Madagascar

—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film pdf
—Spiritual Connections

I’m not sure who greenlit this film for Dreamworks Animation, but I’m willing to bet that person no longer has his or her job. Madagascar has to represent the absolute low point of CGI animated films to date—although I haven’t seen Shark Tale, so I can’t be certain.

What is so bad about Madagascar? For starters, this is a film without a story. At the beginning, it seems like it will be about a zebra named Marty who—along with his companions Alex the lion and Melman the giraffe—escapes from the Central Park Zoo so he can see what life is like “in the wild.� That happens fairly quickly, but then it seems like the (four) writers don’t know where to go from there. One bland scene bleeds into the next until the focus shifts to Alex the lion, one of Marty’s fellow escapees. Far from his steady diet of steaks at the zoo, Alex gets in touch with his inner carnivore. From that point onwards, the big story question becomes: “Will Alex eat Marty or not?� Not exactly the stuff of gripping drama, and hardly something to give your children sweet dreams at night. Bruce the Shark (Finding Nemo) aside, when it comes to animated films, “Friends don’t let friends eat other cuddly, talking friends� should be the rule. They shouldn’t even be allowed to ponder the opportunity.

Apart from lack of story, Madagascar also suffers from an acute lack of humor. Knowing what I do about how animated films are made—with the script finalized and recorded before animation work even begins—it is a wonder that this film was ever completed. What inspired the creative team to keep going? Certainly not the script. I find it even more difficult to believe that three successful comic actors like Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, and David Schwimmer would lower themselves to this material. And for Schwimmer to further typecast himself by playing a mammalian incarnation of his most famous television role… As if life after Friends isn’t hard enough! If all three plead temporary insanity, my only choice would be to believe them.

Finally, the animation style of this film is supposed to be retro, but to me, it merely looks unfinished. However, perhaps the partially rendered medium is an adequate reflection of Madagascar’s half-baked story and message. And what is that message supposed to be, anyway? “Be careful what you wish for?� “Caution: Getting in touch with your inner self could prove hazardous to you and those around you?� “The unexamined friend is not worth eating?� How about: “Six name actors and a colossal marketing effort do not a classic movie make?�

I went into this film expecting a sleeper hit, only to have it nearly put me to sleep. Thank goodness so many people left partway through, because the constant flash of light from the “Exit� door was about the only thing that kept me from nodding off. When I did finally fall asleep that night, I dreamt of Cars, Pixar Animation’s next release. Ah, if only summer 2006 wasn’t twelve long months away…

—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film pdf
—Spiritual Connections