Perfectly serviceable. But that's all

Rating: 5/10 (5 November 2006)

For me, Pixar will always hold the crown when it comes to superb animation. Nearly every one of their films has been a joy. None of the other production companies come close. Pixar films are effortless the way they combine laughs with a good story, as well as crafting tremendously endearing characters.
But DreamWorks' animated fare is much more erratic in quality. They have produced gems such as Antz and Shrek 2. But for every good film, they create an equally bad one. Shark Tale springs to mind. It was a neverending roller-coaster ride of product placement and film references. And the plot was pushed way into the background.
And now we have Madagascar. Madagascar is by no means a terrible film. But I wouldn't say its a great one either. As I was watching it, words kept coming to mind. Likable. Serviceable. Adequate. That's about it. It was difficult for me to work up much enthusiasm for this film. Because there isn't much of a story to it. It wanders around aimlessly. And it runs out of steam well before the credits roll.
Before we even get to the tropical island of Madagascar, it begins in New York. Central Park Zoo to be precise. The story centres on four animals, Alex the lion (voiced by Ben Stiller), Marty the zebra (voiced by Chris Rock), Gloria the hippo (voiced by Jada Pinkett Smith) and Melman the giraffe (voiced by David Schwimmer).
Alex is the star attraction at the zoo. And because of that he gets steaks on demand, and catered to constantly. Three of the animals are quite content where they are. But Marty yearns for life beyond the zoo walls. And when he learns a commando unit of penguins are planning an escape, he joins their jail break.
He gets as far as Grand Central Station before the others catch up to him. And when they're cornered by animal control, it causes an uproar with animal rights activists. The four of them end up being shipped to Kenya, to be released into the wild.
But they never get to Kenya. The penguins were captured also, and while on board, hijack the ship. Alex and Marty get into a fight while in their crates, and accidentally knock the four of them overboard, where they're washed up on the shores of Madagascar.
Now in the wild for the first time, our foursome are completely unprepared for surviving on their own. But they're not alone. The island population is made up of partying lemurs. But its not all fun and games. The lemurs are preyed on by the fossa, and they hope that Alex, being a lion and all can protect them. But Alex has problems of his own.
Now that they're no longer in the zoo, and he's not being fed daily, Alex's natural instincts as a predator have begun to emerge. And he now views his former friends as appetisers. Will Alex turn on them all and become king of the jungle? Or will it all end happily ever after? What do you think?!
When it all comes down to it, Madagascar is a fairly average film at best. Pretty forgettable characters. Standard animation. Hum-drum story. Nothing more. This being a DreamWorks film, there are the customary film references and pop-culture in-jokes. Some of them are OK. Others are monotonous like the song "I Like To Move It Move It" because it gets done too many times.
The voice-work was not bad. I was disappointed to see Ben Stiller in this film. I'd like to see his talents put to use in a Pixar film some day. He does occasionally inject pathos into Alex's character. But not enough to make me really care. The most interesting aspect to Alex is his carnivorous nature flaring up.
It does provide some occasionally disturbing moments, with some very surreal and trippy dream sequences where everyone on the island look like walking steaks to him. Pixar could have made that plot line work, but here its all tied up in a neat and tidy way. So neat and tidy its unrealistic.
The animation is well below the par of other animated films. Even DreamWorks own Shrek. It has a cartoonish look that doesn't quite have the realism we've come to expect nowadays. Its really all quite a wet affair. It reminded me of Six Days, Seven Nights. Once they're marooned on the island, the writers haven't got a clue where to take the story next. Cast Away is still the best film in that particular field. Madagascar chooses to parody it at one point, even though its a much better film. Which is pretty bizarre if you ask me.
A surprise box office hit, I believe there's also a sequel in the pipeline. I can't really see the point since the story was so thin here, and because it didn't really go anywhere, I can only imagine how monstrous Madagascar 2 will be. I suppose it could be a pleasant surprise, but something tells me it won't be.