The Madness of Madagascar (Movie Review)
When I saw that this movie had Chris Rock and Ben Stiller in it
- and it was created by the creators of Shrek, I was so there. I
would've gone even if I didn't have children. I felt it would be
that good. So, the day arrives. The movie premieres; and, my
kids and I are at the theater. The film starts.
I'm not
impressed. It's not nearly as funny as it could be. Sure, the
lithe Jada Pinkett Smith as a hippo named Gloria is cute and a
wee bit sassy. Yes, Chris Rock as the wise-cracking Marty the
Zebra who wants to return to Mother Africa has potential. David
Schwimmer is annoying and whiny as the hypochondriac giraffe,
Melman. Ben Stiller is Alex the Lion. He is the star of the show
at the Zoo.
The story? Marty is going through his
mid-life crisis. He's ten and realizes that he's stuck in the
zoo. He wants to roam free. His friends are happy in captivity,
especially Alex, who gets the star treatment as the Zoo's main
attraction. They don't understand where he's coming from.
Marty breaks free with some help from three,
Goodfella-type penguins. These guys are the root of all hilarity
in the movie. Honestly! Yup! Ben Stiller and Chris Rock are
upstaged by some penguins.
Because Marty doesn't know
where he's going on the streets of New York (who does?) - he
ends up causing quite the kafuffle at the train station. His
friends try to save him, but end up making things worse. This
causes quite the uproar. Animal rights' activists win the day
and say that the animals belong in the wild.
Marty's
friends are angry with him. They didn't want to lose their cushy
lives. Marty is excited about returning to Africa. He envisions
life there as perfect and free. Unfortunately, the penguins who
stow away on board the freighter have other ideas. They hijack
the ship and steer a course for what they think is Antarctica.
They all end up in Madagascar, an island off the east coast of
Africa.
Madagascar, in this film, is portrayed as a
wild, jungle with only animal life. There's no humans, just a
bunch of lemurs, who love to "move, it." They like to "move it,
move it." They dance, they sing and they party.
They're
also scared of the Foosa, predators who eat lemurs, apparently.
The lemurs, led by King Julien XIII (Sacha Baron Cohen), decide
that these "New York Giants" are just what they need to keep
them safe. Unfortunately, Alex's return to the wild makes him
return to being a true lion, the king of the jungle, a real
predator. He has dreams of eating his best friend, Marty the
Zebra.
Alex takes off to protect his friends. In the
end, Alex has to decide to overcome his natural urges. He
chooses friendship - and discovers a love of seafood, which is
very plentiful on the island. Yay! At the same time, our
faithful friends figure out that life isn't always so greener on
the other side of the jungle. Initially stranded, the animals
catch a bit of luck (or do they?) when the penguins return from
Antarctica and land in Madagascar.
Gloria, Marty,
Melman and Alex decide to leave; but, now the lemurs have a new
problem. The penguins like it on Madagascar. Uh-oh! I smell a
sequel.
I sure hope not. The movie was cute and had
some hilarious moments. Mostly, it was annoying. You were left
with wanting more. More funny, more plot, more something. In the
end, Madagascar is a cute family film without much meat.