(Not so) wild things make 'Madagascar' roar, and whimper

By: DAN BENNETT - Staff Writer | Wednesday, May 25, 2005 12:19 PM PDT ∞

You don't need to go wild with laughter to enjoy "Madagascar," and that's a good thing, because it's funny only now and then.

Pleasant, but not nearly as creative as its studio brother "Shrek," the jungle-play animated effort "Madagascar" grooves on some cool looks and sight gags, but chokes on a mediocre story and script, including a gaggle of jokes so mundane not even a forgiving youngster can provide a courtesy laugh.

Thank goodness, then, for the penguins. Penguins seem to come through when you need them.

In "Madagascar," a small group of animals live in the Central Park Zoo, thrilling New Yorkers with their very presence. These are supposedly wild animals, after all, including a lion, zebra, giraffe and hippo.

Having grown up in domestic comfort, though, the animals aren't so wild. They live a comfortable and calm existence, knowing nothing about the perils of the jungle. One fateful day, though, zebra Marty, voiced by Chris Rock, encounters three park penguins attempting to escape their confines for the frozen pleasures of Antarctica.

Now having heard tell of places where animals can roam free, Marty decides he wants to go to Africa, and takes off, followed quickly by lion Alex (Ben Stiller), hypochondriac giraffe Melman (David Schwimmer) and hippo Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith), who want to stop Marty before he goes too far, and bring him back home.

A series of misadventures places the four pals on a ship, heading for the jungle, until a shipwreck leaves them stranded on an island. Believing the island to be San Diego, home of the World Famous San Diego Zoo, the quartet bad-mouths San Diego (the nerve!).

Before long, the four friends have settled into what they come to know is Madagascar, but there's a problem. Alex's instincts have taken over, and missing the steaks hand-fed to him back at Central Park, he now hungers for prey, including his old buddy Marty. This development strains their relationship.

"Madagascar" enjoys some very strong and sometimes very funny animation, computer-generated stuff that purposely feels like old-school cartoons, with sudden moves and surprises, and a slap-happy aura. There are some cool effects, but it's the simpler tricks that work best.

These are seen best in the penguins, who appear now and then to steal the show from the other stock characters (though the eccentric lemur king is also pretty funny). As we saw so long ago in "Mary Poppins," penguins work well with comedy. (They should have had more penguins in "Monster-in-Law.")

Children will likely learn a few things about the nature of nature, especially the beastly instincts that rule the hearts and stomachs of lions (isn't that part of the circle of life?). All that without getting too scary, though there are a few tense moments in "Madagascar."

Not so much a learning device as a colorful summer comedy, though, "Madagascar" is mostly mild, in tone and delivery. It won't help those of us who need at least five minutes to find Madagascar on a map, but it may chase some blues for adults and entertain the smaller ones, if only for a spell.