Madagascar

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. The film launched a franchise with a series of films, including the sequel Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa in 2008 and another film Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted in 2012. A spin-off featuring the series' penguin characters, Penguins of Madagascar, was released on November 26, 2014.

Plot
Alex the lion is the "king" of the urban jungle, the main attraction at New York's Central Park Zoo. He and his best friends -- Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe, and Gloria the hippo -- have spent their whole lives in blissful captivity before an admiring public and with regular meals provided for them. Not content to leave well enough alone, Marty lets his curiosity get the better of him and makes his escape -- after being encouraged by some prodigious penguins -- to explore the world.

Why It Likes to Move It

 * 1) Splendid animation, especially for 2005 standards.
 * 2) The movie takes advantage of the fact that it is an animated movie and has fast-paced animation and comedy while still having some heart.
 * 3) The movie stays away from most clichés and instead tries to be unpredictable, as the movie keeps you guessing. The plot of Alex trying to keep his temptation of eating his friends back is also a very different and interesting plot with a kind of untouched but good moral about putting your problems aside to give your friends a hand when needed.
 * 4) Nice voice acting.
 * 5) Cool, likable, and funny characters.
 * 6) The premise of the four animals from the Central Park Zoo unexpectedly find themselves stranded on the island of Madagascar is interesting.
 * 7) Alex's overprotective to Marty, was pretty good.
 * 8) Funny moments such as Alex hallucinating when hit with tranquilizing darts or thinking Marty is steak and Mort getting scared when Alex tries to be nice to him.
 * 9) Plenty of good scenes, including the scene with Alex, Melman and Gloria (along with both monkeys) searching for Marty from leaving New York behind.
 * 10) The song "I Like To Move It" (originally by Reel 2 Real and covered by Sacha Baron Cohen) is catchy. Hans Zimmer's music is also elegantly composed for a kids movie, with "Zoosters Breakout" being a good standout of the score.
 * 11) The Penguins are absolute scene-stealers, and easily the best part of the film.
 * 12) Madagascar itself looks amazing.
 * 13) Lots of memorable lines, like "Giraffe, Corner Pocket!", "Smile and wave, boys. Smile and wave.", "San Diego." and "Oh, sugar honey ice tea!" (despite BQ#5).
 * 14) Despite their low amount of screen time, the foosas are entertaining and even somewhat effective antagonists.
 * 15) The movie even spawned a video game tie-in, which is also just as good.
 * 16) The part where it's revealed that the zoo gang is being transported to an African wildlife preserve serves as good foreshadowing for this movie's sequel.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Some moments in the animation can look kind of creepy and slightly dated (even though it is a fairly old movie), such as when Mort is crying and his eyes look completely black.
 * 2) Plot hole: It's never explained how Marty escaped the Central Park Zoo.
 * 3) Despite what WILTMI#3 says, the story can be predictable very shortly.
 * 4) The first half makes too many dated pop culture references.
 * 5) Marty making an acronym that resembles s**t (acronym in question: Sugar Honey Iced Tea).
 * 6) "I Like To Move It," while an awesome song, has lyrics that may be inappropriate for young viewers, though the original Reel 2 Reel version proves it could've been worse.

Reception
Although Madagascar was mixed reception, it was well-received by audiences. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a 54% approval rating based on 191 reviews, with an average rating of 6.07/10. The consensus reads: "Though its story is problematic in spots and its humor is hit-or-miss for the adult crowd, Madagascar boasts impressive visuals and enough spunky charm to keep children entertained.". On Metacritic, the film has a 57% approval rating based on 36 reviews falling under the "Mixed or Average" category.

Trivia

 * In 1998, DreamWorks and PDI had started development on an animated film titled Rockumentary, which featured a Beatles-esque penguin rock band. The idea was scrapped, but after production on Madagascar started, director Eric Darnell decided to revive the penguins, but make them a commando unit instead of a rock band.
 * In the original script, Gloria was going to be pregnant due to being part of the zoo's breeding program and the baby was going to be born on the island and Melman, who is revealed to have a crush on Gloria would help raise the child like it was his own son. The idea was cut from the final version because the test audiences felt like the pregnancy plotline was too risky and mature for a family film especially young children who felt uncomfortable with the pairing of Melman and Gloria and may have gotten the film a PG-13 rating. However, the idea of Melman having a crush on Gloria was reused for the sequels.