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| Cast and Credits |
| Cast: |
Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Andy Richter, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer |
| Director: |
Eric Darnell, Conrad Vernon |
| Writer: |
Billy Frolick, Mark Burton |
| Rating: |
Rated PG for mild language, crude humor and some thematic elements. |
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Reviewed By: Brendan Cullin
Rating: 8/10
Madagascar is the summer's first big animated feature and it is sure to be a hit. The movie is the story of a group of animals locked up in New York's Central Park Zoo who are set to be shipped to Africa after a failed escape attempt. On the way to Africa, their ship is hijacked by a mischevious gang of penguins and the group of pals that include a lion (Ben Stiller), a zebra (Chris Rock), a giraffe (David Schwimmer) and a hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) end up on the island of Madagascar. The once pampered animals are forced to survive in the real wildlife amongst a tribe of lemurs (voiced by the likes of Cedric the Entertainer and Mort) and some much more dangerous creatures. Animal hijinks ensue.
I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by Madagascar. I mean, I usually go into an animated movie expecting to be at least moderately entertained but Madagascar is a barrel of laughs. The star voicing in the movie is almost perfect, with special kudos going to David Schwimmer as Melman, the neurotic giraffe. He was perfect. The story is both cute and charming and if you are really in a mood, you might even get a bit choked up in at least one scene. And the penguins, let me tell you about the penguins. These little fellas absolutely stole the show. Every scene in which they appear is simply hilarious. These guys should almost get their own movie deal out of this one. In fact, I was a bit disappointed that they weren't in the movie more.
Nevertheless, Madagascar is an extremely entertaining movie. Sure, some of the jokes are a hit and some are a miss. And yeah, they ripped off Shrek's Puss-in-Boots big eyes gag (which was still pretty funny by the way). But still, the movie is fun and full of laughs and I can guarantee the kiddies will love this one. There are plenty of jokes and references for us old folks as well. I see a sequel sometime in the near future and hopefully this time around we will get to see more penguin.
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