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Madagascar
By Kimberly Sielen

Release Date: May 27, 2005
MPAA Rating: PG for mild language, crude humor and some thematic elements.
Starring (voices): Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Genre: Animated Wildlife Comedy

Much in the vein of Dreamwork's Shrek, Madagascar is an animated family comedy about an unlikely foursome of zoo friends. On Marty's (a zebra voiced by Chris Rock), tenth birthday, he make a wish to explore life outside the Central Park Zoo. While his friends, Alex, a lion and the superstar of the zoo (Ben Stiller), Gloria, a hippo with a voice of reason (Jada Pinkett Smith), and a hypochondriac giraffe, Melman (David Schwimmer), try to convince him that he has a great life at the zoo, Marty escapes that night and heads towards Grand Central Station determined to find "the wild." As soon as his friends realize what he did, they set off after him, creating quite a scene at the train station. The gathering crowd cannot understand what they are doing, which leads to commotion, with the police surrounding them and eventually sedating them with tranquilizer darts (Alex dreams of his friends dancing and steak). This incident leads to a wave of animal activism, and ultimately the foursome's shipment to a far away land.

When their crates fall off the ship to Africa, (due to it's commandeering by conspiracy driven penguins), Marty, Alex, Gloria, and Melman find themselves on a beach in Madagascar. Tension run high at first, for Alex blames Marty for leading him away from the high life. At the zoo, Alex was a coddled superstar, fed fresh steaks and adored by endless streams of fans clutching souvenirs imprinted with his likeness. On Madagascar, he is equal to all. He soon regains a degree of his former importance when by scaring away the fossas (wolf-like creatures), saving a baby lemur. In doing so, the castaways become the newest heroes of the jungle. Unfortunately Alex's hunger gets the best of him, driving him away from his friends (he envisions them as giant steaks) and into the land of the predators. In the end, he redeems himself, realizing that friends are everything (and that sushi is just as good as steak).

Madagascar is appropriate for children eight and up. There are a few instances of minor language, the most serious being "well, this sucks" by the penguins who discover Antarctica isn't all that it was made out to be. The word "hell" is spelled out once--Alex had created a giant "help" sign with palm trees but the "p" fell down and turned into an "l." "Shut up" is also used a few times, but there are no other instances of objectionable language.

Other material that may be found offensive includes Gloria coming of the ocean with two starfish as a bikini top and a crab as a bikini bottom. She looks down at them and says, " Alright boys, the fun's over," the penguins knock out and tie up a sailor and captain (actions never seen) to take control of the ship, Alex's hunger and hallucinations, causing him to bite Marty, and an unseen person throws "I Love NY" underwear at Alex while he is performing at the zoo (this is a comedic gesture and in no way sexual). Finally, small children may find the scene in the predator's land frightening. The fossas try to eat the friends, but Alex comes to the rescue; it is less intense and violent than Moofasa saving Simba and Nala from hyenas in The Lion King. Even with these few minor details, Madagascar is a family comedy that will leave you in stitches.

For more information on "Madagascar," visit their official webpage at:

www.madagascar-themovie.com

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