MADAGASCAR (2005) **1/2 This is a fun movie and it doesn't try to be anything else. There are a few funny bits for generation gap baby boomers, but only a few and they pretty much fit in. I'm not crazy about CGI, but it doesn't get in the way and the work on the lion's paw is cool. There are a couple things that really make this movie work, though. The main one is that the characters are very well considered, they're entertaining enough through their very existence that it doesn't really matter what they do. The benevolent mercenary penguins are probably my favorites, but they're all characters that belong and thrive in a cartoon. The other is the Reel to Real (featuring Mad Stuntman) song. It's simple and infectious and fun and energetic and if you haven't heard kids singing it on playgrounds all over the world you don't hang out on playgrounds enough. And it's open to innumerable variation: ("I like to move it, move it.I like to sing it, sing it..I like to read it, read it.). Almost naturally occurring propaganda for any task ("I like to wash it, wash it."). Recommended for kids and easily amused adults, like myself.
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