@MoonshineGardens's post on Artfol
Revisiting childhood movies: Madagascar
"Well, howdy doo! This ain't the zoo!"
I was recently at a concert where a string quartet played the music of Hans Zimmer surrounded by metal candles, and a track from this movie was on the setlist. While this film had a lot of memorable and quotable moments, it's also rather strange. The humor is half physical gags and half references to other movies too mature for the film's target demographic to watch, while King Julien's plan is kinda forgotten about till near the end. And while this isn't necessarily the movie's fault, an old-ass DVD and a new bigass TV do not mix, cuz the picture quality wasn't what you call crisp.
Xtra Notes
Before the movie:
-Previews for two films I've already covered in this series.
The actual movie:
-Don't you just hate it when you're having a big budget daydream where penguins fly, and you wind up getting interrupted by Derek Zoolander?
-Is there seriously no merchandise for any of the other animals? Cuz that's the only way Marty can get a birthday present that isn't an Alex ego trip.
-And here we have our other zoo friends: a victim of The Slap, Ross from Friends, and GI Jane.
-These human models look ass even by DreamWorks standards, especially the kids.
-Behold, the best characters of the entire franchise, with an uncredited Jeffrey Katzenberg providing the noises that come out of Rico's mouth.
-Oh Bob Saget! Now this whole zoo is awake.
-I absolutely encourage these monkeys throwing poop at Tom Wolfe.
-PDI News: defunct since 2015.
-I do like me some dated Times Square billboards.
-References I recognized in this PG-rated film:
1. Saturday Night Fever
2. Cast Away
3. Planet of the Apes
4. American Beauty (also DreamWorks)
-Grand Central Station: it's grand, and it's central!
-The Candyman ain't coming to save you from this dart-imposed acid trip.
-Alex acting real panicked about being in a crate box, and it's for reasons that'll be revealed in the second film.
-This whole boat sequence is perfect.
-Marty's got nothing to worry about at sea, he's got Ecco the Dolphin and his pod as backup transportation when his crate box broke.
-Everyone comments about the Sugar Honey Iced Tea joke, but I was not prepared for Marty calling the hip and happening lemur dance party comparable to a "Puffy Party."
-Spiders, they're just like us!
-And here we have our party of lemurs: Ali G, Cedric the Tolerator of Julien's BS, and Conan's sidekick.
-Even the skulls of the pilots look like ass.
-Being the only carnivore in a party of herbivores, it's not exactly a surprise that Alex doesn't care for seaweed on a stick, especially when there's no lemon to give it a sense of tang.
-Meanwhile, the penguins discover that Antarctica isn't all that cracked up to be.
-It's a cookbook...IT'S A COOKBOOK!
-Don't you just hate it when you're having a great time frolicking in the nice, sunny, wild Madagascar locale, and you wind up getting tackled by Larry Daley?
-
I wanna eat meat like an animal, I wanna lick it on the outside, I wanna eat meat like an animal, its whole existence is raw (I dunno how to finish this)
-Welcome to the animal kingdom, it's hell out here. And it's another perfect sequence.
-Foosa halt!
-The penguins at last made ice cold sushi, and it's definitely preferable to the raw steak that Alex regularly consumed in this.
-Just smile and wave, boys, smile and wave...
-Up next: two sequels, a spinoff, and a fourth film that's pretty much in limbo.
-Last I checked, the soundtrack wasn't available on streaming services. What's up with that, Geffen?
DVD extras:
-This code cannot be cracked...
-Christmas special I already covered in this series.Mar 13, 2026
"Well, howdy doo! This ain't the zoo!"
I was recently at a concert where a string quartet played the music of Hans Zimmer surrounded by metal candles, and a track from this movie was on the setlist. While this film had a lot of memorable and quotable moments, it's also rather strange. The humor is half physical gags and half references to other movies too mature for the film's target demographic to watch, while King Julien's plan is kinda forgotten about till near the end. And while this isn't necessarily the movie's fault, an old-ass DVD and a new bigass TV do not mix, cuz the picture quality wasn't what you call crisp.
Xtra Notes
Before the movie:
-Previews for two films I've already covered in this series.
The actual movie:
-Don't you just hate it when you're having a big budget daydream where penguins fly, and you wind up getting interrupted by Derek Zoolander?
-Is there seriously no merchandise for any of the other animals? Cuz that's the only way Marty can get a birthday present that isn't an Alex ego trip.
-And here we have our other zoo friends: a victim of The Slap, Ross from Friends, and GI Jane.
-These human models look ass even by DreamWorks standards, especially the kids.
-Behold, the best characters of the entire franchise, with an uncredited Jeffrey Katzenberg providing the noises that come out of Rico's mouth.
-Oh Bob Saget! Now this whole zoo is awake.
-I absolutely encourage these monkeys throwing poop at Tom Wolfe.
-PDI News: defunct since 2015.
-I do like me some dated Times Square billboards.
-References I recognized in this PG-rated film:
1. Saturday Night Fever
2. Cast Away
3. Planet of the Apes
4. American Beauty (also DreamWorks)
-Grand Central Station: it's grand, and it's central!
-The Candyman ain't coming to save you from this dart-imposed acid trip.
-Alex acting real panicked about being in a crate box, and it's for reasons that'll be revealed in the second film.
-This whole boat sequence is perfect.
-Marty's got nothing to worry about at sea, he's got Ecco the Dolphin and his pod as backup transportation when his crate box broke.
-Everyone comments about the Sugar Honey Iced Tea joke, but I was not prepared for Marty calling the hip and happening lemur dance party comparable to a "Puffy Party."
-Spiders, they're just like us!
-And here we have our party of lemurs: Ali G, Cedric the Tolerator of Julien's BS, and Conan's sidekick.
-Even the skulls of the pilots look like ass.
-Being the only carnivore in a party of herbivores, it's not exactly a surprise that Alex doesn't care for seaweed on a stick, especially when there's no lemon to give it a sense of tang.
-Meanwhile, the penguins discover that Antarctica isn't all that cracked up to be.
-It's a cookbook...IT'S A COOKBOOK!
-Don't you just hate it when you're having a great time frolicking in the nice, sunny, wild Madagascar locale, and you wind up getting tackled by Larry Daley?
-
I wanna eat meat like an animal, I wanna lick it on the outside, I wanna eat meat like an animal, its whole existence is raw (I dunno how to finish this)-Welcome to the animal kingdom, it's hell out here. And it's another perfect sequence.
-Foosa halt!
-The penguins at last made ice cold sushi, and it's definitely preferable to the raw steak that Alex regularly consumed in this.
-Just smile and wave, boys, smile and wave...
-Up next: two sequels, a spinoff, and a fourth film that's pretty much in limbo.
-Last I checked, the soundtrack wasn't available on streaming services. What's up with that, Geffen?
DVD extras:
-This code cannot be cracked...
-Christmas special I already covered in this series.Mar 13, 2026
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