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The friendship between a New York City lion and zebra is tested when fate brings them out to the unforgiving wilderness in this computer-animated DreamWorks feature. Chris Rock does the voice of Marty the Zebra, whose longing to explore beyond his cushy Central Park Zoo boundaries is the impetus that ultimately strands him and his pals on the shores of savage Madagascar. Marty loves the new, edible scenery, but his best friend Alex (voiced by Ben Stiller) the Lion begins to starve since his diet of thick steaks has been cut off, and the rump of his friend starts to look mighty tasty. Their other friends, a hypochondriac giraffe (David Schwimmer) and a sassy hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith), try their best to think of a solution as the call of the wild slowly turns the starving Alex into Marty's worst nightmare. Meanwhile the hilariously self-aggrandizing King of the Ocelots (Sacha Cohen) has a plan to use Marty to repel their own carnivore problem. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (8)
I kept waiting and waiting for something real to happen…and then the end credits rolled. Otherwise, Madagascar has likable characters and a few good jokes, especially those involving quotes from well-known movies. Overall, however, it’s just as disappointing as Robots.
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A beautiful animation style, a couple of nods to other movies, absolutely wonderful supporting characters (especially Ali G and the penguins), but that’s about all Madagascar has to offer. It sails past nicely, but it isn’t about anything at all. Surprisingly, there isn’t much humor and it is all too obvious that this time DreamWorks aimed the movie at a very young target group alone. Although it isn’t a complete waste of time even for an older audience. But, unfortunately, once it ends you will find it hard to remember any good gags.
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Although some newer Disney movies or Pixar movies may be relatively transparent and moralistic, it is still a better option than a shouting mixture of crazy animals. In Dreamworks, they simply couldn't combine the story, humor, and pop culture references, and in the end, they had to rely on supporting characters to save everything. Penguins or King Julien's sidekick Maurice are perfect, and only thanks to them can Madagascar be managed repeatedly. However, it is still a clear disappointment, and I am still surprised that the sequels are much better.
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After watching the original version I have to give Madagascar one star and upgrade it from a below average cartoon with not much animation to an average cartoon. The penguins are still the best, the main characters remain annoying, the lemurs don't show any great fun even when they don't speak in slang, but it's a bit more bearable. The best scene remains the one with “What A Wonderful World".
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When I was ten and it came out on DVD I loved this film. It has a lot of excellent secondary characters lead by the penguins, all taking place at an incredibly brisk pace. But over time, the only things that remain are Hans Zimmer’s great music and very childish entertainment that is sometimes annoying to adults and which intellectually and narratively can't hold a candle to any Pixar movie – for instance, its entire second half is better executed in the barely ten-minute long sequence “Fish are friends, not food” of Finding Nemo. 55%
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This is exactly the kind of comedy I dislike. I had to suffer my way through so many unfunny scenes. Seriously!
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Madagascar is a fountain of humorous lines that have basically become humanised, and although the film works best the first time, it can still entertain on repeat viewings. Of the central quartet, Melman, the owner of countless diseases, was by far the most entertaining, and I also liked the trio of lemurs, and of course the "penguin gang", who thankfully got more space in the following years. If you want to laugh sitting in the the couch, the colourful Madagascar is an ideal choice.
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I really like this animated movie and I have to say that it's also because of the Czech dubbing. Zbyšek Pantůček is absolutely perfect here and his Maurice is much better than in the original version. Overall, the Czech version is excellent. It's exactly the kind of animated movie where you fall in love with the characters, including the penguins who eventually got their own movie.
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