Featured DVD Review: Madly Madagascar

January 27, 2013

Madly Madagascar - Buy from Amazon

Madly Madagascar is a Valentine's Day special from the Madagascar franchise. Will fans of the movies be interested in watching it? And is the DVD worth picking up?

The Movie

The special begins with a bottle of perfume called Love Potion Number 9 hitting King Julien on the head. Instead of killing him, he decides it's a sign from the gods and he renames himself the King of Love and goes forth to spread love with his new love potion.

Meanwhile, it's Valentine's Day and even though the gang is stuck in Africa, Alex is determined to celebrate it; however, none of the African animals care.

Meanwhile, Melman sneaks off to plan the perfect Valentine's Day with Gloria; however, his secrecy makes Gloria think he's up to something fishy.

Meanwhile, there's a new Okapi and all of the zebras want to be with her, so Marty needs an edge. He needs King Julien's love potion.

Unfortunately, King Julien runs out of Love Potion Number 9. Fortunately, Skipper orders Kowalski to make more. (He's in a love triangle with a couple bobble-head dolls.) Unfortunately, this stuff actually works, which causes a lot of problems when Marty spills it all over himself.

That's a lot of subplots for a 22-minute special. This means none of them are developed enough to really work, even compared to the standards of the usual Dreamworks TV specials. As usual, the Penguins are the best part of the show, while the three plots involving the four main characters don't really stand out. There's several Valentine's Day cliché plots thrown together. It's not bad for the target audience, but it is below Dreamworks other holiday specials I've reviewed.

The Extras

There are two bonus short films. First Flight is eight minutes long and is about a guy trying to catch a bus and getting involved with a little bird that is trying to fly for the first time. It was shown with Over the Hedge in theaters back in 2006, but this is the first time it has been released on DVD. If you saw it and really liked it, then you will be happy to see it again. However, I'm seeing it for the first time and it feels like a pale attempt at a Pixar-style short film. There is also Hammy’s Boomerang Adventure, a five-minute short that was previously released on the Over the Hedge DVD. It is not as funny as the original movie.

The Verdict

Madly Madagascar isn't a bad TV special and if your kids like the Madagascar movies, then it is worth checking out when it comes out on TV. However, since the main program is only 22 minutes long and neither of the extras are really worth it, the DVD isn't worth the price, even at the low price of $6.


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Filed under: Video Review, Taraji P. Henson, Christopher Miller, Jada Pinkett Smith, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Ben Stiller, Tom McGrath