29th June, 2005

DAVID ADAMS

Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller), Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) and Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer) are in the spotlight. PICTURE; Courtesy DreamWorks Animation "While this is not a movie that lifts to the level of Shrek or Finding Nemo in terms of its storyline or its characterisation, it's a warm-hearted if sometimes a little bland movie that does provide some laughs and something to think about.'

Madagascar (PG)

It’s a new take on that age-old story of city-slickers - in this case zoo animals - exiled from their homes to experience life in the country (or, in this case, the wild). Madagascar is the story of a group of friends who live in New York’s Central Park Zoo but decide to go on an adventure which after a series of mishaps ends up with them stranded on the island of Madagascar off the coast of Africa. There they encounter a small, furry lemur king - who happens to love dancing - and his small, furry lemur subjects - who also happen to love dancing as well as some hyena-like nasties called foosas. Mayhem ensues. There’s plenty of lessons to be learned in this story - about friendship, about taking risks and about why you should never get stranded on an island with a lion and no food - and they’re all portrayed in that light-hearted way that seems synonymous with films of this genre. There’s the usual array of star-studded voice talent - Ben Stiller as Alex the lion, Chris Rock as Marty the zebra, Jada Pinkett Smith as Gloria the hippo, former Friends star David Schwimmer as Melman the giraffe as well as Ali G as the lemur King Julien and Cedric the Entertainer as his loyal servant Maurice - and keep an eye out for the insane penguins under the leadership of the psychotic Skipper. OK, now that we’ve been so well exposed to the modern genre of animation, the thrill is probably starting to wear off. It doesn’t help that movies such as Shrek and Finding Nemo have set the benchmark so high. Madagascar has probably copped a bit of a beating as a result and while this is not a movie that lifts to the level of the aforementioned cinematic masterpieces in terms of its animation quality, its storyline or its characterisation, it's a warm-hearted if sometimes a little bland movie that does provide some laughs and something to think about.