Fun enough but not a classic

Rating: 7/10 (16 May 2012)

This Dreamworks animation isn't a classic of the type their rivals at Pixar seem to churn out however it is entertaining enough and I'm sure children will have a good laugh even if many of the film references will pass them by. The film follows the adventures of four animals from Central Park Zoo; Marty, the zebra, Alex the Lion, Gloria the hippo and Melman the hypochondriac giraffe. As Marty celebrates his tenth birthday he starts to wonder what life in the wild would be like so one day he escapes from the zoo with the intention of going to Connecticut, which has heard is 'the wild'. Upon realising he is gone his three friends leave the zoo with the intention of bringing him back but when they are caught in Grand Central station people assume they all left because they felt they didn't belong in a zoo; in order to give them the freedom it is thought they desire the animals are all put on a ship to Kenya. They don't end up there though as a group of penguins hijack the ship to go to Antarctica; during the hijack our protagonists get washed overboard and find themselves on the island of Madagascar. Here they learn what the wild really means; especially Alex who starts seeing the other animals as tender steaks as he gets hungry. Terrified he might kill one of his friends he heads over to another part of the island... he never wonders where the tender steaks he ate at the zoo came from though! On the island they get to know the native lemurs and come across the lemurs' enemy; the carnivorous fossa.
While I didn't think this was a classic it passed the time well enough and had some funny moments; although unfortunately the best laughs weren't provided by the protagonists but by two chimpanzees and a group of penguins. The story didn't have the depth one finds in Pixar's films but it does have more gags which should keep the children laughing; there are also a few references to classic films for the older viewer to enjoy. For the most part the jokes are of the type one would expect in a film aimed at children however some parents might not appreciate a reference to a rectal thermometer or jokes about 'throwing poo'. Over all I'd say this is a fun film that doesn't outstay its welcome but isn't really a must see.