Madagascar [Blu-ray]Directed by Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, Conrad Vernon
Average customer review:
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #214 in DVD
- Released on: 2008-09-23
- Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
- Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
- Formats: AC-3, Animated, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
- Original language: English, Spanish, French
- Subtitled in: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
- Dubbed in: French, Portuguese, Spanish
- Number of discs: 1
- Running time: 86 minutes
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
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. Madagascar doesn'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 (Da Ali G Show) 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
From The New Yorker
In DreamWorks' latest attempt at an animated blockbuster, four overcivilized animals from the Central Park Zoo get transported to the wilds of Madagascar. It's a good comic premise, and much of the animation is beautiful, but the filmmakers don't follow through on their ideas. When the kvetching New Yorkers hit the jungle, we hope to see how their peculiar urban skills will allow them to deal with the creeping and crawling terrors. A few cobwebs cling to them, but the chief menace, the Foosas-nasty, hyena-like creatures-turn out to be pussycats. Great visuals, lousy plot. With Ben Stiller as Alex the lion, Chris Rock as Marty, a zebra who horses around too much, David Schwimmer as a hypochondriacal giraffe, and Jada Pinkett Smith as a commonsensical hippo. Directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker
Customer Reviews
I'm crazy about this movie
I saw the trailers for Madagascar II, started singing "I like to move it, move it" all over the place and knew I had to rent the original. I mostly watched it to see the song acted out and wasn't expecting much. I made my sister watch it with me, my husband being out of town.
From the beginning, it seemed pretty clever and involving, but when they got to the island, it really picked up! King Julian is hilarious! My sister and I were laughing like loons. When the movie was over, we watched all the extras, and then over the next few days, we talked and and laughed over our favorite scenes. When my husband came home, we watched it again with him and laughed even harder and saw things we hadn't seen the first time. This movie takes multiple watchings to get all the funny parts, because when you're watching the main characters, other, funnier things are happening in the background. After we watched it with my husband, we went back and played our favorites scenes AGAIN. Yes, it was THAT funny! I love this movie and now I have to buy it.
I can't wait until Madagascar II comes out.
slightly entertaining animal cartoon
I must admit to not being a fan of the Dreamworks animations. They don't look particularly inventive, the voice talent is often at best distracting, or at worst, poor, and the stories are very sparse. Madagascar really is no exception to the rule. We first meet the heroes of the film - the animals - at the New York Zoo. Marty (voiced by Chris Rock) is a zebra bored with captivity and longing for the freedom of the wild. Alex (voiced by Ben Stiller) is a vain yet cowardly lion, happy to pose for the public in his cage, and so full of himself that he buys Marty little icons of himself as birthday presents. Melman (voiced by David Schwimmer) is a hypochondriac giraffe, while Gloria the hippo (voiced by Jada Pinkett Smith) is an earth momma, keeping her pals in check. There is a also a small mafia of penguins in the zoo who want to go to Antarctica. These are funny and inventive characters, but a little at odds with the rest of the film. This film has its moments - the animals going on the subway to Grand Central Station; the squirrels and chipmunks who rule the island of Madagascar (the wild Marty is so keen on); and the film and TV references - Hawaii Five O, Born Free, Chariots of Fire, American Beauty, and more. But the characters are two-dimensional, the script is needlessly childish (yes, I know it is for kids, but give them some credit for having brains), and the film is pretty pointless, other than the same old 'you've got a friend' theme that pervades almost every film from the studio. The voice talent is just OK (and Ben Stiller in particular makes Alex irritating) and the animation is boring. Not one I'd rush to see again.
Not just for kids
This movie is not just for kids. It is an all out family movie for ALL ages. I highly recommend it for any parents, grandparents to buy and watch this movie.
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