This page was created on May 15, 2005
This page was last updated on June 24, 2005

—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film pdf
—Spiritual Connections

Review by Kevin Miller
Review by Tom Price

Dial up modems will take a few moments

Directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath
Writen by Mark Burton and Billy Frolick

Cast (in credits order)
Ben Stiller .... Alex the Lion (voice)
Chris Rock .... Marty the Zebra (voice)
David Schwimmer .... Melman the Giraffe (voice)
Jada Pinkett Smith .... Gloria the Hippo (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sacha Baron Cohen .... Julian (voice)
Cedric the Entertainer .... Maurice (voice)
Christopher Knights .... Private
Andy Richter .... Mort (voice)

Produced by
Teresa Cheng .... producer
Mireille Soria .... producer

Original Music by
Ryeland Allison (additional music)
James Michael Dooley (additional music)
James S. Levine (additional music)
Hans Zimmer

Film Editing by
Mark A. Hester

MPAA: Rated PG for mild language, crude humor and some thematic elements.
Runtime: 80 min
For rating reasons, go to FILMRATINGS.COM, and MPAA.ORG.
Parents, please refer to PARENTALGUIDE.ORG

Teaser:
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QuickTime, Hi-Res
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QuickTime, Lo-Res
Windows Media Player, Super Hi-Res
Windows Media Player, Hi-Res
Windows Media Player, Med-Res
Windows Media Player, Lo-Res
Real Player, Super Hi-Res
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Real Player, Lo-Res

Trailer:
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QuickTime, Lo-Res

2 Featurettes & 2 Clips:
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Music Video:
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QuickTime, Med-Res
QuickTime, Lo-Res
Windows Media Player, Hi-Res
Windows Media Player, Med-Res
Windows Media Player, Lo-Res
Real Player, Hi-Res
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Real Player, Lo-Res  

Madagascar
[SOUNDTRACK]

Madagascar

Ben Stiller (“Meet the Parents”), Chris Rock (“Chris Rock Never Scared”), David Schwimmer (TV’s “Friends”) and Jada Pinkett Smith (“Collateral”) star as the voices of four zoo animals who hang up when they hear the call of the wild.

Alex the Lion (Stiller) is the king of the urban jungle, the main attraction at New York’s Central Park Zoo. He and his best friends Marty the Zebra (Rock), Melman the Giraffe (Schwimmer) and Gloria the Hippo (Pinkett Smith) have lived their entire lives in blissful captivity, with regular meals provided and an admiring public to adore them.

Not content to leave well enough alone, Marty the Zebra allows his curiosity to get the better of him and, with the help of some prodigious penguins, makes his escape to explore the world he’s been missing. Alex the Lion, Melman the Giraffe and Gloria the Hippo go after him, but before they can go wild in the streets, they are captured, crated and put on a ship to Africa…to be ultimately set free.

When those plotting penguins sabotage the ship, Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria find themselves washed ashore on the exotic island of Madagascar. Now, these native New Yorkers have to figure out how to survive in the wild and discover the true meaning of the phrase “It’s a jungle out there.”

“Madagascar” also features the voices of Andy Richter (“Elf”), Sacha Baron Cohen (TV’s “Da Ali G Show”) and Cedric the Entertainer (“Barbershop”).

The computer-animated comedy is being directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath, with Mireille Soria producing and Teresa Cheng co-producing.

Produced by PDI/DreamWorks for DreamWorks Animation SKG, “Madagascar” will be distributed by DreamWorks Distribution LLC.

What is so bad about Madagascar? For starters, this is a film without a story. At the beginning, it seems like it will be about a zebra named Marty who—along with his companions Alex the lion and Melman the giraffe—escapes from the Central Park Zoo so he can see what life is like “in the wild.” That happens fairly quickly, but then it seems like the (four) writers don’t know where to go from there. One bland scene bleeds into the next until the focus shifts to Alex the lion, one of Marty’s fellow escapees. Far from his steady diet of steaks at the zoo, Alex gets in touch with his inner carnivore. From that point onwards, the big story question becomes: “Will Alex eat Marty or not?” Not exactly the stuff of gripping drama, and hardly something to give your children sweet dreams at night. Bruce the Shark (Finding Nemo) aside, when it comes to animated films, “Friends don’t let friends eat other cuddly, talking friends” should be the rule. They shouldn’t even be allowed to ponder the opportunity.

Apart from lack of story, Madagascar also suffers from an acute lack of humor. Knowing what I do about how animated films are made—with the script finalized and recorded before animation work even begins—it is a wonder that this film was ever completed. What inspired the creative team to keep going? Certainly not the script. I find it even more difficult to believe that three successful comic actors like Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, and David Schwimmer would lower themselves to this material. And for Schwimmer to further typecast himself by playing a mammalian incarnation of his most famous television role… As if life after Friends isn’t hard enough! If all three plead temporary insanity, my only choice would be to believe them.

Finally, the animation style of this film is supposed to be retro, but to me, it merely looks unfinished. However, perhaps the partially rendered medium is an adequate reflection of Madagascar’s half-baked story and message. And what is that message supposed to be, anyway? “Be careful what you wish for?” “Caution: Getting in touch with your inner self could prove hazardous to you and those around you?” “The unexamined friend is not worth eating?” How about: “Six name actors and a colossal marketing effort do not a classic movie make?”

I went into this film expecting a sleeper hit, only to have it nearly put me to sleep. Thank goodness so many people left partway through, because the constant flash of light from the “Exit” door was about the only thing that kept me from nodding off. When I did finally fall asleep that night, I dreamt of Cars, Pixar Animation’s next release. Ah, if only summer 2006 wasn’t twelve long months away…

Comment on Kevin's Blog

G.K. Chesterton once said the reasons angels fly is because they take themselves so lightly.

The makers of Madagascar perhaps had Chesterton’s advice in mind because the new computer-animated film from DreamWorks seems to soar at its most light-hearted moments:

• There are four penguins who take on each new task in the manner of commandos from Mission Impossible with very funny results.

• Lemurs generate laughs with their silly antics, squeals with their adorably cute faces (think Puss n Boots from another DreamWorks production Shrek 2) and enjoyment from their non-stop freneticism.

And the core of Madagascar features four anthropomorphic animal friends who move us from one set of gags to another. While this makes for many enjoyable moments in the 86-minute film, Madagascar gets bogged down because its flight seems purposeless – there’s no clear sense of story.

The film focuses on four animals who live in New York’s Central Park Zoo: Alex the lion (Ben Stiller), Marty the zebra (Chris Rock), Gloria the hippo (Jana Pinkett Smith) and Melman (David Schwimmer), a giraffe who is a hypochondriac. Alex’s life is akin to a rock idol; he’s the star attraction at the zoo. But Marty, marking his 10th birthday, longs to experience life in the wild. He feels the purpose for which he was created is not being fulfilled.

Through a series of events, the four friends wind up on the island of Madagascar. Marty begins to feel as though the void in his life has been filled. He has found Eden. But for Alex, landing on Madagascar represents Paradise Lost. He no longer is the center of the universe, receiving three square meals.

But in the process of discovering their new world, the animals lose their innocence. A lemur points out that the steaks that represent the staple of Alex’s diet could be them. The animals discover the meaning of carnivore. Or put in the childish humor of Marty’s question to Alex: Why are you biting my butt?

We live in a fallen world. Sometimes the realization of that fallen nature – including our own entanglement in that fallen order – horrifies us. The principal characters go through a montage of cute, fuzzy animals being gobbled up by predators. Alex is dismayed as he begins to see all his friends as steaks, and the conclusion of Madagascar is focused on how the animals discover that friendship is more powerful than the urges that are bound up with our innermost nature. But is it really?

One could draw many spiritual analogies from the film – the loss of innocence when eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, Paradise Lost, the effect of the Fall on the created order, how urges drive us to do the things that we would not do. Yet making such conclusions would go well beyond what is presented in Madagascar. The film offers only cute animal characters ready for merchandising, but not prepared to live in the real world. Look to The Lion King for an animated film that begins to wrestle with some of those questions with greater depth.

In the end, this lion is perhaps not ready to lie with the lamb. But Madagascar does provide some light, PG-rated entertainment for families, despite a few potty jokes.

Don’t expect anything profound, but do expect some good laughs – another sign of the presence of angelic messengers of God’s grace.

Comment on Tom's blog

I will not post these comments. I welcome your spiritual concerns and prayer needs.  I will correspond with you, usually within two weeks.
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