I had been eagerly anticipating seeing this movie in its entirety since I was able to see the first forty minutes back in March. I had hoped that this wouldn’t be one of those movies that fizzle out in the second and third acts. Happily, it isn’t.

Ben Stiller plays Alex the Lion, who is the main attraction at the zoo. He loves being the star and he has his own line of merchandise, including Alex alarm clocks, mugs and snow globes. Chris Rock plays Marty the Zebra. Marty has just turned 10, and now, being in double-digits, is having a mid-life crisis. Jada Pinkett-Smith plays Gloria the Hippo. She acts as the voice of reason amongst the group. David Schwimmer plays Melman the Giraffe. He spends his time being a germaphobic hypochondriac, taking pills and visiting the zoo doctor for MRIs and other medical tests constantly.

Marty’s mid-life crisis leads him to break out of the zoo and the rest of the gang goes looking for him. This allows for a wide variety of silly events. The animals are not aware that they are perceived as threatening, as inside the zoo, they are revered. They walk around normally, oblivious to the havoc they wreak. Remember, it’s a cartoon.

There is a lot of humor that can be appreciated by both kids and adults. There is none that I would consider only for the kids. There are a few things that I think only the adults would understand, like the references to other films, which are great. There’s a half of the Statue of Liberty simile, a la Planet of the Apes. There’s a reenactment of the scene from American Beauty with the rose petals, but instead of rose petals, it’s steaks. It’s not as gross as it sounds; they are animated steaks, after all. There are also some references to Silence of the Lambs and Star Trek. If you want to know what those are, see the movie.

I found Madagascar to be highly entertaining with the humor and crisp animation. I think, in a few years, we won’t be able to tell the difference between animation and live-action. I think in a few more years after that, animation will look more real than live-action. And I’m only half-joking here.

There are a few things in the movie where you have to just say, “All right, fine. It’s a movie and it’s animated, so I?ll allow it.” One such instance is where Alex begins to ‘go wild’ and starts acting on instinct and has to stop himself from eating his best friend, Marty, who is his natural prey in nature. And he does.

But other than that, the movie is great. It’s cute and silly enough for the kids but not too cute and silly for the adults. And it seems to be trying to send the message that we shouldn’t be afraid to step out of our comfort zone, that we might find it better there. The kids probably won’t get the message that deeply, but should at least see that it’s okay to try new things.

Or if the message is lost on either kids or adults, they both should at least have a good time.

Grade: A