Madagascar

A foursome of digitally animated zoo animals escape the inner city confines of Manhattan’s Central Park Zoo in search of freedom that’s not be all it's cracked up to be in this well-defined children’s comedy. Ben Stiller voices Alex the egotistical lion to Chris Rock’s confident but anxious Marty the Zebra, while Jada Pinkett Smith does gentle vocal honors as Gloria the Hippo. Along with Melman the Giraffe, the crew takes a wrong turn at Grand Central Station and ends up shipwrecked in Madagascar where Marty’s primal feline instincts threaten every living thing around him, including his best friends. Sacha Baron Cohen is exceptional as the voice of self-proclaimed lemur king Julien.

Rated PG, 86 mins. (B) (Three Stars)