Madagascar (2005)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Directors:

Eric Darnell
Tom McGrath

Writers:

Mark Burton (written by) &
Billy Frolick (written by) ...

Release Date:

27 May 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family

Tagline:

Ton On The Run

Plot:

Spoiled by their upbringing with no idea what wild life is really like, four animals from New York Central Zoo escape, unwittingly assisted by four absconding penguins, and find themselves in Madagascar, among a bunch of merry lemurs

Plot Keywords:

Zoo | Madagascar | Lion | Giraffe | Escape

Awards:

3 wins & 24 nominations

Cast

Ben Stiller	...	Alex (voice)
Chris Rock	...	Marty (voice)
David Schwimmer	...	Melman (voice)
Jada Pinkett Smith	...	Gloria (voice)
Sacha Baron Cohen	...	Julien (voice)
Cedric the Entertainer	...	Maurice (voice)
Andy Richter	...	Mort (voice)
Tom McGrath	...	Skipper / Fossa / Panicky Man on Subway (voice)
Christopher Knights	...	Private (voice)
Chris Miller	...	Kowalski (voice)
Conrad Vernon	...	Mason (voice)
Eric Darnell	...	Zoo Announcer / Lemur #1 / Fossa / Subway Car Announcer (voice)
David Cowgill	...	Police Horse (voice)
Stephen Apostolina	...	Police Officer (voice) (as Steve Apostolina)
Elisa Gabrielli	...	Old Lady (voice)

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild language, crude humor and some thematic elements.

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Portuguese | Spanish | German | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-3 | Taiwan:GP | Sweden:Btl | Philippines:G | Switzerland:6 (canton of Zurich) | Spain:T | Denmark:A | Iceland:L | Brazil:Livre (theater release) | Malaysia:U | UK:U (cut) | South Korea:All | Brazil:12 (DVD re-rating) | Netherlands:6 (DVD rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Canada:G (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Czech Republic:U | Ireland:G | Mexico:AA | Netherlands:MG6 | Singapore:PG | USA:PG | Germany:o.Al. | New Zealand:PG | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:0 (canton of Geneva) | Peru:PT | Norway:A | Hong Kong:I

Filming Locations:

Glendale, California, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

At the beginning of the film when someone is taking numerous pictures of Alex The Lion the first pose Alex pulls is the 'Magnum' pose made famous by Derek Zoolander - also played by Ben Stiller.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: When Skipper asks the talking monkey if he can read, he says that he can't read but Phil can. Earlier on in the film, the talking monkey takes what appears to be a newspaper from a trash can and starts reading it. However, if you look at the newspaper, it is actually a comic.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Alex the Lion: Surprise!
Marty the Zebra: Aaahhh! Alex! Do not interrupt me when I'm daydreaming. When a zebra's in the zone, leave him alone.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Family Guy: Hell Comes to Quahog (#5.3)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Born Free

A nice surprise

The mood you're in when you see a movie has a big impact on how much you enjoy it. I saw this in a cinema packed with young families and it went down well. I laughed a lot, so did my kids, and so did the cinema. I explained to my daughter that pansy meant softy, so I even felt useful.

Having young children means I have sat through quite a lot of this genre, and the use of computers in animation makes things a little over-refined. I seem to be the only person who finds Pixar movies too polished, faultless, and stale. This film can be abrupt and patchy, but in my opinion that makes it more spontaneous.

The movie looks great, the penguins are funny, the king is funny, and the pace and energy are good. About 90 minutes is also the correct length. The plot may be thin but the survival concepts that pepper the movie are good intellectual fodder for children.