leave that much of an impact for the very little they do in the picture. Some of their reactions are funny, and I love how one is smart and sophisticated as the other one is a mute who communicates through sign language. However, they aren’t really given enough scenes for them to truly shine.

The most memorable characters in the film that are so popular with audiences that they would go on to receive their own short film, full length film, and TV show are the Penguins. Whenever this film was brought up after its release, people would always be quoting or talking about the Penguins, and how funny and cool they are. And looking at them again, yeah, they're clearly the best characters in the movie. Why exactly, one word, STYLE! The way that they talk, react, move, and map things out is so badass and yet so laugh out loud funny given that these smiling and waving penguins are secretly smart and calculating birds that act like secret agents when the humans aren't looking is hilarious and executed brilliantly. You'd think the film would give us an animal more fitting for characters as sly and quick as them like say a fox, or a raccoon, but nope, they give us an animal that you wouldn't at all expect would be this cool, which I feel is what makes them so funny and appealing. Every time they appear, they simply steal the movie through their style and comedy, and frankly without them, I don't think the film would be as talked about.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

I won't call this film a masterpiece, or a classic family film. But man is this film incredibly funny and entertaining to the max! I honestly can't think of one single moment in this film that I didn't find to be enjoyable! Sure the designs for the characters look very computerized; yes, there are characters who are forgettable and not needed; and of course not every single joke works (but in all seriousness, can anyone name a comedy where every joke does), but that doesn't at all prevent it from being a delightful watch. The animation is full of tons of life and movement. Most of the characters are funny and likable (especially the Penguins). It's non-stop with its humor and energy. And above all, for a film that doesn't need to try for how over the top it is, it shockingly manages to give us an unpredictable plot that gives you an emotional connection to the characters! If you're looking for some great animated family entertainment from "Dreamworks", then pop-in whatever copy you have of the film, and get ready to "Move it, Move it"!