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Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Tom McGrath, Christopher Knights, Chris Miller, Conrad Vernon

In the campy computer animated film Madagascar a quartet of zoo animals find themselves pondering and experiencing the meaning of life and the social context of life. It is an interesting idea to contemplate that what a zoo animal would think, if they existed outside of the fences of the zoo. However, several studies have shown that animals that have grown up in captivity run a great chance of extinction once released into the wild. Nevertheless, animated comedy tries to apply the notion of setting free tame animals into the wilderness, which offers an amusing rollercoaster that throws pies and pulls the chair from underneath the audience with a myriad of silly slapstick moments. ***

Several computer-animated films that have received a blockbuster release such as Toy Story (1995), Shrek (2001), and The Incredibles (2004), and sequels have also driven in a large chunk of money. Most CGI animations have been exceptional in their narratives, thus why not make another animated film with the help of computers. However, Madagascar lacks some of the brilliant storytelling that has gone hand-in-hand with CGI films. Unfortunately, most of the film tends to build on previously applied humor, and an exaggerated amount of slapstick humor. After awhile the silly tripping and slams in the face become an uninspiring event of repetitive thinking and mere time fillers in the featured film. ***

Despite the negative aspects, there is still some greatness within the film, as the four animals Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller), Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith), and Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer) begin their journey into the unknown. The caricature of the quartet is terrific, as the Alex superego emerges in the gifts he gives his friends and the overwhelmingly hysterical hypochondriac Melman. The best part in the film is the four scheming penguins that are on a mission to return to the snowy widths of Antarctica, and the meeting with Sacha Baron Cohen a.k.a. Ali G’s lemur persona King Julien XIII. **

The story opens with an amusing dream sequence where Marty dreams of his personal paradise in the wilderness, as he is racing towards a small lake. Alex, who also chased him in the dream, shatters this dream. It is an amusing comparison between the dream and reality, as Marty’s reality consists of having a lion as a friend while in the dream Alex was chasing him. Furthermore, it suggests the idea of a twisted sense of reality that Marty and the other zoo animals possess. To broaden the concept of twisted reality, it might serve as an analogical perspective of humanity’s la-la land vision of life’s permanence and the idea of existential safety. However, this is to stretch the artistic process of the computer-animated zoological journey into an intellectual domain, which illustrates a number of interesting concepts in the light of Darwin where the strongest survive. ***

Marty decides to make his dream reality, as he escapes to explore the world. Actually he intends to explore New York and maybe a little of what lays beyond the city borders. However, his three friends intend to find him and return him to the safety of the zoo while they all are unaware of humans true feelings of wild animals, in particular lions. To their dismay, they learn that they are returning to Africa, as society deems that they belong in their natural habitat. However, after an accident relating four penguins involved in a large ship hijacking, the quartet lands on the beaches of Madagascar. Several different emotions flush through them such as anger, fear, panic, happiness, and hope, as they try to get their bearings on the life in the wild. It is amusing to see how they handle the new situation, as they mostly appear like people visiting a foreign culture. The quartet’s narrow-minded comments to King Julien and his entourage is compared to Californians having a P. Diddy party, which is understandable as it is all they know. ***

Ultimately, Madagascar delivers comic relief to both young and old, even though this film will most likely be more entertaining to the younger viewers with its high level of slapstick humor. Compared to other recent films with CGI animation Madagascar does not succeed in delivering an equally impressive storyline, yet it clearly finishes above an average cinematic experience. There are both hits and misses within the story. It is obvious that it will entertain an audience, but it misses a story with thorough substance from beginning to the end and it hurts the overall cinematic experience. *** ---

The DVD has received a terrific transfer, which is to expect for a film entirely made with the help of computers. It comes in the aspect ratio 1.85:1 and the colors looks solid without any digital distortions as well. The audio is also very impressive through its Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, which pours effortlessly with efficient use of all five speakers including the base. No noise or hiss was irritating the auditory experience, as both music and dialogue sound great in this film. *** ---

There are an overwhelming amount of extras on this disc, everything from a short film to behind-the-scenes to interactive games for the audience’s amusement. When there are a larger amount of extras it is usually better to review them one at the time in order to offer the reader a better comprehensive perspective what they can find on the disc. Thus, read below for a better view of everything on the disc. ***

The menu on Madagascar is as usually amusing, as it has been on most recent animated DVDs released from Dreamworks Home Entertainment. In the menu there are four different areas: a special feature section, Crack the Code, Dreamworks Kids, and a short film called The Penguins in A Christmas Caper where most of the extras can be found. ***

Crack the Code – Here the audience can find a mystery to solve that will unlock a secret, if the viewer searches through the extras on the disc. ***

Dreamworks Kids – In this section the audience can find a music video of I Like to Move It, Move It performed by King Julien XIII (Sacha Baron Cohen), which actually offers an amusing musical event. There are also six different interactive games, which seem to be aimed for a very young audience (6 to 10 years old). The titles are bEqual Madagascar Trivia, Learn to Draw, Fossa Whack, Matching Lemurs, Marty’s Birthday Wish, and Madagascar Symphony. There are also some DVD-rom content that can be reached with a computer. ***

The Penguins in A Christmas Caper – This is a short animated film that tells a Christmas story about giving and sharing. It focuses on the four penguins and their undercover agent style approach to problems, which forces them to rescue one of their buddies from the crazed woman that beats up Alex in the Central Station in New York. ***

Special Features – contains a large amount of extras that will be handled one at the time. ***

Mad Mishaps – It is a somewhat amusing part that illustrates the issues of programming mistakes while making the film—not that it is as fun as real bloopers, but it is still interesting to watch. ***

Meet the Wild Cast – A presentation of the voices behind the film, as the audience gets to meet the cast and filmmakers who talk about the characters in the film. Ben Stiller talks about his character Alex while Chris Rock shares about Marty. It is informative and interesting in regards to how they approach their characters, as they are animated. ***

Behind the Crates – This is a promotional piece that introduces the four main zoo animals in the film. The cast and filmmakers again talk about the film and aspects of the film, and how it was to make the film. ***

The Tech of Madagascar – Here the filmmakers explain the technical details of making the film, and some of the obstacles that they had to solve in order to create the film. ***

Penguin Chat – The voices of the Penguins gives their own commentary from the scenes where they participate, which is a rather hilarious event. I hope they make a film with these four characters, as the main characters. ***

Enchanted Island – A brief documentary that talks about the unique fauna and flora found in Madagascar, which I wish was longer and gave more details to the animals and the trees in the film. ***

Previews – Scenes from Shrek 2 (2004) and Shark Tale (2004) might encourage some buyers to buy these two other animated film. There is also a preview of Kicking & Screaming (2005). ***

Cast & Filmmakers – These two portions offers mini biographies of the cast and filmmakers including Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and Jada Pinkett Smith. ***

Production Notes – Text reveals the major storyline while also informing the reader about who was involved in the making of the film. ***

Galleries – Here the audience can choose from a number of locations; New York, the ship, and Madagascar. From these locations the viewer can pick items or scenes, which will provide images for the audience on their command by the click of a button. It is not an exciting extra, maybe artists and animators find it a little more interesting than the majority of the viewers. *** ---

Madagascar is not, by far, the best computer-animated film that has been released in the last five years. It offers an above average experience, which heavily applies slapstick humor and some witty written humor. The material is also a little thin to provide a cinematic experience that would leave a lasting imprint in the audience’s memory. Nonetheless, there are occasional highlights that might reappear in other animated films such as the Penguins and the I Like to Move It, Move It sequence. In the end, a younger audience might find it more interesting than the older viewers. ***