Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases


Madagascar (2005)

Director: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

The concept probably looked promising on paper: create a computer-generated 3D environment and insert a rabble of characters inspired by the two-dimensional cartoons of yesteryear – a sort of retro, low-fi CGI, if you like. So what went wrong? Well, for starters, you’d need to scour the bowels of the Cartoon Network to find a less appealing bunch than these four unlikely New York zoo companions – a lion, a zebra, a giraffe and a hippo – who agree that the grass looks greener on the other side and promptly abscond, only to wash up, shipwrecked, on a Madagascan beach, where their survival instincts are put to the test. Alex the lion, meanwhile, starts having dangerous hallucinations about juicy steaks while staring at Marty the zebra’s rump.Where’s it headed? Nowhere, since the whole enterprise runs aground thanks to an unfunny, schtick-laden script, clichéd film references, an ensemble of mostly irritating voiceovers (by Ben Stiller, Chris Rock et al) and an unsatisfactory denouement that suggests DreamWorks’ animation team lost all sense of direction and, possibly, the will to see it through. Boring and bedraggled.

Author: DA

Time Out London Issue 1821: July 13-20 2005


What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields




Most popular on this site


Top Stories

Has David Cronenberg turned tame?

Has David Cronenberg turned tame?

Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?

The 10 worst date movies

The 10 worst date movies

Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made

Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films

Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films

Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas

10 unlikely badboy biopics

10 unlikely badboy biopics

Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects

Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'

Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'

The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing

Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day

Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day

Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing