Madagascar
—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film pdf
—Spiritual Connections
G.K. Chesterton once said the reasons angels fly is because they take themselves so lightly.
The makers of Madagascar perhaps had Chesterton’s advice in mind because the new computer-animated film from DreamWorks seems to soar at its most light-hearted moments:
• There are four penguins who take on each new task in the manner of commandos from Mission Impossible with very funny results.
• Lemurs generate laughs with their silly antics, squeals with their adorably cute faces (think Puss n Boots from another DreamWorks production Shrek 2) and enjoyment from their non-stop freneticism.
And the core of Madagascar features four anthropomorphic animal friends who move us from one set of gags to another. While this makes for many enjoyable moments in the 86-minute film, Madagascar gets bogged down because its flight seems purposeless – there’s no clear sense of story.
The film focuses on four animals who live in New York’s Central Park Zoo: Alex the lion (Ben Stiller), Marty the zebra (Chris Rock), Gloria the hippo (Jana Pinkett Smith) and Melman (David Schwimmer), a giraffe who is a hypochondriac. Alex’s life is akin to a rock idol; he’s the star attraction at the zoo. But Marty, marking his 10th birthday, longs to experience life in the wild. He feels the purpose for which he was created is not being fulfilled.
Through a series of events, the four friends wind up on the island of Madagascar. Marty begins to feel as though the void in his life has been filled. He has found Eden. But for Alex, landing on Madagascar represents Paradise Lost. He no longer is the center of the universe, receiving three square meals.
But in the process of discovering their new world, the animals lose their innocence. A lemur points out that the steaks that represent the staple of Alex’s diet could be them. The animals discover the meaning of carnivore. Or put in the childish humor of Marty’s question to Alex: Why are you biting my butt?
We live in a fallen world. Sometimes the realization of that fallen nature – including our own entanglement in that fallen order – horrifies us. The principal characters go through a montage of cute, fuzzy animals being gobbled up by predators. Alex is dismayed as he begins to see all his friends as steaks, and the conclusion of Madagascar is focused on how the animals discover that friendship is more powerful than the urges that are bound up with our innermost nature. But is it really?
One could draw many spiritual analogies from the film – the loss of innocence when eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, Paradise Lost, the effect of the Fall on the created order, how urges drive us to do the things that we would not do. Yet making such conclusions would go well beyond what is presented in Madagascar. The film offers only cute animal characters ready for merchandising, but not prepared to live in the real world. Look to The Lion King for an animated film that begins to wrestle with some of those questions with greater depth.
In the end, this lion is perhaps not ready to lie with the lamb. But Madagascar does provide some light, PG-rated entertainment for families, despite a few potty jokes. Don’t expect anything profound, but do expect some good laughs – another sign of the presence of angelic messengers of God’s grace.
—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film pdf
—Spiritual Connections
—Photos
—About this Film pdf
—Spiritual Connections
G.K. Chesterton once said the reasons angels fly is because they take themselves so lightly.The makers of Madagascar perhaps had Chesterton’s advice in mind because the new computer-animated film from DreamWorks seems to soar at its most light-hearted moments:
• There are four penguins who take on each new task in the manner of commandos from Mission Impossible with very funny results.
• Lemurs generate laughs with their silly antics, squeals with their adorably cute faces (think Puss n Boots from another DreamWorks production Shrek 2) and enjoyment from their non-stop freneticism.
And the core of Madagascar features four anthropomorphic animal friends who move us from one set of gags to another. While this makes for many enjoyable moments in the 86-minute film, Madagascar gets bogged down because its flight seems purposeless – there’s no clear sense of story.
The film focuses on four animals who live in New York’s Central Park Zoo: Alex the lion (Ben Stiller), Marty the zebra (Chris Rock), Gloria the hippo (Jana Pinkett Smith) and Melman (David Schwimmer), a giraffe who is a hypochondriac. Alex’s life is akin to a rock idol; he’s the star attraction at the zoo. But Marty, marking his 10th birthday, longs to experience life in the wild. He feels the purpose for which he was created is not being fulfilled.Through a series of events, the four friends wind up on the island of Madagascar. Marty begins to feel as though the void in his life has been filled. He has found Eden. But for Alex, landing on Madagascar represents Paradise Lost. He no longer is the center of the universe, receiving three square meals.
But in the process of discovering their new world, the animals lose their innocence. A lemur points out that the steaks that represent the staple of Alex’s diet could be them. The animals discover the meaning of carnivore. Or put in the childish humor of Marty’s question to Alex: Why are you biting my butt?We live in a fallen world. Sometimes the realization of that fallen nature – including our own entanglement in that fallen order – horrifies us. The principal characters go through a montage of cute, fuzzy animals being gobbled up by predators. Alex is dismayed as he begins to see all his friends as steaks, and the conclusion of Madagascar is focused on how the animals discover that friendship is more powerful than the urges that are bound up with our innermost nature. But is it really?
One could draw many spiritual analogies from the film – the loss of innocence when eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, Paradise Lost, the effect of the Fall on the created order, how urges drive us to do the things that we would not do. Yet making such conclusions would go well beyond what is presented in Madagascar. The film offers only cute animal characters ready for merchandising, but not prepared to live in the real world. Look to The Lion King for an animated film that begins to wrestle with some of those questions with greater depth.In the end, this lion is perhaps not ready to lie with the lamb. But Madagascar does provide some light, PG-rated entertainment for families, despite a few potty jokes. Don’t expect anything profound, but do expect some good laughs – another sign of the presence of angelic messengers of God’s grace.
—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film pdf
—Spiritual Connections
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