Madagascar

Yes, for this review, we are going to be looking at one of Dreamworks' most popular movies that has also spanned into their most popular franchises. Next to Shrek and How to Train Your Dragon, Madagascar has become a very profitable franchise for Dreamworks Animation ever since they released the first one in 2005. This franchise has included a Christmas short starring the Penguins that appeared before Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, 2 sequels, 2 holiday-themed TV specials consisting of Merry Madagascar and Madly Madagascar, a Nickelodeon spin-off TV show starring the Penguins that ran from 2008 to 2013 that soon developed into them getting their own movie, a Netflix show starring King Julien that ran from 2014 to 2017 and even a prequel show on Hulu that features the main characters as kids. But enough about that, we are here to discuss the movie that started at all. Since it has been more than 15 years since the franchise took off, will the original Madagascar still make us go wild with excitement or has time made us wat to "Move it, Move it" out of here? Let's find out.

The Story: The best way to describe the movie's premise is with one word and that word is "original". You heard right; this is a very original movie. Not a premise that's been done to death before the early 2000s or a rip-off of another movie starring animated talking animals who escape from the zoo in New York City (a poster of "The Wild" is seen), though that didn't stop Disney from trying to copy this movie less than a year after its release (the poster disappears), but rather an original tale about four animal friends from the Central Park Zoo who escape it in order to get out of their boring lifestyle and when they are caught by Animal Control and sent to the wild, a mishap causes all of them to end up on the titular Island of Madagascar where they befriend the local Lemurs and try to protect them against predators called the Foosa all while the lion Alex starts to tap in to his predatory side and this causes his friendship with the rest of the animals to be tested. As you can see, the premise of animals being taken out of a zoo and into the wild is something that is considered unheard of for a film premise, but luckily, the movie manages to make it very interesting by adding in a lot of plot elements to keep the viewers intrigued. One of the elements that is heavily focused on is the movie's comedy and I will say that this is a very funny movie. It has the characters throw one funny joke after another and does it in a very unpredictable way that again, keeps the viewer's attention on the picture. Another element that I will give the movie credit for making the tone of the scene fit within its respective environment. The scenes in New York provide a very fun scenario, especially regarding the scene where the animals entertain the Zoo customers. When the animals break out of the zoo, the movie provides an adrenaline rush to the audience when Alex, Melman and Gloria set out to find Marty in the city. The boat scene is when the movie gets a little calm but also provides a sense of anticipation for when the main characters accidentally get thrown off there by the Penguins. And finally, when we get the Madagascar, we also get the same sense of fun, calmness, urgency and even a small sad montage when the characters see how life-threatening the wild to the tune of Lous Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World". If there is one thing about the story, I feel like I should criticize, it's the small sub-plot with the Penguins trying to get to Antarctica as it fills more like padding and filler, distracts from the main plot a little and even when they get to Antarctica, it's treated like one big joke. However, that's just a minor complaint as everything else the movie has to offer is what makes the movie great as it was back in 2005.

The Animation: One major factor about Dreamworks is their top of the line CGI animation and this movie is prime example of that. The animation of the movie is very impressive and the textures and movements are what make the feature very entertaining to look at and witness. To further explain the animation, remember back in my review of The Wild where when I compared the animation to that movie to this one and said that the animation on Madagascar was made to look like a Saturday-morning cartoon? Well, that is precisely the best way to describe this movie. The animation and movements on the characters are very clunky, fast-paced and cartoony that it feels like you are watching a cartoon on Saturday mornings and that is what makes the movie stand out the most in order to bring out its comedy. The most to criticize about it is that the fast-paced can get a little overwhelming and irritating, but hey, even cartoons on a Saturday-morning can get like that sometimes. As for how the characters look, as I said before with the textures, they actually look quite impressive, especially regarding the fur on Alex, Marty, the Lemurs and the Foosa. They honestly feel like real animals despite being in an animated movie and this what most likely makes the characters as interesting as their personalities. However, the true animation star has to be all of the backgrounds within the movie. It is polarizing how much attention-to-detail went into these backgrounds to make them feel real, like the Central Park Zoo really does feel like a zoo with how the animal habitats and the amount of trees and grass around the zoo, the scene on the boat feels very realistic as well, especially regarding the water in the ocean surrounding it and finally, the scenes in Madagascar are quite possibly were almost all of the animation budget was blown on because it is really impressive how much time and energy went into these scenes from the sand on the beach, to the trees, plants, leaves and grass in the jungle, to the Lemur home filled with lights and the Foosa territory filled with utter rocks and darkness. The film may star four animals from the zoo, but it's clear as day that the animation is what stole the show.

The Characters: While the story and the animation are what make the movie shine, I cannot say the same for the characters. While they're all likeable in their own way, the one downside to them is that they all like generic tropes. While that can be forgivable since this is the first entry in the Madagascar series and the characters do develop a little in the next installments, but that doesn't take away how one-dimensional the characters are in this movie. Alex is a Prima Dona Lion who takes great pride in being the "King of New York" while entertaining audiences but now finds himself developing predatory instincts when he is whisked off to Madagascar, Marty is a dreamer Zebra who tires of his life in the zoo and wants to experience freedom in the wild, Gloria is the sassy tough-girl Hippopotamus who tries to keep her friends in line and has a take-no-crap attitude to boot, and Melman is a cowardly Giraffe who is basically this running joke about how he fears getting sick. The secondary characters aren't really all that better either since they all have a singular character trait. The Penguins, funny as they are, are this group of wannabee commando elites who do dumb things, King Julien is the self-centered King of the Lemurs who prioritizes his ego more than anything, Maurice the straight-man who is suspicious of Alex, Mort is the dumb comic-relief and the Foosa are the generic, predatory villains who want to eat the Lemurs. However, I will say that there are redeeming features to these guys, one being that, like I said before, they are all pretty likeable thanks to the amount of comedy the bring and having a sense of charm to them. Another thing that I have to give praise for is the voice acting. Whether it be Ben Stiller's dry wit or Chris Rock giving one wisecracking line after another, the voice actors do make the most out of their characters. If there is something about the voice acting that I have to criticize, it's that it can be a bit too fast-paced at the times as there are some scenes where it feels like the actors are rushing over their lines and being, to the point where even the animation coincides with this by having the characters suddenly up in your face as if the movie was 3D. To sum it up, the characters are a mixed bag. Parts of them you will like, while other parts...not so much.

It is very easy to see why this movie spawned some sequels and spin-offs ever since it was released nearly two decades prior. Madagascar is a very fun cartoon-sh movie that every person, young or old, can enjoy. From its original story that knows how to set a scene, to its entertaining animation and lovable characters and voice-acting, it makes sense why so many people love it. Again, the characters are all one-note and the sub-plot with the Penguins could have been taken out and the feature would just be the same without it, but those are only some flaws that are otherwise very easy to glance over as the rest of the movie provides so much to make up for its shortcomings. I can safely say that after Shark Tale, Dreamworks needed a movie like this to pick itself back up, especially given how much profit it made at the box office. I am looking forward to "Move it, Move it" with Alex and the gang the next time I watch this movie.

Story: 9/10

Animation: 9/10

Characters: 7/10

Score: 8/10