RATING:

Starring: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, David Schwimmer, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Gwen Stefani. Written by: Mark Burton, Billy Frolick. Directed by: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath

Rated PG for mild language, crude humor and some thematic elements.

It’s cute but not great. Directed by Eric Dannell (“Antz”) and Tom McGrath, “Madagascar” teems with fun one-liners, snappy references, and warm, life-affirming friendships. Kids will love it. Unfortunately for us adults, the story comes up short on danger and conflict, reducing it to a breezy comedy with one dimension.

Like every animated kid movie—although “Madagascar” is computer-animated, technically—the heroes are all talking animals. Specifically, they’re animals trapped in New York’s Central Park Zoo, a mostly happy bunch that entertains the school children and tourists.

Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), who “doesn’t know if he’s a white zebra with black stripes, or a black zebra with white stripes,” suffers a midlife crisis. He’s turning ten, the big “One O,” and laments that he’s never left the zoo, never seen the wild, never seen much of anything. He’s listless. In one of the film’s many nods to older viewers, Marty says wistfully, “Maybe I should just go to law school.”

His friends try to cheer him, led by Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller), Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer), and Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith). But Marty’s having none of it. He decides to break out of the Central Park Zoo and head to the wild, the great unknown: Connecticut. This whole sequence is a great jab at New Yorkers; much like two million smug, self-satisfied Manhattanites, these animals, excepting Marty, have no interest in ever leaving the island.

One key subtlety makes “Madagascar” marginally more interesting than the usual animal-breaking-from-captivity story: these animals don’t hate their prison. They’re not tortured. There’s no Wilbur going to the slaughter. Those devices, while appealing in their own right, are fairly black and white: the animals are being mistreated, and they flee to safety. “Madagascar,” written by Mark Burton and Billy Frolick (both first-time feature film writers), explores an issue that’s more nuanced, more adult: ennui.

Taking his cue from a sharp-witted flock of penguins (who steal the movie with their mean-spirited charm), Marty makes up his mind, sets his sights on the jungles of Connecticut, and breaks free of Central Park Zoo. Afraid for Marty’s life, his friends follow. What follows is a Shrek-worthy jaunt through the streets of Manhattan, as the animals fuss over the best way to get to Grand Central (Lex or Park?), getting directions from cabbies, and going to Metro North, where they have to settle on the Stamford Local. Perfect satire of the adult commute.

Sadly, the fun starts to plateau. The one-liners are funny enough, the animals are cute enough, and the film is referential enough—winking at classics like “Planet of the Apes” and recent stuff like “Castaway”—but ultimately, the overarching plot is not compelling. There’s little sense of real loss, real danger. Unlike “Lion King,” say. Or even “Shrek.”

The story heats up towards the end, when, after a sequence of mildly amusing mishaps, the animals find themselves marooned on Madagascar. Some tension and conflict (finally) emerges, as the domesticated Alex the Lion, encouraged by Marty, connects with his natural sense of violence, his genetic predisposition to hunt. And kill.

Soon Alex poses a real threat to the friends, since, hungry in the wild, all he can think of is steak. In a delightfully disturbing visual, when Alex looks at his friends, they begin to turn into steaks. For a kid’s movie, the concept is actually quite dark: freed from the norms of society, Alex is willing to slaughter his friends.

Alex’s inner-struggle against his predatory nature is engaging, scary, and easily the most interesting stretch of the film. But it’s too little, too late, and ultimately doesn’t push far enough. The 8-year-olds will feel a real sense of danger, but most adults won’t buy it.

“Madagascar” has the feel of a sequel that will surely follow: funny, harmless, and pleasant enough, but without the heartbeat of an urgent story.

Agree? Disagree? E-mail me at jeff@latinoreview.com.