“Madagascar,” the latest computer-animated comedy from Dreamworks, is an efficacious fusion of state of the art technology and old-fashioned cartoon style. Unlike the exceptional realism that is the hallmark of the “Shrek” movies — the company’s most celebrated effort in this area — the animators of “Madagascar” used their supercomputers to pay homage to the classic animation of the World War II era. The animals that populate “Madagascar” certainly look lifelike in repose, but when the action heats up they get squashed and stretched and snapped back into shape to hilarious effect. In many ways, this IS your grandfather’s cartoon, yet it feels fresh and new and exciting.
Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller) is the main attraction at an idealized rendering of the Central Park Zoo. He spends his days preening for adoring throngs, and his nights palling around with a hypochondriac giraffe named Melman (David Schwimmer), Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) and best bud Marty (Chris Rock), a zebra who’s come down with a serious case of wanderlust. With the help of some renegade penguins, Marty breaks out of the zoo and goes looking for “the wild” in the urban jungle that is Manhattan. His friends come looking for him, and before long the whole lot of them is captured and put on a boat destined for a wildlife preserve in Africa. After the mischievous penguins commandeer the boat, Alex et al find themselves washed ashore on the exotic island for which the movie is named, where they must figure out how to survive without their morning paper and scheduled feedings. That last bit proves especially challenging for the steak-deprived lion, who soon begins to see his friends in a whole night — meatier — light.
The vocal talent is on the mark here, though the above-mentioned stars are clearly outshined by Sacha Baron Cohen, aka Ali G, as the frenetic party animal Julien, king of the ring-tailed lemurs who adopt the displaced New Yorkers. Delivering the film’s funniest lines with an accent that defies categorization, the lovable goofball Julien ranks among the best animated characters ever. Cedric the Entertainer also induces several belly laughs as Julien’s sage second-in-command, Maurice. (Rated PG for mild language, crude humor and some thematic elements. Running time: 86 minutes)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 27, 2005. Read the original PDF.