PREMIERE.COM'S REVIEW (posted 5/26/05)

The wonderful Dr. Seuss once wrote a book in which an average guy named Gerald McGrew dreamed of all that would be different if he ran the zoo. Well, when it comes to blockbuster computer-animated movies, if I ran the zoo, I'd start by making more CG cartoons like Madagascar. Directors Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath have the right idea. They take the solid story of four Central Park Zoo animals who break out and end up coping with the wild, and stylize it as much as possible.

What use is this Hollywood obsession with realism anyway? Creating compelling new worlds — as Madagascar does — from nothing but imagination can be so much more rewarding for audiences than perfecting CG fur until every follicle looks real. It's as if the computer animators of the world have all been given the same mandate to impress rather than entertain. Consider Shark Tale, which drowned its idiotic story in eye-popping effects, or Polar Express, for which the best that can be said is that it'll knock your socks off in 3-D. Who even remembers Disney's Dinosaur from a few years back? All CG's gonna look prehistoric sooner or later, so in designing a classic, my advice to Hollywood remains, it's the story, stupid.

Pixar gets it. They do story and character better than anyone in town, but if there's one bit of criticism that can be said about Pixar's product, it's that they all look the same. I say live a little. Break out of that square, sunshiny mindset and go crazy.  Madagascar's directors could've done what Shrek's Adam Adamson did for the upcoming Narnia movie, building a photorealistic lion for the role of Aslan, but they thought better of it.  Instead, Madagascar's Alex (voiced by Ben Stiller) is a lean and angular fella, like something out of a Tex Avery cartoon.

The other characters are just as entertaining. They've all been stylized to suit the story. Instead of traditional nostrils, they have zany whorled dimples (Gloria the hippo even has spiraled elbows and a belly button to match). Chris Rock's a hoot, and Ali G star Sacha Baron Cohen steals the show when we meet him midway. Madagascar skews young in the sense that it's not obsessed with making "clever" pop-culture references, but the cast makes it funny. If my kids were going to sit glued to the television with some CG-animated movie on constant repeat, I'd rather it be Madagascar than any other film. Why? Because it's a brisk and lively getaway with genuine personality, and Hollywood would do well to follow its lead. I know that's what I'd do. I'd make a few changes if I ran the zoo.

—Peter Debruge