Madagascar
DreamWorks Distribution | Release Date: May 27, 2005
6.8
USER SCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 351 Ratings
USER RATING DISTRIBUTION
Positive:
220
Mixed:
98
Negative:
33
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User Reviews

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6
OfficialDec 29, 2013
"Madagascar" is silly and funny at the beginning, and starts getting strangely annoying and dull as it draws nearer to the end. I would recommend this film for kids, but for adults, it would be alright but you'll probably forget it in a"Madagascar" is silly and funny at the beginning, and starts getting strangely annoying and dull as it draws nearer to the end. I would recommend this film for kids, but for adults, it would be alright but you'll probably forget it in a couple of days.… Expand
1 of 1 users found this helpful10
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5
grandpajoe6191Oct 23, 2011
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.
3 of 6 users found this helpful33
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5
StevenE.Oct 23, 2005
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 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.… Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful
6
SamNov 4, 2006
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.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
SaraH.Feb 6, 2006
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.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
JacobSep 13, 2013
Do not get me wrong I do not hate Madagascar but this film could have been a lot funnier and/or a lot more heartwarming. Look at the first two Shrek movies, those movies were funny and had a lot of heart. In Madagascar you see a film that isDo not get me wrong I do not hate Madagascar but this film could have been a lot funnier and/or a lot more heartwarming. Look at the first two Shrek movies, those movies were funny and had a lot of heart. In Madagascar you see a film that is trying to recreate what worked so well in that movie and in some cases succeed but in some cases fall flat on its face. You have a really entertaining beginning with some good laughs and an equally entertaining finale. However, in the middle the good jokes are few and far between and it becomes hard to care for the main characters due to the excessive amount of time devoted to arguing rather than advancing the plot and/or coming up with jokes. Plus, the only really funny characters are barely in the movie. However, I doubt most people especially kids will mind. If you are a child you will probably enjoy this film like I did when I was a kid. Adults may/may not get thorugh this film ok but it is watchable. While I do not think it is as good as Shrek I do not think it is bad. Enough of the jokes work, there is some heart, and the side characters are pretty funny. If you are looking for a couple laughs this film will satisfy. However, if you are looking for that really funny and/or heartwarming film like Shrek you will not find it here. This film is not the next Shrek. Instead we have a decent film with a few good laughs and amusing side characters that is a rent. Second act of this film really brings it down but some good laughs in the first and third acts make it watchable.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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6
TyranianApr 7, 2019
Fairly entertaining and some great characters, particularly the penguins and lemurs.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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5
heyitsmegrif4Jan 29, 2012
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%.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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5
SeriosityDec 18, 2012
Solid voice acting, but its story is too simplistic. Simply fails at being entertaining throughout, even with its short length. Bland animated feature.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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6
SEROJJul 23, 2015
Great animation! DreamWorks and Nickelodeon made one of the most famous animated features of our generation! I haven't seen the other two parts yet though
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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5
SolidWeaselMGSMar 24, 2013
I can honestly say, this is a mixed bag. With the story of Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman escaping from the zoo, they escape with some pretty funny scenes and ending with bad fighting scenes. Nuff said.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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5
jeff_reviewsJul 5, 2013
"Madagascar" uses most of its humor on animals doing things that humans do, and while its okay, its quite dragging. The film is overall fun and somehow enjoying, but its pop culture references are tiresome with... well, all Dreamwork"Madagascar" uses most of its humor on animals doing things that humans do, and while its okay, its quite dragging. The film is overall fun and somehow enjoying, but its pop culture references are tiresome with... well, all Dreamwork Animation films. New characters have moments of shine especially the penguins, and while it plot lacks nearly any clever ideas, its humor can almost, but not quite, help it pass on by.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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5
RayzorMooseNov 13, 2013
Madagascar advances to a point.
Again DreamWorks attempts the same plot of just trying to be fun without much substance. Madagascar becomes entertaining until it simply gets old with little to no backbone.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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6
Delaforce828Oct 13, 2014
It's modestly alright, a lot better than Shark Tale. The character animation reminds me of Looney Tunes movements. It has a better story line and more interesting characters, but can drag on a bit. Overall Madagascar is alright for the most part
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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6
EddyGregsApr 20, 2015
Holed up in Central Park Zoo, pampered zebra Marty (Rock) gets itchy hooves and decides to explore the Big Apple. When his buddies — vain lion Alex (Stiller), straight-talking hippo Gloria (Pinkett Smith) and neurotic giraffe MelmanHoled up in Central Park Zoo, pampered zebra Marty (Rock) gets itchy hooves and decides to explore the Big Apple. When his buddies — vain lion Alex (Stiller), straight-talking hippo Gloria (Pinkett Smith) and neurotic giraffe Melman (Schwimmer) — go after him, their rescue mission goes belly-up, seeing the four friends carted off to the untamed wilds of Africa.

There is something deliciously neat about the premise of DreamWorks’ latest CG offering; taking institutionalised zoo animals and throwing them into their natural, wild habitat is an idea seemingly full of rich pickings. But Eric Darnell (Antz) and Tom McGrath’s (The Ren And Stimpy Show) film fails to fully mine the concept for comedic gold.

It is visually splendid, has a smattering of good set-pieces and gags and a likeable atmosphere, but it does not have the coherence nor the consistency to give anyone at Pixar a sleepless night.

et where Madagascar falls down is in simple storytelling know-how. In the initial zoo sequences, the motivations and set-ups are clearly defined, but when the characters get shipwrecked, the plotting runs aground with them, grinding to a halt as the foursome argue for an eternity on a sun-kissed beach. While the characters are likeable riffs on the actor’s recognisable personas — Schwimmer’s giraffe is Ross Geller with a long neck — none of them are loveable, so the film fails to deliver the requisite uplift it is so patently striving for.

More enjoyable than Shark Tale but falling way short of Shrek, Madagascar doesn’t really live up to the promise that the idea and voice talent deserve. But it’s still spirited, amiable, featherweight summer fun.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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6
CineAutoctonoDec 19, 2015
Madagascar has been a slightly funny movie, the characters entretenieron us , we not only fun , even a little , but the plot , the animation and the son the good script.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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5
MovieGeeksApr 1, 2016
Madagascar the new computer-animated picture from DreamWorks, is, at least in part, a movie about what a bad idea it is to leave New York City. Its main characters are four residents of the Central Park Zoo - a zebra, a hippo, a lion and aMadagascar the new computer-animated picture from DreamWorks, is, at least in part, a movie about what a bad idea it is to leave New York City. Its main characters are four residents of the Central Park Zoo - a zebra, a hippo, a lion and a giraffe - who abandon their lives of comfortable, pampered confinement and wind up in that strange and confusing place known as "the wild."

Of the four, only Marty, the zebra (voiced by Chris Rock), has any desire to make the trip. On his 10th birthday, in spite of a lovely party thrown by his friends, Marty finds himself in a midlife crisis, and decides to visit the open spaces and grassy savannahs of Connecticut (in whose woods, unbeknownst to him, a leopard once prowled in an older, better movie).

Tagging along with a claque of hard-boiled penguins, who have been re-enacting "The Great Escape," Marty lights out for Grand Central Terminal, and his worried pals go after him, arriving at the station by subway in one of the movie's better sequences.

Then, their departure misinterpreted as a result of unhappiness with the zoo, the lot of them are shipped off to a wildlife preserve in Kenya. Instead, by accident, they land on the island that gives the film its title - a place where, in real life, creatures like them are no more likely to be found than at the Central Park Zoo - as well as an excuse to fill the screen with adorable, big-eyed lemurs.

The annoying sidekick is a longstanding feature of child-oriented animated entertainment. The chief innovation of "Madagascar" is that it consists entirely of annoying sidekicks, whose tics and quirks are not quite sufficient to make them interesting characters.

Marty's best pal is the lion, a vain, talkative cat named Alex, who speaks in the rapid-fire, passive-aggressive voice of Ben Stiller. The giraffe, a hypochondriac named Melman, is played by David Schwimmer, and Jada Pinkett Smith is the hippo, a no-nonsense, talk-to-the-hand, big sisterly type named Gloria. Julien, the king of the lemurs (Sacha Baron Cohen, of "Da Ali G Show"), is perhaps the most annoying character of them all, with his strange, quasi-Caribbean accent and his slinky dance moves, and even he gets a sidekick of his own (Cedric the Entertainer).

Add to this a score by Hans Zimmer, and you may find yourself longing for the quiet and relaxation of a Midtown traffic jam. Like so many other animated features - "Robots" is another recent example - "Madagascar" spends all its imaginative resources on visual novelty while piecing its story together out of tired conventions and loud, obvious jokes. Some of the New York scenes are both witty and grand, fusing a romantic iconography of Manhattan with incongruous animal movements in a way that makes the city feel both wild and cozy, but once the animals leave town, the movie quickly runs out of ideas.

One advantage to working with talking animals seems to be that they provide an excuse to indulge in scatological humor. Sometimes this is amusing, though the funniest example will surely sail over the heads of younger viewers: "Tom Wolfe is speaking tonight at Lincoln Center," says one sophisticated monkey to another. "Of course we're going to throw poo." On the other hand, I'm not sure why the sight of a giraffe eating a deodorant cake from a urinal is supposed to be funny, unless I'm missing the point, and it's actually supposed to be realistic.

Probably not, since the reality of life in the wild is something that this movie, like others of its kind, treats with anxious timidity. One of the apparent aims of "Madagascar" is to promote interspecies harmony as a metaphor for multicultural tolerance, a sweet enough idea complicated by the fact that perfectly nice animals often kill and eat one another.

Alex, the citified lion, has evolved beyond such unpleasantness; at the zoo, his prey is delivered to him in the form of steaks, the cute and furry origins of which are discreetly suppressed. Out in the wild, though, his predatory nature reasserts itself, especially since part of Madagascar is inhabited by hyenalike creatures called fusa, which menace both the native lemurs and the visiting New Yorkers.

Alex's regression provides the only suggestion of dramatic tension in the movie, which is otherwise smilingly innocuous, with an occasional gesture toward mild naughtiness. It has neither the wit and pathos of "Chicken Run" nor the emotional sweep and adventurous spirit of "Finding Nemo," though it limpingly follows them for a plot point or two.

Instead, it condescends to both its audience - who it figures will be satisfied with cuteness, flatulence, movie-star voices and bright colors - and to its characters, about whose lives and aspirations it could hardly care less. "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.… Expand
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5
MendelStievsAug 7, 2018
the script is between decent and lazy, the development of both the plot and the characters is mediocre, just focus on jokes, the animation is decent, fluid movements, and development of mediocre characters, hardly evolve or finish beingthe script is between decent and lazy, the development of both the plot and the characters is mediocre, just focus on jokes, the animation is decent, fluid movements, and development of mediocre characters, hardly evolve or finish being filled , although at least the soundtrack is good. 5.8 / 10… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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5
Vectis99Oct 26, 2018
A pretty old, mediocre kids movie with very simple, juvenile humor. Good for its target audience but not an engaging family experience.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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5
Sarcastic_DevisDec 5, 2021
Questa fa male.

Una volta parte della mia infanzia, a rivederlo adesso ho provato un misto tra fastidio e confusione per la maggior parte. Per non parlare dei personaggi che spaziano dall'essere sottosviluppati all'essere sgradevoli (stoQuesta fa male.

Una volta parte della mia infanzia, a rivederlo adesso ho provato un misto tra fastidio e confusione per la maggior parte. Per non parlare dei personaggi che spaziano dall'essere sottosviluppati all'essere sgradevoli (sto guardando te, Alex). Per lo meno alcune gag suscitano un ghigno o anche una breve risata, quindi non tutto è da buttare, ma cavolo se è invecchiato male male.

Consigliato? Solo per nostalgia vibes.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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6
FreddoFazbeardoApr 15, 2020
The story is not bad, but compared to episode 3, this does not compare anything, also that King Julien says very strange things about the woman's body, which I do not think is suitable for children, also what about the animal eyes! as if theyThe story is not bad, but compared to episode 3, this does not compare anything, also that King Julien says very strange things about the woman's body, which I do not think is suitable for children, also what about the animal eyes! as if they were very far apart ...… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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6
gruffaloslayer1May 22, 2021
Animals in madagascar sounds decent on a piece of paper. On computer,It is average.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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6
Gamzguy17Aug 21, 2021
2005's "Madagascar" sports likeable, well casted characters and a kid-appealing plot and atmosphere that is all-around memorable and fun. With that said, my feelings are telling me that this film could have done much better by not having the2005's "Madagascar" sports likeable, well casted characters and a kid-appealing plot and atmosphere that is all-around memorable and fun. With that said, my feelings are telling me that this film could have done much better by not having the predictable plot focus too much on the down-and-out drama moments. Also, the writers seem to know how to write good jokes, but I found more than half of them didn't hit the bullseye, or worse, they're too 'in' which becomes groan worthy to watch/listen. I know there's some serious potential here because the CG animation here is fluid, fast, and expressive- allowing for the more cartoony, left-field ideas/jokes to shine as they should. If the sequel films can capitalize on the stronger aspects of this first film, then we will have a very good series on our hands. As is though, "Madagascar" is okay.… Expand
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6
DestroyAllHumanAug 1, 2022
An iconic movie that started a huge franchise, despite the nostalgia the movie starts strong but it gets weaker as it goes on. And by the end you just want it to wrap up. There are also some really weird parts which I did not remember...
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