One of Animation's Wildest

Rating: 8/10 (1 July 2005)

"Madagascar" is the latest animated feature to come from the Pacific Data Images and Dreamworks studios. It follows the adventures of a group of animals from the Central Park Zoo. Marty the Zebra (voiced by Chris Rock), dreams of leaving his city life and going back to nature. His friends are Alex, a superstar lion (Ben Stiller); Grace, a sassy hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith), and Melman, a hypochondriac giraffe (David Schwimmer). The four wind up getting themselves shipped to the Wildlife Preserve in Kenya, but an unscheduled detour leaves them stranded on Madagascar, surrounded by fun-loving lemurs. The story delves into the characters, having lived their whole lives in captivity, and suddenly sent back to the wilderness, unable to adjust. This is what gives the story a clever angle. The stylish animation is eye-catching. While it's not the perfect animated feature, it's among the better cartoon movies to come out recently!