Just in time for Valentine’s Day our friends at Fox Home Entertainment bring us a new short movie from the Madagascar crew, Madly Madagascar. The half hour special deals with Valentine’s Day in the African jungle with familiar characters Alex the lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippo along with the Penguins and lemur King Julian, this time around not voiced by Sasha Baron Cohen.
Madly Madagascar DVD Review
Starring the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, David Schwimmer, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Danny Jacobs and Taraji P Henson.
Written and Directed by David Soren.
Alex’s (Stiller) favorite holiday, Valentine’s Day, has arrived and the entire gang is excited. Melman (Schwimmer) plans a big surprise for Gloria (Pinkett Smith) while Marty tries to impress a new friend, a new female to the herd (Henson). And King Julian has found a new money making scheme in the invention of a love potion that is driving everyone crazy.
The video is nothing more than a television episode, with very little to flesh it out. The main voice actors return here for a quick paycheck, Baron Cohen withstanding, as the episode really has little to work with. The story is very basic, with Julian’s love potion wreaking havoc everywhere and Alex and the gang getting too carried away as usual, but reconciling everything in the end. The carrying on here is aimed squarely at the younger set, with the nods to the adults watching that are evident in the feature films clearly lacking here.
The disc features 2 short films as the only special features on the disc, which leaves the entire program, including the two previews on the front of the program, below an hour in length. “Hammy’s Boomerang Adventure” brings back the “Over The Hedge” gang for more antics in another program directly aimed at the younger set. But “First Flight”, the other short here, is a brilliant film for the entire family. Sincere and touching, First Flight maybe short on length but its long on heart. First Flight is by far the highlight of this DVD.
Currently selling for only $5.99 on Amazon.ca Madly Madagascar is an affordable distraction for the younger set, especially if they are big fans of the original movies. And “First Flight” makes the purchase of the DVD set worth it on its own. Madly Madagascar the program is a mild non-recommend, but the disc is a recommend due to its extras and low cost.
2 out of 5 stars
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