Dang! that Pixar is good!

Rating: 7/10 (31 May 2005)

No, my title isn't a goof. It's just the thought this harmless but mostly uninspired little movie provoked.
Pixar has an ability to wrap up a relatively involved plot, very involving characters, and something for every age-level.
Madagascar is -- well, it's mostly inoffensive, mildly amusing, passably entertaining... and otherwise nothing to crow about. I took my 5 and 9 year old sons, and they enjoyed and laughed. I chuckled once or twice, sat patiently, and kept thinking about how great Pixar is.
The characters are shruggable, the plot is very lightweight, and the overall effect fine for a kids' movie. The penguins more or less steal the show, followed by the lemurs and the monkeys. Problem is, they aren't the stars. The stars are OK, and that's about it. (With any luck, Chris Rock won't be voicing any more kids' movies.) Do I recommend it? Sure, for your kids. But unless you want to go just to financially support a largely unobjectionable feature movie, you won't lose anything by waiting for the DVD.
Put another way, it's just like The Incredibles, or Toy Story I or II -- only without the plot, the main characters, the humor, the wisdom, or the trans-generational valuable subtexts.