Madagascar 720p - (2005 Lang: English)

The mood you're in when you see a movie has a big impact on how much you enjoy it. I saw this in a cinema packed with young families and it went down well. I laughed a lot, so did my kids, and so did the cinema. I explained to my daughter that pansy meant softy, so I even felt useful.

Having young children means I have sat through quite a lot of this genre, and the use of computers in animation makes things a little over-refined. I seem to be the only person who finds Pixar movies too polished, faultless, and stale. This film can be abrupt and patchy, but in my opinion that makes it more spontaneous.

The movie looks great, the penguins are funny, the king is funny, and the pace and energy are good. About 90 minutes is also the correct length. The plot may be thin but the survival concepts that pepper the movie are good intellectual fodder for children.

Madagascar is a 2005 American computer-animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and released to theaters on May 27, 2005. The film tells the story of four animals from the Central Park Zoo who unexpectedly find themselves stranded on the island of Madagascar. It features the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, and Jada Pinkett Smith, with Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, and Andy Richter voicing secondary characters.

Despite its mixed critical reception, it was a success at the box office. A sequel, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, was released on November 7, 2008. A second, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, was released on June 8, 2012. A spin-off featuring the series' penguin characters, Penguins of Madagascar, was released on November 26, 2014.

At the Central Park Zoo, Marty the zebra is celebrating his tenth birthday, but has grown bored with his daily routine and longs to experience the wild. Marty's best friend is Alex the lion, who enjoys showing off for the public and his celebrity status as "the king of New York". Alex attempts to cheer Marty up, but Marty, still unsatisfied, gets some tips from the zoo's penguins—Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private—who are trying to escape the zoo, and follows them out. Alex, Melman the giraffe, and Gloria the hippopotamus pursue Marty in an attempt to convince him to return. The four, along with the penguins and two chimpanzees named Mason and Phil, find themselves at Grand Central Station, where they are quickly sedated via tranquillizer gun when Alex's attempt to communicate with humans is mistaken for aggression. The zoo, under pressure from anti-captivity activists, is forced to ship the escaped animals by sea to a Kenyan wildlife preserve. During their travels, the penguins escape from their enclosure and take over the ship, intent on taking it to Antarctica. Their antics on the bridge cause the crates containing Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria to fall overboard and wash ashore on Madagascar.

The animals are soon able to regroup, initially believing themselves to be at the San Diego Zoo. Upon exploring, however, they come across a pack of lemurs, led by King Julien XIII, and learn their true location. Alex blames Marty for their predicament and attempts to signal for help to get back to civilization. Marty, on the other hand, finds the wild to be exactly what he was looking for, with Gloria and Melman soon joining him in enjoying the island. Alex eventually comes around, but, being separated from the raw steaks he was provided at the zoo, his prey drive begins to show as hunger kicks in. The group is accepted by the lemurs, though King Julien's adviser, Maurice, cautions them about Alex's predatory nature. King Julien ignores Maurice's concerns and persuades the group to help the lemurs fend off the fossa, who hunt the lemurs as prey. While Alex initially scares the fossa away and is worshiped by the lemurs, later, compelled by hunger, he attacks Marty. Realizing that Alex is now a threat, King Julien banishes him to the far side of the island where the fossa live. Seeing what has happened to Alex, and how how difficult it is to survive with so many predators around the island, Marty begins to regret his decision to leave the zoo.

The penguins, having been to Antarctica and found that it "sucks", land the ship at Madagascar. Seeing this as a chance to return Alex to New York, Marty rushes after his friend against the wishes of the others. Marty attempts to convince the now grizzled, starving Alex to return, but Alex refuses out of fear of attacking Marty again. The penguins, Gloria, and Melman go to find Marty, but are trapped by the fossa. At the last minute, Alex overcomes his predatory instincts and scares the fossa away from the lemur territory forever. The lemurs regain their respect for Alex, and the penguins help him satisfy his hunger through sushi. As the lemurs throw a farewell celebration for the foursome, the penguins decide not to break the news that the ship has run out of fuel.

Here's another recently-made animated film that has two outstanding characteristics which make it a winner: 1 - consistently funny humor that adults can enjoy, and 2 - beautiful, bold colors.

When a movie is both fun to hear and to watch, I have very few complaints. This movie provides a lot of enjoyment with more jokes perhaps that adults would laugh at than the kids. I can't say that for sure, since I watched it by myself....but I sure got my share of laughs

This is a tale of four zoo animals that wind up in the wilds. To be more precise, they go from the big zoo in New York City to the wilds of Madagascar, an island near Africa. Wherever these "guys" are - the lion, zebra, hippo and giraffe - they are entertaining.

Ben Stiller and Chris Rock, voicing the lion ("Alex") and zebra ("Marty"), respectively, are the two main characters. Jada Pinkett Smith's hippo ("Gloria") and and David Schwimmer's hypochondriac giraffe ("Melman") provide solid support. The main thing is that all the characters, including supporting ones, are likable and funny in their own way. Every character is quite different. The story movies exceptionally fast so the hour-and-a-half is easy to watch.

Maybe the best thing I can say is that I heard a lot of good things about this before watching it, and it lived up to its hype. That's not easy to do.