An animated tale about a group of zoo animals, who escape from their home in New York’s Central Park Zoo and end up being stranded on an Island called Madagascar. There they meet other wild animals, discover things about themselves, and try to get back home.

What kids like is light years away from what adults like. Madagascar though, manages to bridge the barrier, by being light enough for kids, but funny enough for adults. You really have to give the filmmakers credit; they’ve taken a pretty basic story and made it into a great film. Everyone will end up enjoying this one for their own reasons. For the kids, it’s the goofy animals talking and moving, creating creatures that they love and will remember. For the adults, it’s all the in jokes, like references to classic films like PLANET OF THE APES and CHARIOTS OF FIRE, mixed with current films like CAST AWAY. And even though it’s an animated film, at times we almost forget, the characters so well drawn. (No pun intended!)

But the main reason this one is such a huge success, is the voice talents. Everyone is pitch perfect, Stiller as the boasting lion, Rock as the feisty Zebra, Schwimmer as the over medicated giraffe and Jada Pinkett Smith as the roly-poly hippo. Even the side characters stay in your mind, long after the film is over. The move it, move it lemurs, the militant penguins, and the refined, yet filthy monkeys. Not a character is wasted; everyone here is fodder for the flick. It’s just a great movie. If it were on the nature channel it would be called When Animals Attack…Your Funny Bone! (If you have any poo, fling it now!)

Video: Presented in Widescreen (1.85:1), which shows the great work the animators put into making the animals come to life.

Audio: Both English and French Dolby Digital 5.1 and English and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0. The sound makes full use of all of the formats listed here, so take your pick!

The features here are longer then Melman’s friggin' neck and will mostly please both adults and kids. Plus nice job on the interactive menus guys!

Commentary (with Directors Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath): This commentary seems out of place. The two directors here have very little interesting tidbits (“this scene was hard for the animators”) and it's stuff that both kids and adults will find extremely boring. The commentary that would have made this set perfect; a Stiller, Rock, Schwimmer, and Pinkett commentary, as everyone would have gotten something out of it!

Mad Mishaps (1:30): A jerky look at the animation messed up and in different stages. This one is not for both ages, as it will be amusing to the little ones only.

Meet The Wild Cast (7:46): This mini-doc is more for adults, showing some great behind the mike footage of the various voice talents.

Behind The Crates (23:15): This one seems like it was produced as a doc to promote the film on TV. It’s the same premise as the previous featurette, but longer. It also deals with production, storyboards, and animation, everything a fan would want to know. Kids may fall asleep on this one.

The Tech of Madagascar (4:59): Deals with a basic overview of the technical aspect of the making of Madagascar. This was dealt with in the previous doc – aka filler alert!

Penguin Chat (8:42): The men who voice the penguins, do some commentary for select scenes, in full penguin voice. This would be a great commentary for the kids to listen to, but they should have shut off the films sound. With both going at the same time, little ears aren’t able to hear the funny comments. This one could have been something special.

The Enchanted Island of Madagascar (7:50): A mini-doc on the real island of Madagascar. Both interesting and a learning lesson for both kids and adults.

There is a Previews section with Trailers of SHREK 2, SHARK TALE, and KICKING AND SCREAMING. Also included is Cast and Filmmakers bios, as well as Production Notes, and Galleries of various paintings and drawings.

There is also a DreamWorks Kids Section that includes the I Like To Move It, Move It Music Video, Games And Activities for kids (six in total!), and DVD-Rom Features.

And finally, if this isn’t enough for you, there is a special bonus animated short, A Christmas Caper (12:10) featuring those pesky penguins! By the way, look for tons of hidden Easter eggs, like the penguins that are standing on top of one of the crates on the main menu screen!

For those parents who are looking for an animated feature that they can enjoy alongside their kids, look no further. This version of Madagascar has it all (except for that dry commentary), tons of humor, great games, and fun features that will keep you and the munchkins entertained for hours. So move it, move it to the DVD store and get this one while it’s hot! (Hell, its cheaper then a babysitter!)