Madagascar just about earns its stripes

Madagascar

Directors: Tom McGrath and Eric Darnell

Cast (voices): Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, Ben Stiller, David Schwimmer

Cert: U

From DreamWorks, the makers of Shrek, comes this warm, fuzzy, yet ultimately disappointing animated feature about a bunch of animals who escape from a New York zoo and fetch up in the wilds of Madagascar.

The film, for all the toe-curling cuteness of the humanised animals, has a dark edge in that the zoo-bred four-leggers can't cope with life in the wild.

It's the old “be careful what you wish for” plot as the characters try to revert to type and they try to eat each other.

Compu-technics lend a certain charm to the zebras, hippos, giraffes, lions, etc, but not as much as we would like.

It's enjoyable, but not as good as some other recent animated offerings.

Star Rating: 3/5