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'Madagascar' is funny, but not wildly so

Alex the lion is the main attraction at Manhattan's Central Park Zoo, an unblushing attention hog, all pinballing exuberance and bounding self-regard. He preens and poses for the human crowds who "ooo" and "aah" and snap up Alex-emblazoned souvenirs. It's all sort of odd, considering the yawny lassitude of most captive lions, who lounge about like bored, drugged-out divas.

Dreamworks SKG 'Madagascar' 3 out of 5 stars Directors: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath Starring: Andy Richter, Cedric the Entertainer, Sacha Baron Cohen, Chris Knights, Tom McGrath Run time: 80 minutes Release date: May 27, 2005 Rating: PG for mild language, crude humor and some thematic elements. See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate "Madagascar"   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

Whatever. In DreamWorks' computer animated comedy "Madagascar," a slightly above-average family cartoon that works very hard to accomplish very obvious things, Alex is king of the bungle. With a lozenge-shaped mane, catcher's-mitt paws and Ben Stiller's geeky nasal voice, Alex means well, but, you know, he's a cartoon, so he blunders into madcap misadventure and such.

Alongside him are best pals Marty, a disillusioned zebra (Chris Rock); Melman, a hypochondriac giraffe (David Schwimmer); and Gloria, a bulbous and bubbly hippo shaped exactly like a giant pear (Jada Pinkett Smith). They are almost equal stars in this fitfully inspired romp, where the gags come in tireless fusillades and lessons about friendship and loyalty come in tidy parcels.

Alex and the gang are fine and pretty funny, though Rock is sadly muzzled by the conventional script, unlike, say, Eddie Murphy's verbal spray as Donkey in "Shrek." But I'll take the movie's darkly wily penguins any day. This stubby quartet of scene-stealers (voiced by relative unknowns) are genius escape artists with a nasty streak. They poach popsicle sticks and plastic spoons from zoogoers and use them to dig from New York to Antarctica. The plan bombs, so the birds hijack a ship — hog-tying the skipper and slapping him around like any good Hollywood villains — and steer it to the frosty far reaches. Penguins. So crazy.

"Madagascar" is thin but pleasantly easy. It's superior to last summer's labored "Shark Tale" but not even close to either of the "Shrek" movies, all babies of DreamWorks. It's going for something different, paying tribute to the physical tradition of mid-20th century cartooning. The movie's hyperactive, hit-and-miss 80 minutes is spurred by a clamor of of clunky, crashy slapstick. The now mandatory up-to-the-minute pop culture allusions are minimal and impressively obscure. Try spotting the nod to "American Beauty." Better, catch the shrewd reference to the 1986 Robert DeNiro drama "The Mission."

Our menagerie are happy prisoners of the Central Park Zoo, where they're pampered and applauded like royalty. Their only view of the world is the towering fortress of high-rises girdling the zoo, a steel and concrete jungle shot through with the screams of sirens and the hum of the human hustle. To these guys, it's paradise.

But, piqued by the penguins' escape plans, Marty realizes he wants to explore what's beyond the zoo's brick walls. It's his 10th birthday. Life is passing him by. It's time. With the penguins leading, Marty hits the streets, hops the subway and lands at Grand Central Station, all of it prettily rendered in bright, silky textures.

Alex, Melman and Gloria follow Marty to rescue him from his wanderlust folly and get him back where he belongs. Now, how do a bunch of zoo creatures, who've never ventured outside their digs, know street names and precise subway directions to Grand Central? Doesn't matter. What matters is they get caught and the unruly animals are shipped off to Africa. Funny circumstances — the penguins again! — cause them to crash land on Madagascar, a tropical island paradise off the southeast coast of Africa.

How these quasi-domesticated animals will adapt to life in the true African wild is the irony-flecked conflict, which is complicated by the island's teeming kingdom of lemurs whose leader, King Julien, (Sacha Baron Cohen of Ali G fame, speaking in a tangle of ethnic accents) dubs the interlopers "freaks" (har-har). The choice of a lemur community seems a little arbitrary to me. Perhaps it's geographically accurate, but the concept never takes off and gels. What do I know.

Moving fast with frequent laughs, "Madagascar" plucks routine lessons from the comic anarchy, piercing the racket loud and clear. Alex learns things. Marty learns things. Your kids, it's hoped, will learn things. Things like realizing your dreams, staying loyal to pals and, here's a new one, that sushi is delicious. Blame the penguins for that one.