it's amusing, but not satisfying

Rating: 6/10 (30 May 2005)

Madagascar is an attempt to re/create the magic of Toy Story-- this Christmas season marks the 10th anniversary of that movie's release--, and attempts to do it with the casting of some of the wittiest and in-demand stars, including Ben Stiller and Chris Rock, that pull of their usual gags and fast-paced jokes {but it still works}. No offence,although this movie guarantees a few laughs which will make you break a dozen courtesy rules, it is seriously miscast and the story just doesn't make any real sense.
Here are a few examples:
1- How would a Zebra, which stands on four legs, would build a bloody house in 5 bloody minutes? Tom Hanks on two legs could not do that in "Cast away"
2- There are hardly any human characters that have any importance. Apart from the annoying police officers and a Central Park lady announcing the withdrawal of the animals to the wild. Do they serve any purpose?
3- The acting here is measured by the celebrity status of the actors themselves rather than their ability to play the part well. Robin Williams would've done a better job playing the Zebra than Chris Rock since he learned some Drama lessons in his career. Why not, even Hayden Christensen could play the leading role better than the black comedian!
There are more, but I shan't get to them to avoid disappointing the kids and my nephew back at home, who plans to watch it when it commes out on 15 July.
But there are advantages: The movie is, by no means, boring and it does guarantee a good time and is a good choice to send your children to the movies, due to a shortage of family films this summer {Episode III and the Longest Yard as well as other releases are rated PG-13 in the US or 12A here} and the "Move it, Move it" mock video in the film is definitely an amusing scene for people of my generation and above.
In the end, this Movie is Better than the mediocre {but nevertheless successful} Shark Tale and the Longest Yard {which came out on the same day as this one}, but, like those two movies, this one is also burdened by an incoherent screenplay, lack of a real plot, and a cast that is inappropriate to perform the emotional scenes.
Lesson Number One, Children: DO NOT hire Chris Rock or Ben Stiller to do Drama scenes!