Common Sense Media Review
By Sandie Angulo Chen
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Love is in the air in this silly but cute Valentine's story.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 5+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Madly Madagascar
What's the Story?
Set somewhere in between the action of Madagascar 2 and Madagascar 3, Madly Madagascar chronicles how Alex (Ben Stiller), Marty (Chris Rock), Melman (David Schwimmer), Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith), and the gang spend their first Valentine's Day in Africa. As Alex explains the joys of the holiday to his friends, King Julien (Danny Jacobs filling in for Sacha Baron Cohen) receives an unexpected but auspicious plunk on the head -- a bottle of perfume that fell from a cargo plane flying overhead. Julien believes this is a sign from the gods that he is the King of Love and starts selling the "love potion" to the eager animals. When Marty meets a beautiful okapi (Taraji P. Henson), he begs the penguins to make him another batch of the "love potion," which leads to him inadvertently attracting a huge herd of females.
Is It Any Good?
As Valentine's Day specials go, this is just the right mix of silly and sweet. One of the cutest subplots is Melman secretly planning to make his first Valentine's Day with girlfriend Gloria special (at one point he enlists a group of monkeys to practice Van Morrison's classic "Gloria" until they get agitated), whereas she thinks he's ignoring her. Then there's Marty, who turns into a zebra lothario after spraying himself with the perfume. The elephant makes a questionable tattoo decision, while the pretty okapi plays him "Freebird" on the harp.
With most of the stars on board to voice their characters, it's hard to go wrong, but the brevity of the special will leave some young fans feeling particularly unloved. At least the writers filled each of the 22 minutes with enough sight gags and jokes to keep kids and parents entertained and in the mood to say "I love you" to the people they heart most, not just those attracted to them because of something as superficial as Love Potion No. 9.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what you think the message of the movie is regarding Valentine's Day. In the end, what do the friends decide is the best way to celebrate the holiday?
Could you tell that the voice of King Julien was not Sacha Baron Cohen? Did it make a difference?
Taking into consideration what Alex says about Valentine's Day cards, which family and friends do you really want to give Valentine's Day cards to this year? How can you let those people know how special they are?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : January 29, 2013
- Cast : Ben Stiller , Chris Rock , Jada Pinkett Smith
- Director : David Soren
- Inclusion Information : Black Movie Actor(s) , Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : DreamWorks Animation
- Genre : Family and Kids
- Topics : Friendship , Holidays
- Run time : 22 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : December 5, 2025
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