Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Madagascar Review
Another mediocre Dreamworks animation; this studio relies too heavily upon pop culture references and its all star casts when they ought to be trying to write a good story. Kids will love it because it features some of the most recognizable animals in the world, but as with Shrek, contains enough adult-oriented humor to make some parents cringe. I love Chris Rock, but his Zebra, who pronounces things "crackah-lackin" gives the film a decidedly short shelf life. Thankfully, Sasha Baron Cohen's King Julien single-handedly saves the movie from becoming utterly forgettable. Dreamworks should start using their budget for better writers and real voice actors. 5/10
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I remember that at the time Madagascar came out in theatres here my boss at the time was actually going to Madagascar for a holiday a few weeks after it opened which, for some reason, gave us employees endless amounts of amusement. Most probably it was linked to the unfortunate (but hilarious) hippo cartoon incident in which all the relatively offensive cartoon animal drawings plastered behind candy bar were forcibly removed by said boss EXCEPT the hippo which she said was cute and could stay. Of course the hippo had been the only one actually based on her. That somehow compounded our amusement over the fact that she was actually going to Madagascar. Visions of the hippo joining the other animals in busting loose from the zoo danced through our heads. Or whatever - none of us knew what the plot was.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I never saw the film but those are my memories of it and based on your review, I think my memories are actually more entertaining than the film itself so I'll stand by my decision not to watch it.
did i just hear you say "crackah-lackin"? ;)
ReplyDeletehaha, my son likes that film... i didn't care so much for it though... i don't know, some of the jokes seemed forced... and i do love a good animated film (i.e. monster house, arthur and the invisibles, etc.)...
S.E. - I love a good animated feature as well. "Iron Giant" is one of my top ten all time films, and I'm very fond of "The Incredibles", "Monsters Inc." and am also a fan of "Monster House". Never mind that I'm obsessed with "Avatar: The Last Airbender".
ReplyDeleteMadagascar, Open Season (with a bear even!) and Cars were all recent CG cartoons that I couldn't even bother finishing. We shut 'em off part to mid-way through. I pretty much give up on them.
ReplyDeleteHey Mike,
ReplyDeleteThis has nothing to do with Madagascar, which was OK for me, but have you seen The Lookout? Just wondering...