Subscribers Only Content Area

Home

New Movies

All Movies

New DVDs

All DVDs

Newsletter

Search

Tell Others About This Page By Using This Button "MADAGASCAR" (2005) (voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock) (PG) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons *Minor Minor Moderate *Mild Minor Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate Minor Miild Mild *Minor Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Minor None None Moderate Moderate QUICK TAKE: Comedy: A group of animal friends from the Central Park zoo must contend with suddenly being in the wild when the cargo ship carrying them accidentally dumps them on the island of Madagascar. PLOT: For many of the animals in New York's Central Park Zoo, life is good. Alex the lion (voice of BEN STILLER) is the star attraction and loves his daily allotment of steaks; hypochondriacal giraffe Melman (voice of DAVID SCHWIMMER) is sure he'll get any medical care he might need; and Gloria the hippo (voice of JADA PINKETT SMITH) is simply content there. Others, however, are not. When he overhears a bunch of penguins plotting to break out and head to Antarctica, Alex's best friend, Marty the zebra (voice of CHRIS ROCK), realizes he's not the only one suffering from wanderlust. Accordingly, he breaks out one night, but the others' impromptu rescue mission results in them being tranquilized in Grand Central Station and then shipped off for Kenya. En route, however, the penguins seize control of the cargo ship and a sharp turn in course sends the crates carrying Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria into the sea. They wash up on what they think are the shores of San Diego, but are surprised to learn that it's really the island of Madagascar, ruled by King Julian (voice of SACHA BARON COHEN) of the lemurs and his top assistant Maurice (voice of CEDRID THE ENTERTAINER). The tiny inhabitants are happy to see the "New York Giants" since they'll likely keep the lemurs' mortal enemy -- the fossas (hyena-like predators) -- at bay. Yet, as Alex becomes upset that the others aren't following his every rule and especially when his native instincts kick in and he starts to get hungry, the animals try to keep order and peace in their new home. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Since it's a computer-animated film aimed at them, it's a good bet many will. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG For mild language, crude humor and some thematic elements. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: It's hard to say if kids will imitate animated animal characters, but the following characteristics are present. ALEX is the lion star at the Central Park Zoo who loves all of the attention he gets from the human visitors. After setting out to rescue Marty, he -- along with the others -- ends up on the island of Madagascar. Yet, while the others get along fine there, his animal instincts start to take over, especially with an interest in eating other animals, including Marty and he must deal with that. MARTY is his best friend in the zoo, a zebra who longs to be free. He gets his chance when the animals end up on the title island, but must contend with Alex initially not being happy and then trying to eat him. MELMAN is their hypochondriacal giraffe friend who's always worried about his health. GLORIA is the fourth animal in their group, a hippo who's generally happy wherever she is. JULIAN is the flamboyant leader of the Madagascar lemurs who wants to use the strangers to ward off the predators that are after them. MAURICE plays his more laidback right-hand monkey. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this animated comedy that's been rated PG. While no outright profanity is spoken, a few bits of dialogue contain references to some such words, while one minor expletive is seen in written form. A song has a lyric about liking how girls move their bodies, a dream initially sounds sexual in nature, and all sorts of imitative phrases are present (as is other behavior). Some menacing, hyena like predators approach and try to attack other animals (and some of that material might be unsettling or scary to very young kids, but probably few others), while all sorts of slapstick style material (accidental, animal to animal and human to animal, including a woman beating up a lion accompanied by a kick to the crotch) is present. Various bits of crude humor (mostly verbal references) are present as are some bad attitudes, while brief, comedy-based drug and drinking references occur. Finally, there are the thematic elements of animals being in zoos, as well as that of the lion character succumbing to his instincts in the wild and trying to attack and eat his zebra friend. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Alex is shot in the butt with a tranquilizer dart and then has another hit him in the paw (which causes him to hallucinate in something akin to a drug trip, played for comedy). A penguin pops open a bottle of champagne. In a pseudo island bar, the various animals drink seawater like it's liquor, but then spit it out. We see them doing this again later. BLOOD/GORE The following crude humor is present: Marty makes farting sounds by placing his hoof in his "armpit" and flapping his leg. Some underwear lands on Alex's face and then on Melman's snout. Melman places what's later identified as a rectal thermometer into Marty's mouth. Melman says that he has a bladder infection and gets up to pee, but then discovers that Marty is missing. One monkey tells another, "Of course we're going to throw poo at them." Later, the comment is made, "If you have any poo, fling it now." We see Melman with a urinal deodorant puck on his tongue, with him thinking it's a free mint. After it's out of his mouth for a moment, he sucks it back up. The comment is made "Grand Central Station or my aunt's constipation." Melman says, "I'm not smiling...it's gas." When King Julian mentions the wild, Alex asks if that's the wipe yourself with a leaf type of wild, with Julian responding, "Who wipes?" Melman yells, "Gloria!" upon hearing what he thinks is a fart sound, but is really a horn blast from a cargo ship. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Alex develops a bad attitude toward Marty and the others when they don't follow his ideas/rules, resulting in Alex drawing a line in the sand and forbidding Marty to cross over (he later apologizes for that). He also tries to eat Marty, but that's more out of nearly uncontrollable instincts/urges rather than purposeful malevolence. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed here may be unsettling or suspenseful to younger viewers but probably to few others. The cargo ship makes a hard turn and all of the crates carrying the four animals fall into the sea (with Alex seeing that he's drifting away from the others, but they all end up on the same shore). A large spider is on Alex's back, and we see the motion of Gloria repeatedly hitting him trying to kill or get it off him (played for comedy, with no impact on the spider, but possibly unsettling for kids afraid of spiders). A tiny creature is terrified of Alex and cries in hysteria (but it's all played for comedy as Alex has no ill intentions toward it). Some hyena type animals (fossas - pronounced "foo-sas") try to catch and eat a small little creature. We see the skeleton of a human in a parachute stuck in a tree. Later, King Julia uses the skeletal arm like a scepter and gesticulates with it flopping around. One of the animals finds himself atop a wooden statue that's caught on fire. He jumps and does a belly flop in the mud. Without his staple of raw zoo meat, Alex starts seeing the others as fresh meat and then doesn't realize what he's doing when he bites Marty's butt. With his instincts in overdrive, he then chases after Marty (with the old National Geographic theme song playing on the soundtrack). In a comedy montage, we see a fly eating plant nab an insect, a snake eat a little creature and a crocodile suddenly blast up from the water and eats a little duckling (played for laughs). Various hyena type animals are after Marty who kicks one back, but the rest jump on him. Melman then does a Tarzan bit and rescues Marty, but they then slam into a rock wall (played for action comedy). The penguins then use a spinning object to send things flying out that hit the menacing animals. Alex then menacingly approaches Marty , but he's just doing so to fool the menacing creatures. He then slaps one away, Gloria lands on several and Melman knocks one aside. Alex then knocks more around and two of them end up running into each other. GUNS/WEAPONS Various human cops hold their guns on the animals while catching them in a train station. One then twice shoots Alex with a tranquilizer gun. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "You all right," "You filthy monkey," "It's show time," "Today we're gonna blow this dump," "Sprechen sie English?" "Hoover...dam(n)," "My monochromatic friend," "For crying out loud," "You look like a monkey and smell like one too" (the end of the Happy Birthday song), "Are you nuts?" "The penguins are psychotic," "Schmutz," "What's eating him?" "Shut up," "Give me a break," "Of course we're going to throw poo at them," "Freak," "Grand Central Station or my aunt's constipation," "Dagnabbit," "If you have any poo, fling it now," "A little cuckoo in the head," "Wackos," "What the..." "O-kizay" ("okay"), "Just shut it," "Oh...sugar honey ice tea" (with a pause after the "s" to make it sound like the "s" word is going to be used), "This place is crack-a-lackin," "Lame-o," "I'm not smiling...it's gas," "Dude," "Major screw up," "Oh jeez," "(They're just a bunch of) pansies," "Freak," "Bozos," "Fuzz-bucket," "You're on the Jersey side of this cesspool," "Shut up, Spalding" (said to a volleyball), "Idiot," "You maniac," "Darn you all to heck," "Gives me the heeby-b-d jeebies" (or something like that), "Jerk," "Well this sucks," "Let's go wild," "You're biting my butt," "He's going savage" and "Pain in the butt." It's hard to say if kids will imitate animated animal characters, but the following occurs. Alex does various lion poses for the human crowd at the zoo. Marty spits water into the air and then catches it back in his mouth. Marty makes farting sounds by placing his hoof in his "armpit" and flapping his leg. One penguin slaps another (played for laughs). Kids might sing the catchy tune that repeats the lyrics, "I like to move it, move it. I like to move it, move it." Part of a large "HELP" sign falls apart, resulting in it reading "HELL." In a pseudo island bar, the various animals drink seawater like it's liquor, but then spit it out. We see them doing this again later. JUMP SCENES A crocodile suddenly blasts up from the water and eats a little duckling in front of three of the main animals. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A mild amount of suspenseful music plays in several scenes. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) A song has a lyric where the singer says he likes how girls move their bodies. We later hear the same with something about make it nice and sweet and sassy (or something like that). PROFANITY While no outright profanity is spoken, the film teases that some will occur, such as a character stating "Mother..." but then not completing it; another seems to be ready to say the "s" word, but says "sugar" instead; the word "dam(n)" is used with "Hoover;" and a "HELP" sign breaks and then reads "HELL." SEX/NUDITY We hear Alex saying, "C'mon baby, I like a little fat on my..." but we then see that he's dreaming about a steak. Gloria emerges from her crate with starfish and a crab positioned on her body like a bikini. SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES None. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Having wild animals in zoos and whether that's a good or bad thing. Hypochondriacs. How animals act in the wild vs. in zoos. We see Alex in self-exile, lamenting that he's a monster (for his instincts making him want to eat his friend, Marty). VIOLENCE Much of the following is played in a slapstick style. Alex surprises Marty who falls off his treadmill and bangs his head in the zoo. One penguin slaps another (played for laughs). Alex bumps his head. Alex tears out a pay phone to stop a call. Gloria bursts out through the zoo's brick wall. Melman's head is stuck in a subway car and he then bangs his head and then runs into a person stationed nearby. An old lady repeatedly whacks Alex with her purse, hits him in the crotch and flips him over to the hard floor. Later, she kicks him in the crotch. Melman slips in a train station and bangs into a large clock (breaking it) with his head. Alex grabs Marty by the neck. Various human cops hold their guns on the animals while catching them in a train station. Alex is shot in the butt with a tranquilizer dart and then has another hit him in the paw (which causes him to hallucinate in something akin to a drug trip, played for comedy). When Alex awakens in a cargo crate, he bangs his head on it. We hear the sound of the penguins knocking out a human on a cargo ship. His body falls to the deck and is then pulled behind a wall. One of the penguins then whacks the captain on the back of the neck with a karate chop, knocking him out. One penguin repeatedly slaps another (played for comedy). The cargo ship makes a hard turn and all of the crates carrying the four animals fall into the sea (with Alex seeing that he's drifting away from the others). Alex is then tossed about inside his crate in the surf before being tossed out of it. Melman's crate then falls on Alex, while Gloria kicks her end of the crate that blasts Alex through the air and he and the crate side land on Melman (but both are okay). Alex is clotheslined by a branch, steps on a thorn, bumps into various things and a tree then falls on him (we don't see that final impact). A large spider is on Alex's back, and we see the motion of Gloria repeatedly hitting him trying to kill or get it off him (played for comedy, with no impact on the spider). Some hyena type animals (called "foo-sas") try to catch and eat a small little creature. A penguin slaps the human captain. One of the animals finds himself atop a wooden statue that's caught on fire. He jumps and does a belly flop in the mud. Marty kicks Alex to make him run, but then runs into him and the two tumble a lot but are okay. Without his staple of raw zoo meat, Alex starts seeing the others as fresh meat and then doesn't realize what he's doing when he bites Marty's butt. With his instincts in overdrive, he then chases after Marty (with the old National Geographic theme song playing on the soundtrack). Maurice then hits Alex on the head with a coconut to make him stop the chase. Alex then tumbles down a hill, bouncing on rocks and going through cacti, etc. In a comedy montage, we see a fly eating plant nab an insect, a snake eat a little creature and a crocodile suddenly blast up from the water and eats a little duckling (played for laughs). A penguin jokes that they killed the human crew and ate their livers. Various hyena type animals are after Marty who kicks one back, but the rest jump on him. Melman then does a Tarzan bit and rescues Marty, but they then slam into a rock wall (played for action comedy). The penguins then use a spinning object to send things flying out that hit the menacing animals. Alex then menacingly approaches Marty , but he's just doing so to fool the menacing creatures. He then slaps one away, Gloria lands on several and Melman knocks one aside. Alex then knocks more around and two of them end up running into each other. Reviewed May 7, 2005 / Posted May 27, 2005

Advertising Info

Info/FAQ

Mail

Sneak Previews

Parenting Food Health Home Pregnancy Beauty News

Privacy Statement and Terms of Use and Disclaimer
By entering this site you acknowledge to having read and agreed to the above conditions.

All Rights Reserved,
©1996-2010 Screen It, Inc.