Product Description

A pack of not-so-wild animals experience some serious culture shock when they move from the Big Apple to the Mighty Jungle in this computer-animated comedy. Alex (voice of Ben Stiller) is a lion who enjoys a charmed life as one of the leading attractions at a zoo in New York City's Central Park. While Alex and his pals Marty the Zebra (voice of Chris Rock), Gloria the Hippo (voice of Jada Pinkett Smith), and Melman the Giraffe (voice of David Schwimmer) are happy with their lot in life, they occasionally have a certain curiosity about the outside world, and when the zoo's penguins decide to make a break for it, Marty follows them into the city. Alex, Gloria, and Melman set out to find Marty before he gets into trouble, but they're a bit too late, and soon the zookeepers have decided that the animals are restless and need to be returned to the wild. Soon the critters find themselves living on the coast of Madagascar, where they quickly discover they aren't quite suited for living in the wild. Madagascar also features the voice talents of Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, and Sacha Baron Cohen (aka Ali G).

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2899 in DVD
• Brand: Dreamworks
• Released on: 2005-11-15
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: AC-3, Animated, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 86 minutes

Amazon.com
The penguins steal the show. In the sprightly Madagascar, a mid-life crisis inspires Marty the Zebra (voiced by Chris Rock) to escape from his lifelong home, a New York zoo. His equally pampered friends--Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller), Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith), and Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer)--then escape to bring him back. Unfortunately, their attempt at damage control persuades zoo officials that the animals are unhappy, so all four get shipped to an animal preserve in Kenya...only a squad of maniacal penguins change the destination to Antarctica. The quartet end up on an island where, in addition to meeting some hedonistic lemurs, they learn about the food chain--and that Alex is a different link on the chain from the other three. Madagascar doesn't achieve the snappy perfection of a Pixar movie, but it tops most other computer-animated efforts; the collision of friendship and predator instincts makes for an unusually gripping conflict. The vocal performances of the central characters is serviceable, but Sacha Baron Cohen (Da Ali G Show) provides topnotch lunacy as the lemur king, and the penguins--voiced mostly by the animators themselves--are the best thing in the movie. --Bret Fetzer

DVD Features
Not only are those mischievous penguins the major scene stealers of the film Madagascar, but they also managed to highjack all the best features on the DVD. Take the commentary. Now, you can always choose to watch Madagascar with the informative commentary from directors Tom McGrath and Eric Darnell. But, given the option to watch the film with the one and only "Penguin Chat" feature length commentary, which are you going to choose-- the penguins or the filmmakers? Also included is the 10-minute animated short "The Penguins in a Christmas Caper." As the penguins prepare to celebrate Christmas they notice that Private (Christopher Knights) is missing. Never to leave one behind, Skipper (Tom McGrath) and the gang are off to rescue the young penguin, and as imagined, destructive and mischievous humor ensues. Not surprisingly, most of the extras on this DVD are geared toward kids. There is a plethora of games and activities included that are more silly and fun, then educational. But then again no one ever said Madagascar was Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. Case in point--don't forget to shake your rump with the Madagascar Lemurs on the "I Like To Move It, Move It" music video. --Rob Bracco

From The New Yorker
In DreamWorks' latest attempt at an animated blockbuster, four overcivilized animals from the Central Park Zoo get transported to the wilds of Madagascar. It's a good comic premise, and much of the animation is beautiful, but the filmmakers don't follow through on their ideas. When the kvetching New Yorkers hit the jungle, we hope to see how their peculiar urban skills will allow them to deal with the creeping and crawling terrors. A few cobwebs cling to them, but the chief menace, the Foosas-nasty, hyena-like creatures-turn out to be pussycats. Great visuals, lousy plot. With Ben Stiller as Alex the lion, Chris Rock as Marty, a zebra who horses around too much, David Schwimmer as a hypochondriacal giraffe, and Jada Pinkett Smith as a commonsensical hippo. Directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker