Solid voice acting, but its story is too simplistic. Simply fails at being entertaining throughout, even with its short length. Bland animated feature.

Has its funny moments, but the movie just starts getting irritating and boring as it trudges along. The storyline was also pretty lame and silly. My score: 65/100

There is nothing good about this movie except its impact to children, which is the reason I gave a 2, not a 0, and for its memorable anthem, that is I LIKE TO MOVE IT MOVE IT, which for me is super horrendous and corny...............

A fun animated film. While it does have little of a lesson to learn from it, the characters are fun and the story is unique (until The Wild was released).

It is not nearly as funny as people will hope or as it should be but it is sometimes funny and features great voice acting and memorable moments kids will talk about forever. I give this movie 56%.

A fun movie. It's quite funny, the plot's all right and it's well voiced. It's not as good as Shrek, or anything Pixar have made but it is one of the better Dreamworks films. Falls short of greatness due to the fact that it is now starting to show it's age, which is a shame.

Now, in "Madagascar", Dream Works presents their homemade movie formula of "15% story and 85% fun". It may be amusing for the kids that have pure, honest hearts, but for the adults the film's baffling and confusing.

Easily the worst movie I have ever seen. Even though I was much younger when I saw it, I was very disappointed with the lack of sophisticated humour. Awful...Absolutely awful...

its not an excellent movie, but to be fair, its rather perfect. the animation is nice, the characters aren't so bad, and the songs are so nice and cool. Madagascar is a perfect summer flick for kids and adults.

Yes, the animation was fair. The voices were not that realistic. It had absolutely NO PLOT. There was barely any good jokes. Actually there wasn't any good jokes. The only cool thing about this movie is the song "Move It" and that the animation was fair. But, those are not what makes a good movie. Definately the animation part, I said FAIR, they really could of gotten better and more realistic animation. But, even that only plays a small part of a good animation. The real part is this is ANIMATION!!! Not reallity. Animated movies are suppposed to creat things that truly entertain the minds of people. This was way to ordinary. Hasn't any of you already thought of a bunch of zoo animals washing up on a shore of an island? This is orgiinal. The jokes were the lamest jokes ever, they're worse then my friends jokes! When he tries to crack one everyone who hears it wil go totally silent, everytime. This is no hyperbole, everyone goes silent when he tries a joke, even if we are cracking up at the table.… Expand

Yes, Madagascar can be funny at times, but it lacks the wit and charm of Shrek, its sequel, and Over the Hedge. But at least it's an improvement over the disatrous Shark Tale.

Funny,Sweet and Highly Addicting.

Good.

the lemurs are so funny i cracked up laughing and dancing about that song so everybody stop giving this movie a low score and MOVE IT!

I could see a fantastic movie here - until the end. It was really good start -middle but it just ended suddenly. I enjoyed the film but I would've given it a higher score if it had a better ending.

The penguins rocked. The rest sucked. My 5 year old sister liked it though and alot of my friends do too. I was bored with it.

Insufferable.

It was a beautiful masterpiece, even more exciting than star wars. Filled with sensational dialogue and heart warming comedy, the zoo animals take us on an exciting adventure through the WILD. Rivaling the Godfather, Citezen Kane, and Star Wars for the greatest cinematic experience of all time with superb animation. I LOVE this movie.

I was expecting the best animated feature film of the year, it wasn't, but it has the wit and style we look for in one. It's funny and the kids will love it. ps: the penquins are hilarious!

One of the best movies.

Boring. The writing is so lame and the story and jokes so bad.

Best movie i've seen in a while. i love the movie so much i quote it on a regular basis. who will ever be able to forget the penguins and their escapades. whoever thinks that this movie was bad must have lost their sense of humor. to them i say, "If you have any poo fling it now."

Very funny.

I waited forever to see this popular CGI-fest because Robots and Shark Tale left me cringing in abject terror at any piece of 3-D computer-generated animation NOT bearing the Pixar label...but the short subject featuring the Madagascar penguins that preceded Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit turned out to be surprisingly bearable (if immediately forgettable compared to the feature that followed), so I ponied up my $2.50 to finally check it out at a discount theater, and guess what? This turned out to be by far the worst of the sorry bunch: a film so relentlessly shrill, assaultive, headache-inducing, self-satisfied and aggressively unfunny that it ALMOST made me want to re-evaluate Shark Tale, which at least had some well-cast voices, and Robots, which boasted some impressively elaborate animation set-ups. (Notice that I said ALMOST; life is already too short, I just blew 80 minutes on this, and I'm sure there are sock drawers that need rearranging somewhere.) This completely heartless, soulless and utterly disjointed tale of city zoo animals forced back into the wild, where they have to face their primal instincts and temptations certainly had potential, but stampedes it completely beneath an endless cacaphony of pop-culture riffs and movie references (I hesitate to even call most of them "jokes"; they're so joyless and perfunctory that they're far more accurately described as checklist items) that take the place of a cohesive script; this is exactly the same chop-suey corporate writing approach that turned The Simpsons from what was at one time the greatest TV show on the air to the completely unwatchable farrago it is today. I was shocked to see Hans Zimmer's name credited to the music; his work may have been one of several contributions to turning The Lion King from an animated kiddie musical into a dramatic movie of real heft, but Madagascar is so wall-to-wall loaded with push-button soundbites from TV and movies (the worst example: the Hawaii Five-O theme IMMEDIATELY followed by the Chariots of Fire theme) that I honestly don't recall any background music that Zimmer contributed! I'm certainly well aware that the history of popular animation--from Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoons to Rocky and Bullwinkle to even the early years of The Flintstones--includes many examples of simultaneously appealing to kids on one level while pitching jokes to adults that the little ones won't catch (the "NUTS" gag in the Wallace & Gromit movie is a delightful contemporary example of this) ...but Madagascar tips the scale so far one way that it made me start to understand Michael Medved's appreciation of Barney the Dinosaur playing 100% to his wee audience and completely chucking the smart-aleck postmodernism, especially during the truly hateful bit about cute little creatures being devoured in the jungle that made one little guy in my audience burst into sobs. The character design is harsh and repellent, with the lemurs' egg-yolk eyes in particular being...well, an eyesore; the animation, especially of people and crowds, is frequently inept; of the voices, Chris Rock comes off as the most overbearing, Jada Pinkett Smith the least, and most of the others far closer to Rock than Smith. Some have argued that Madagascar's uber-rapid-fire, yock-on-top-of-yock approach carries on the tradition of what Tex Avery did so successfully in the 1940s and 1950s, but there IS a crucial difference: Avery's features worked because he limited them to 7 minutes. But then, Madagascar is hardly a movie that respects its betters: early on, a couple of monkeys discuss flinging their poo at Tom Wolfe. Now we can agree to disagree about I Am Charlotte Simmons, but for a group of hack committee sitcom writers to make a comment like that about the master satirist who wrote the brilliant novels The Bonfire of the Vanities and A Man In Full (whether he wears a white suit or not) merely underscores the wise old agage: throw one piece of poo, get 1,463,892 pieces of poo thrown back at yourself. At least!… Expand

As a member of New York's historic Congregation Emanu-El, I thought it was great that the animators included an exterior shot of that beautiful house of worship in the background of one of Alex's earlier scenes, so much so that I mentioned it in the Temple Bulletin and DreamWorks sent them a copy of a still from the movie. Other than that, it had very little going for it.

The penguins were hilarious and cute. The lemur king was also amusing, and so was Melman the the giraffe. It was, however packed with corny jokes and some of the sub-plots dragged on a bit. I won't be seeing the sequel if their is one.

I enjoyed the cute lemur, the penguins and the giraffe. Not so much the movie it's self. "Just smile and wave boys, smile and wave."

Hyper active and consequently very tiring animation, characters mostly with one note, boring dialogue, non-discript voice performances, not many gags that made me laugh in fact I found the film annoying and wanted to leave half way through. Stayed for my child right to the bitter end. although it barely ended just petered out. I only hope it wasn't for a sequal?

So far, the oscar winning animated feature. It is incredibly hilarious. It was a good, beginning, funny, animated movie that delivers.

Loved the Pengins, more chimps required, just watch for the chimps phase being repeated everywhere, as with most reviewers what plot? fear a second film impossible - nowhere near shrek.

I only laughed once and chuckled a half dozen more times. I just didn't find it funny. Although there weren't many kids in the audience when I went, I didn't hear them laughing either.

Good Movie.. The characters were funny and cute.. I really like the show.. I hope there's part 2 of the movie.

This was pretty good, funny, cute. My friends and I were all amused by the movie, and the jokes just kept on coming. This was a pretty good film as they come.

It's very funny, but too short! When it ended I thought I was in the middle of the story!

I was Dissapointed through out the whole thing. Alex The Lion voiced By Ben Stiller is about as annoying as Ben Stiller In person. Chris Rock had nothing funny to say. david Schwimer's girafe Charecter whined way to much and was to familair to another Scwimer Charecter.. I was waiting to hear him Yell out that "We were on a break" line. And those lemers were just boring. To think this was the studio that brought us Shrek and the Less favorite by some but in my opinion much more funny film Shark tale. Kids will definitly think this is funny. but for us adults looking to escape from the usual comedy trash hollywood throws at us, this movie falls short on entertainment... How ever Those Penguins are a riot but not worth paying the theater admission just for 3 or four laughs here or there. That was my mistake. Wait for it on DvD.… Expand

Madagascar was actually pretty good. i had wanted to see it for some time, but i didn't have the highest of expectations for it. i was (thankfully) proven wrong. quite funny, especially when it came to the Lemurs singing "I Like to Move It", and the penguins discovering antartica. i'm waiting for the sequel.

This movie was great.I loved all the animals. They all had alot of humor. They were funny especially the penguins. The one that always had his eyes crossed was especially funny. I liked the lemur especially when he goes," i like to move it move it i like to MOVE IT!!!" I also liked Alex the lion and my mom liked Gloria the hippo and my sister liked the lemur and my grandma came with us and she seemed to like all of them.… Expand

Just weak. i think we're spoiled by pixar and companies that do animation well with good plot, good characters, artistic deisgn, not just animation for the sake of animation.

There were some funny moments. the penguins were funny the monkeys were great, but they onlly had one joke. This was not a laugh a minute fest, not even close. Im amazed at some of the reviews that criticized the incredibles and shrek 2 for having a plot. This could use one. Id like to care about the characters, but hearing 2 simps sing an old Sinatra song off-key was no help. And heres one thing noones mentioned. How about all those pseudo-hip phrases Chris Rock had to spout off. "Im off the hizz-00k" Um, no. No you're not. The actors were wasted in this snoozer. If you really want an average heart-warmer, watch the Heffalump movie. At least that was admirable for its earnestness and good natured simplicity. This movie has nothing. pardon me while I LOOK FORWARD to watching Nemo for the 50th time with my daughter. At least at the end of that one I want them to find him. Leave these chars in Madagascar, Antartica, anywhere! Just keep them away from me.… Expand

Plot more complex than the Disney animated features. The "bad" guy is one of the "good" guys, and the morals (forgiving even a flawed friend, even good people can make mistakes, etc) are not as black and white as your average kid's movie. Ali-G steals a few scenes from the stars.

My main criticism of this movie was echoed by Ace W. below me...the story. Nothing really happens here. Not that I would have preferred the busy-plot mechanics that made "Shrek 2" and "Antz" such chores to sit through, but at least some semblance of a story. Some shred of a plot that has peaks and valleys and maybe something of character development. Instead what we get is bunch of ideas, gags, bits, homages, etc. all crammed into a 85-min cartoon. The first 15 minutes are pretty damn funny, moving at a lively pace, but thereafter it meanders for a while and doesn't really pick up any steam thereafter. The movie just kinda lies there, existing as the object it is, but with no real emotional core or jump-off-the-screen characters that make the classic moments of great animated films what they are. When your big climactic setpiece is boring, ya know something is wrong.… Expand

YAY! Melman was the best ever! the whole movie was amazing but the penguins and Melman made it hilarious. David schwimmer is my hero and always will be.

Very disapointed in this movie. Story line begins well but then gets week. Main characters are wonderful but when they all wind up on the island, the characters that they meet there are boring and same-like. If the writers would have put in a more varierity of animals it would have been more capturing for the mind and audience. The idea of returning to the Zoo would have been more touching and realistic in believing that they were leaving the island not because it was filled with one or two different kind of animals but hundereds. And that they were leaving because they were homesick, not just because they were bored as I was in watching this movie. Sorry. I think the movie took advantage of the kids getting out of school and being the only movie on the marque.… Expand

OK for kids but rather awkward and simplistic.

Uninspired, would be the best way I could describe this simple little cartoon. Not very much happens, which is probably good; as to many cartoons want to rely on super villains, or epic showdowns that become cliché. There were a few good references to other films and pop culture, including American beauty, 10, planet of the apes, and a twilight zone shout out that sailed over the heads of almost everyone in the theatre (My laughter was met by confused stares). But to many Poo jokes and groin blows (once is humorous but I counted at least 4) can give you an idea of the overall comedy and writing involved. The penguins steal the movie, and Ali G. was funny as well. That said nothing actually stands out as being memorable. If you have kids they will like it and that is exactly who the film is aimed at.… Expand

Not bad...not as good as Shark Tale or Nemo. My 10 year old neice said it was the best movie ever.

Absolute cool movie! great! Just love it!

Our local critic gave this a D+ rating, so I wasn't expecting much going in. However, we were in a full theatre and everyone ended up laughing their heads off (which I think always helps). There were some very funny lines in this show, and some great slapstick comedy. The penguins were hilarious. The Lemur King definitely steals the show. Worth seeing just to see that oddball character! Contains some great references to other movies/TV the kids won't get, but parents will... Planet of the Apes, Twilight Zone "To Serve Man" episode, etc... I say ignore the naysayers and get a group together and go have fun!… Expand

Very entertaining and funny. Great animation and visuals. Loved it.

About as much fun as watching paint dry. the kids weren't into it at all and I blew $30 that I could've spent on something with more family-fun. It certainly does have 'blockbuster' written all over it, although Blockbuster is also a pretty depressing place these days.

The main problem with "Madagascar" is that the penguins are more fun than the four main animals. They talk a lot but they're not saying anything...funny. The best line belongs to the monkeys, and it's not even original; its roots can be traced to a SNL sketch with Darrell Hammonds as Sean Connery. As a matter of fact, not a lot of "Madagascar" is all that original. If you want to see animals in an urban setting, there's the underrated "Babe: Pig in the City", and the notion of animals returning to the wild was handled better in "Finding Nemo". The animals get to Madagascar and the writers can't think of anything better than have the animals imitate civilization like the Howells did on "Gilligan's Island". Give the giraffe a girlfriend, or better yet, have him save the hippo from being eaten and start an inter-species love affair. The animals are so one-note. If the writers had any ambition, they'd give the animals a character arc after making the transition to the wild. But no. What we get is a hungry lion, a stupid zebra, and a gay lemur.… Expand

I'm trying to figure out why Cuba Gooding Jr. picked "Madagascar: as his comeback vehicle. Here's my theory: he made a bet on the election, and said that if John Kerry lost, he'd star in the single worst script making the rounds in Hollywood. Let's not forget that Cuba Gooding Jr. was a great actor in movie such as "Gladiator" (1992) and "Men Of Honor." He could have made a real comeback in a hipster independent film, or maybe with a strong supporting role in a quality blockbuster. Instead, he picked an incredibly tired vehicle about an insanely overprotective zebra who schemes to get rid of his nieghbor's prospective best friend. Maybe Gooding Jr. figured it would boost his image to co-star with Ashton Kutcher, but Kutcher gives the worst performance of his career in a story that wouldn't make a good sitcom pilot. There's nothing to this movie other than the two animals battling out in embarassing fashion. Topher Grace used to date Jennifer Garner who's now engaged to Ben Affleck who was friends with Kutcher who starred with Grace on "That '70s Show," and I mention all this because it's a lot more intresting than Grace's white-bread performance as the wimpy mama's boy girrafe who doesn't just tell his overbearing nieghbor to take a hike. And how annoying is that emo/pop puk music soundtrack? "Madagascar" is the first sure bet to make my list of the ten worst movies of 2005. It's rated PG-13, and you should SKIP IT.… Expand

Not bad. It's way better than 'Shark Tale'. But, it loses focus about a quarter through the show. Still...Ali G's Lemur king will slay you.

Disappointing - I've loved Shrek movies and this one just left me shifting in my seat waiting for it to end. 6 yr old with me wanted to know what we'd be seeing next.

A lot a fun for all, Ben Stiller is great.

Witty and hilarious. Great animation and sumptuous images. Wished the story had a more satisfying ending.

Good.

This movie can be corny but other than that it is gr8 fun to watch, a nice film to watch after the brill revenge of the sith :)) make sure u go see this film!

Great flick! This 65-year-old grandmother (and movie reviewer) took her 4-year-old grandson to a preview on Tuesday night! I don't know who enjoyed it more -- me or him. There are all clear signs that "Madagascar" has blockbuster written all over it. Hop in the SUV and come on down.

Awesome,superb & excellent creativity.

Great comic timing. Very funny for all ages.