Review of Madagascar (2005) by Eddygregs — 19 Apr 2015

Holed up in Central Park Zoo, pampered zebra Marty (Rock) gets itchy hooves and decides to explore the Big Apple. When his buddies — vain lion Alex (Stiller), straight-talking hippo Gloria (Pinkett Smith) and neurotic giraffe Melman (Schwimmer) — go after him, their rescue mission goes belly-up, seeing the four friends carted off to the untamed wilds of Africa.

There is something deliciously neat about the premise of DreamWorks’ latest CG offering; taking institutionalised zoo animals and throwing them into their natural, wild habitat is an idea seemingly full of rich pickings. But Eric Darnell (Antz) and Tom McGrath’s (The Ren And Stimpy Show) film fails to fully mine the concept for comedic gold.

It is visually splendid, has a smattering of good set-pieces and gags and a likeable atmosphere, but it does not have the coherence nor the consistency to give anyone at Pixar a sleepless night.

Et where Madagascar falls down is in simple storytelling know-how. In the initial zoo sequences, the motivations and set-ups are clearly defined, but when the characters get shipwrecked, the plotting runs aground with them, grinding to a halt as the foursome argue for an eternity on a sun-kissed beach. While the characters are likeable riffs on the actor’s recognisable personas — Schwimmer’s giraffe is Ross Geller with a long neck — none of them are loveable, so the film fails to deliver the requisite uplift it is so patently striving for.

More enjoyable than Shark Tale but falling way short of Shrek, Madagascar doesn’t really live up to the promise that the idea and voice talent deserve. But it’s still spirited, amiable, featherweight summer fun.