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Back Shelf Beauties
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Madagascar After a tough week where good parents were scared about taking their impressionable young tikes to a PG-13 rated, violence-filled Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, they can rest a bit easier knowing DreamWorks is there for them this Memorial Day weekend with Madagascar. If your kid can handle a lion biting a zebra's butt, and little coarse language, he or she will be laughing for days. I know I was. Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller), Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer) and Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) all live the good life in the New York's Central Park Zoo, but Marty is feeling a bit of a mid-life crisis as he celebrates his 10th birthday. Although he has spent all of his days in the zoo, Marty dreams of running free and living in the wild. However, his friends don't share the same desire. Alex is the zoo's big star and loves the attention and steaks. Melman is a hypochondriac, so he likes the medical facilities at his disposal, and Gloria quite enjoys the big pool where she lives. One day, Marty learns the penguins (the movie's biggest stars) are planning a CIA-type escape from the zoo to head out for the wild, which Marty is told is alot like Connecticut. Figuring he can make it back by morning, Marty heads for Grand Central Station to take the train to the wilds of Connecticut, run around, and head back home before anyone finds out. Of course, his friends discover he is missing and head out to bring him back, but end up on an adventure wilder than anything they ever imagined. Will Marty make it? Can his friends bring him back without anyone knowing they broke out? I have said it a million times, but it is so true. Talking animals are funny! You give me a wisecracking zebra, I'm going to laugh. With it's mix of jokes aimed at kids and adults, well-defined characters, and a crazy adventure that takes them far from home safe home, Madagascar is an extremely hilarious comedy sure to become a big hit. Writers Mark Burton and Billy Frolick provide enough silly, slapstick jokes to keep the kids happy, but truly excel with the more subtle adult humor. Along with directors Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath, they provide little references to films like American Beauty, Cast Away and more, while also perfectly capturing the personality of New York through the characters and city setting. Best of all, each character is fully developed, so they each have their own unique personalities and much of the humor comes how they interact with each other and the challenging new situations. Madagascar also showcases some of the finest animation I have ever seen. Many raved about the level of detail and realism of The Incredibles, but Madagascar is very close to being its equal. In stunning fashion, the animators include little details like the whiskers on Marty's chin, and a well-defined mane on Alex's head where you can see individual strands of hair and its condition changes depending on the situation and humidity. They even go so far as to show water dripping down Gloria's body when she exits the pool, and make the New York subway as grimy and littered with ads as it really is when you ride it. Best of all, the animators spend much time and effort making the characters move in familiar ways. Art Director Kendall Cronkhite explained to me they weren't trying to make Madagascar look real (favoring a 1940's and 50's cartoon look), but did videotape the actors as they recorded lines to help inspire the animation. This leads to Alex using his hands when he talks, like Stiller does, or Rock's trademark smile gracing Marty's face. While the characters don't look real, and shouldn't, they do seem alive and very likable due to this effort, so the audience gets emotional drawn into their plight as the story evolves and our heroes face danger. Madagascar gets a little serious towards the end as the animals struggle with the ideas of prey and predator, and slows down just a touch as they face the movie's big challenge, but it's still full of great laughs. 3 ½ Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2005 - WaffleMovies.com
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