FanUnity B(uzz)log

The pickings are slim this July 4th weekend for kids movies. "Charlie And The Chocolate Factory" isn't yet out, and we've already seen "Sharkboy And Lavagirl." I don't feel the need for round two of that. I desire to see "Revenge Of The Sith" one more time before it leaves theaters, but I'm wary of taking a kid to see it on the big screen — too intense. So that left us with "Madagascar" to fill our movie-watching-urge. We've been to the Central Park Zoo a couple of times, so why not.

The kid liked it okay. Of course, none of the main animals featured in the film are actually in the Central Park Zoo, but not a big deal. The jokes and the action were enough to keep a child's attention throughout, though the film never really struck a major chord of emotion.

Filling the picture with homages at every turn seemed to be the major device for keeping parents interested. I counted knock-offs of "The Lion King", "Planet Of The Apes" and "Castaway" that I can remember, and I'm sure there were a few I didn't get.

Having Ben Stiller (Alex the Lion) and David Schwimmer (Melman the Giraffe) in the same movie is puts you into a bit of nebbish overload, but they worked overall. Stiller manages to infuse the film with his personality and his usual entertaining schtick in a few scenes, though Schwimmer brings only the whiny aspects of Ross from "Friends" to the role. Chris Rock (Marty the Zebra) and Jada Pinkett Smith (Gloria the Hippo) were all right too. Rock manages to stay kid-friendly, and Smith's voice seems appropriately cast as a hippo for some reason.

The side characters are actually more entertaining than the main crew. The Lemur King is (voiced by Ali G) good for a number of laughs, and his banter with his consigliere Maurice (Cedric The Entertainer) is actually the funniest part of the movie. The conspiring Penguins were very funny too, as were the mischeivious monkeys, who I could have seen a lot more of. Poo-slinging chimps is a gag that never really gets old (though there was no actual on-screen poo-slinging). The one group of supporting characters that didn't work were the villianous fossas … they were cheap knock-offs of the cheetahs in "The Lion King" minus a menacing leader like that film's Scar.

"Madagascar" is a fun-but-forgetable kids film. It's no "Lion King", "Home Alone" or "Monsters, Inc." that will play over and over again in VCRs and DVD players across the country until the tape/disc is worn out.

2.5/5 Stars.