|

Now Playing
Critics & Publications
Archives: A-Z Index
Advanced Search
Upcoming Release Calendar
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Film In Our Forums

20
American Carol, An
26
Babylon A.D.
24
Bangkok Dangerous
41
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
45
Blindness
58
Body of Lies
62
Burn After Reading
57
City of Ember
15
College
82
Dark Knight, The
43
Death Race
15
Disaster Movie
43
Eagle Eye
58
Express, The
49
Family That Preys, The
57
Flash of Genius
36
Fly Me to the Moon
54
Get Smart
72
Ghost Town
55
House Bunny, The
35
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
57
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
73
Kung Fu Panda
46
Lakeview Terrace
52
Longshots, The
53
Lucky Ones, The
51
Mamma Mia!
43
Meet Dave
37
Miracle at St. Anna
35
Mirrors
34
My Best Friend's Girl
64
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
39
Nights in Rodanthe
58
Quarantine
36
Righteous Kill
53
Rocker, The
63
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, The
36
Space Chimps
35
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
47
Swing Vote
60
Traitor
71
Tropic Thunder
70
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
93
WALL-E
27
Women, The
47
X-Files: I Want to Believe, The
93
WALL-E
82
Dark Knight, The
73
Kung Fu Panda
72
Ghost Town
71
Tropic Thunder
70
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
64
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
63
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, The
62
Burn After Reading
60
Traitor
58
Body of Lies
58
Express, The
58
Quarantine
57
City of Ember
57
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
57
Flash of Genius
55
House Bunny, The
54
Get Smart
53
Rocker, The
53
Lucky Ones, The
52
Longshots, The
51
Mamma Mia!
49
Family That Preys, The
47
Swing Vote
47
X-Files: I Want to Believe, The
46
Lakeview Terrace
45
Blindness
43
Meet Dave
43
Death Race
43
Eagle Eye
41
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
39
Nights in Rodanthe
37
Miracle at St. Anna
36
Space Chimps
36
Righteous Kill
36
Fly Me to the Moon
35
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
35
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
35
Mirrors
34
My Best Friend's Girl
27
Women, The
26
Babylon A.D.
24
Bangkok Dangerous
20
American Carol, An
15
Disaster Movie
15
College
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

xx
All of Us
53
Allah Made Me Funny: Live in Concert
57
Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela, The
63
Appaloosa
68
Ashes of Time Redux
68
August Evening
62
Baghead
81
Ballast
55
Battle in Seattle
xx
Beer for My Horses
xx
Billy: The Early Years
63
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
56
Bottle Shock
50
Breakfast with Scot
61
Brick Lane
xx
Call and Response
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
47
Choke
43
Choose Connor
41
Cthulhu
62
Duchess, The
85
Edge of Heaven, The
66
Elegy
80
Encounters at the End of the World
26
Everybody Wants to Be Italian
64
Fall, The
28
Fireproof
65
Flow: For Love of Water
37
Forever Strong
82
Frozen River
73
Girl Cut in Two, A
73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
51
Good Dick
82
Happy-Go-Lucky
44
Henry Poole is Here
31
Hounddog
53
Humboldt County
72
I Served the King of England
71
I.O.U.S. A
40
Igor
64
In Search of a Midnight Kiss
xx
Just Buried
62
Kabluey
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
78
Last Mistress, The
xx
Lower Learning
63
Man Named Pearl, A
89
Man on Wire
62
Mister Foe
86
Momma's Man
80
Moving Midway
47
Nights and Weekends
73
Obscene
xx
Phoebe in Wonderland
55
Ping Pong Playa
76
Pool, The
82
Rachel Getting Married
55
Religulous
57
RocknRolla
55
Save Me
72
Secret, A
45
Shoot on Sight
57
Sixty Six
82
Tell No One
63
Thousand Years of Good Prayers, A
57
Towelhead
72
Transsiberian
83
Trouble the Water
83
U2 3D
84
Up the Yangtze
52
Virtual JFK: Vietnam If Kennedy Had Lived
79
Visitor, The
xx
W.
61
Wackness, The
xx
Whaledreamers
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
89
Man on Wire
86
Momma's Man
85
Edge of Heaven, The
84
Up the Yangtze
83
U2 3D
83
Trouble the Water
82
Tell No One
82
Happy-Go-Lucky
82
Frozen River
82
Rachel Getting Married
81
Ballast
80
Encounters at the End of the World
80
Moving Midway
79
Visitor, The
78
Last Mistress, The
76
Pool, The
73
Girl Cut in Two, A
73
Obscene
73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
72
Secret, A
72
Transsiberian
72
I Served the King of England
71
I.O.U.S. A
68
August Evening
68
Ashes of Time Redux
66
Elegy
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
65
Flow: For Love of Water
64
Fall, The
64
In Search of a Midnight Kiss
63
Thousand Years of Good Prayers, A
63
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
63
Appaloosa
63
Man Named Pearl, A
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
62
Kabluey
62
Duchess, The
62
Mister Foe
62
Baghead
61
Wackness, The
61
Brick Lane
57
Towelhead
57
Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela, The
57
Sixty Six
57
RocknRolla
56
Bottle Shock
55
Save Me
55
Religulous
55
Battle in Seattle
55
Ping Pong Playa
53
Humboldt County
53
Allah Made Me Funny: Live in Concert
52
Virtual JFK: Vietnam If Kennedy Had Lived
51
Good Dick
50
Breakfast with Scot
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
47
Nights and Weekends
47
Choke
45
Shoot on Sight
44
Henry Poole is Here
43
Choose Connor
41
Cthulhu
40
Igor
37
Forever Strong
31
Hounddog
28
Fireproof
26
Everybody Wants to Be Italian
xx
Phoebe in Wonderland
xx
All of Us
xx
Whaledreamers
xx
W.
xx
Billy: The Early Years
xx
Call and Response
xx
Just Buried
xx
Beer for My Horses
xx
Lower Learning
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Madagascar
DreamWorks Distribution LLC
FILM:
GAMES:
MPAA RATING: PG for mild language, crude humor and some thematic elements
Starring
Ben Stiller,
Chris Rock,
David Schwimmer,
Jada Pinkett Smith,
Sacha Baron Cohen,
Cedric the Entertainer,
Christopher Knights,
and
Andy Richter
When a group of animals from New York's Central Park Zoo wash ashore on the exotic island of Madagascar, they must figure out how to survive in the wild and discover the true meaning of the phrase "It's a jungle out there." (DreamWorks)
| GENRE(S): |
Adventure
|
Animation
|
Comedy
|
Family/Kids
|
Fantasy
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Mark Burton
Billy Frolick
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Eric Darnell
Tom McGrath
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: November 15, 2005
Video: November 15, 2005
Theatrical: May 27, 2005
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
80 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
USA |

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
91
Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman
Dishes up some very corny jokes, but the images have a brighter-than-life vivacity.

88
Charlotte Observer
Lawrence Toppman
The animals' personalities have been carefully calibrated: They have sufficient edge to amuse us as characters, yet they're cuddly enough to market as plush toys or action figures.

83
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Sean Axmaker
It could be more involving, but it's funny enough that you won't care.

80
Washington Post
Ann Hornaday
Despite Madagascar's formulaic tendencies, it's a formula that works, so parents are urged to sit back, relax and enjoy -- the kids surely will.

80
Dallas Observer
Robert Wilonsky
It's bright and spry, giggly and bouncy, but also cuddly with occasional touches of cruelty--a movie in which best friends, when let loose in the wild, suddenly realize one's a little higher on the food chain.

78
Austin Chronicle
Kimberley Jones
Forget life lessons: I much prefer a lemur king doing the robot.

75
USA Today
Claudia Puig
The thin story, which sometimes feels like a series of one-liners strung together, is wisely kept short. But the gags are funny and the characters endearing.

75
San Francisco Chronicle
Mick LaSalle
Madagascar isn't deep and would have no business being deep. But that it keeps one foot in reality is enough to keep us guessing.

75
Premiere
Peter Debruge
It's a brisk and lively getaway with genuine personality.

75
Baltimore Sun
Chris Kaltenbach
Madagascar doesn't do much, except make you laugh. All hail such a minimalist approach.

75
Philadelphia Inquirer
Steven Rea
This slight and amusing 'toon is mostly a trip designed for the kiddie crowd to take in.

70
Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
Madagascar is a classical gas. It's a good-humored, pleasant confection that has all kinds of relaxed fun bringing computer-animated savvy to the old-fashioned world of Looney Tunes cartoons.

70
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Tasha Robinson
The tenor can be shrill, but there's no time to get bored. And on top of that, most of the gags actually work.

70
Time
Richard Corliss
Savvy family entertainment.

63
Boston Globe
Ty Burr
Antic, cute, scattershot, it's a remarkable-looking but terribly uncertain bit of CGI fluff, with its richest humor off to the sides of the action and a whole lot of average in the middle.

63
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
Madagascar is funny, especially at the beginning, and good-looking in a retro cartoon way, but in a world where the stakes have been raised by "Finding Nemo," "Shrek" and "The Incredibles," it's a throwback to a more conventional kind of animated entertainment. It'll be fun for the smaller kids, but there's not much crossover appeal for their parents.

63
Miami Herald
Rene Rodriguez
Often feels like a cartoon that wishes it were live action.

63
ReelViews
James Berardinelli
Eventually, it had to happen: a computer-animated dud.

60
The Hollywood Reporter
Michael Rechtshaffen
It's frustrating to see this wonderful-looking, laugh-out-loud funny survival tale fall short of its potential.

60
Variety
Dennis Harvey
Pleasant, if mediocre family fare.

60
Village Voice
Michael Atkinson
Madagascar's relaxed density is a relief given the DreamWorks tendency to overbear, overblast, and overcaricaturize.

60
TV Guide
Angel Cohn
Slickly animated and cleverly written.

60
Empire
Ian Freer
Spirited, amiable, featherweight summer fun.

50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Rick Groen
Credit Madagascar with negotiating a hopeful truce in the ongoing battle between the computer and the animation. Judged merely by appearances, its look is a lovely compromise. Too bad everything else has been compromised right out of existence.

50
Portland Oregonian
Shawn Levy
By and large it's formulaic and dull.

50
New York Post
Lou Lumenick
More than a few will agree with the penguins, who netted the film a PG rating with the utterance, "Well, this sucks."

50
Rolling Stone
Peter Travers
Less like "Shrek," meaning hilarious and heartfelt, and more like "Shark Tale," meaning manic and exhausting, Madagascar will keep kids distracted without transporting them to wonderland.

50
Wall Street Journal
Joe Morgenstern
The plot really is basic, so the bafflement of the movie lies in its combination of visual riches and dramatic -- as well as thematic -- impoverishment.
50
Chicago Reader
Jonathan Rosenbaum
The whole thing feels throwaway, but some of the gags are funny.

50
New York Daily News
Jack Mathews
Looks stunning, but it's an ill-conceived mess that plays like two movies awkwardly spliced together. In one movie, parents are asked to stand by while the kids are entertained with cute animal tricks and slapstick pratfalls. In the other, the kids will be hushed while the parents are treated to inside jokes.

50
Chicago Tribune
Allison Benedikt
The film never gets going. It's too slow and plodding for kids--even too obvious.

50
The New Yorker
David Denby
Often quite beautiful. But Madagascar, which was directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath, is mismanaged pretty much from start to finish.

40
LA Weekly
Ella Taylor
Anemic.

40
The New York Times
Dana Stevens
Madagascar arouses no sense of wonder, except insofar as you wonder, as you watch it, how so much talent, technical skill and money could add up to so little.

30
Washington Post
Michael O'Sullivan
The underwhelming, only fitfully amusing movie left me hungry for more.

25
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt
The animation is deft but the screenplay is stilted, the voice-performances are unimaginative, and the whole project is surprisingly clumsy in its efforts to please young and old alike. A major disappointment.


The average user rating for this movie is 6.3 (out of 10) based on 69 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Read more user comments...
Discuss this movie in our forums |
|