We killed them and ate their livers ...

Rating: 9/10 (31 January 2009)

I'd heard some lacklustre reviews and seen the equally so-so ratings here on IMDb (currently only 6.6 out of 10), so I started watching Madagascar with a sense of guilt about my cinematic masochism -- "I'll probably complain afterwards that this movie was a complete waste of my time, and spend another half hour writing a scathing review on IMDb". To my delight I found out that I was not driven by masochism but by my keen instinct for good movies, which had lead me directly to the perfect feature-length cartoon! The humour is fresh and surprisingly edgy (though not vulgar), less along the lines of Disney and leaning more towards Tex Avery and Chuck Jones. The animations are amazing. The voicework is also ... amazing (sorry if I'm repeating myself here).
Kids are going to enjoy this one because it's a brightly coloured buddy movie with cuddly animals, but their accompanying adults will love it. The film is brimming with cultural references and doesn't mind taking a little risk for a good joke. For example, there is a couple of suave monkeys, whose intellectual musings invariably lead to the conclusion that they are going to fling poo at people.
Like I said, the voicework is amazing. Chris Rock as Marty the zebra is so good, you kind of start seeing Marty before your mental eye even without the animation. Jada Pinkett Smith as Gloria the hippo is a gem. It's ironic that the actress herself is thin as a stick but succeeds in sounding like the "ought to watch her weight a little" Gloria. Gloria is at the same time sexy and motherly and in charge -- she's a whole lotta woman. Why don't I ever get to date hippopotami like that?
OK, towards the end, for about ten minutes, the movie gets a bit sickly-sweet and heavy on morality. Alex the lion discovers that he is really a lion and that life consists of eating other animal which are also cute and furry. He solves this by discovering ... sushi. So maybe you should refrain from informing your children that sushi consists of fish such as Nemo, eaten raw on a bed of soured rice.
Bottom line: if you like cartoons, Madagascar is a must-see. And if you don't like cartoons then stay the hell away from me, you sorry freak.