Madagascar the Musical, based on the DreamWorks animated movie, is a much-needed opportunity to drag your kids away from whatever device has sucked them in at the moment (in my case, my six-year-old is currently addicted to some weird drilling game on my phone) and set before their eyes a colourful, energetic, utterly engaging spectacle of song, dance, and ingenious puppetry.
If you’re not familiar with the story then you’ll be relieved to hear it’s very simple (there is nothing worse than having to explain to your young child exactly what’s going on all the way through a show). Marty the zebra, Alex the lion, Gloria the hippo, and Melman the giraffe are comfortable residents at New York Zoo. They are adored by the public (especially Alex, the self-proclaimed king of the urban jungle, who also adores himself), and compared with life in the wild, they have it easy: they are safe, fed, and cared for. However, on his tenth birthday, Marty gets a sense that there must be more to life: he wants adventure, and he wants to see the wild. He makes a birthday wish to catch a train out of New York, though his friends urge him it would not be a good idea. However, he makes his escape, and his friends, being very good friends, go after him.
Due to a series of mishaps, the animals find themselves not in Sacramento, as they had first assumed, but Madagascar, and before long land in the company of lemur King Julien (played by CBBC and Strictly star Karim Zeroul, who I confess I had never heard of but was joyous as the mischievous leader) and his devoted animal tribe. Sure enough, life in the wild is unfamiliar and soon starts to feel uncomfortable. Against King Julien’s wishes, the zoo animals decide to return to the comforts of their urban existence (where lion Alex doesn’t have the urge to eat best pal zebra Marty – awkward).
Along the way, the audience is treated to uplifting dance routines, catchy songs (I have to mention Madagascar’s famed anthem ‘I Like to Move It’, as it more than fulfilled the requirements of the fresh-faced audience), and a carousel of larger-than-life extra characters - more than enough to keep your little ones’ attention. The use of costume and puppetry to transcend the human actor to animal were masterful.
The true stars of the show, I think, were the penguins, who are the shrewd backbone of the entire plot. Unlike the other zoo animals, they move through their own parallel adventure with confidence, clearing anything and anyone who stands in their way, being comfortable changing their minds, and always coincidentally finding a solution to the others’ problems.
I am not sure what the lesson is here. Be more like a penguin? I’ve had worse advice from wellbeing Instagram reels to be honest, so I’m going to give it a go.
Lastly, some words from my son, who halfway through the performance turned to me and said, “This is the best screen-time ever!” A declaration that brought me equal amounts of sorrow and joy, but ultimately, was a testament to a great night out.