MADAGASCAR
by Jane Louise
Boursaw
Rated PG
for mild language, crude humor, and some thematic elements. 80 minutes.
Directed by Eric Darnell, Conrad Vernon, and Tom McGrath. Released in
theaters May 27, 2005.
In
Madagascar, Ben Stiller voices the part of Alex the Lion, King of
the Jungle! The, uh, urban jungle, that is. He’s the main attraction at
New York’s Central Park Zoo, where he and best friends, Marty the Zebra
(Chris Rock), Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer), and Gloria the Hippo
(Jada Pinkett Smith) have lived their entire lives in blissful,
luxurious captivity.
When Marty’s
curiosity gets the better of him, he escapes to explore the world beyond
the zoo. His friends go after him, but soon they’re all captured and
loaded onto a ship bound for Africa, to be set free. Plotting penguins
sabotage the ship, and the crew washes ashore on Madagascar and learns
the true meaning of “it’s a jungle out there.” (For the geographically
impaired, Madagascar is a large island located off the southeast coast
of Africa.)
THE
WRAP-UP: Kids under 5 may not understand the “back to nature”
storyline, but they’ll love the Shrek-meets-Ice Age funny
animals and colorful surroundings. This movie is really geared for
grade-schoolers, who’ll get a kick out of the couch-potato animals
trying to survive in the wild. Of course, the obligatory crude humor is
always a draw for this age group.
They’ll also
learn something about the predestined roles of animals in the wild.
(i.e., Alex learns he’s supposed to *eat* Marty, not hang out with him).
They’ll also get a laugh out of the Malagasy locals, a type of lemur
given to having loud, “rave-like” dance parties. Not *quite* as creative
as Shrek, but still a wonderful family movie to enjoy with your kids.
SCORE: 3 out
of 4 Reels.
Jane's Reel Rating
System:
One Reel – Pathetic.
Even The Force can’t save it.
Two Reels –
Tolerable. Coulda been a contender.
Three Reels –
Pleasant. Something to talk about.
Four Reels – Wow! The
stuff dreams are made of.
E-chat with me
at
jane@reellifewithjane.com - I
LOVE to talk about movies!
Read my other reviews
here.
