Dr Friendships: Marty and Alex

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First thoughts right after watching the Movie

My first thoughts right after watching the film is that I think their friendship is pretty nice, though it can be irritating and repetitive at times. It is the only time where there is heart in the franchise, so its’ nice enough.

Summary

I am going to have to summarize this a bit more in comparison to the other writeups, since I have to cover three films. Madagascar starts with Alex disturbing Marty from his daydream to congratulate the zebra for his birthday. He claims that his lion teeth have something in it, which contains a snow globe of Alex merchandise. Marty is not content, because another year went by, and he is doing the same thing. Alex tries to give him advice on doing something fresh and new, but it seems somehow tied to himself (which will be a common trait in this film).

A day of work goes by, and Marty tells his friends that his wish is to escape the zoo, and to be free with nature. Of course, Alex is the most opposed to the idea, and is forced by Gloria to have a private conversation with Marty, which involves the “grass is greener on the other side” analogy. Marty offers for the two of them to run off for the night together, but of course Alex refuses. Two hours later, Melman wakes Alex up to tell him that Marty ran away, and they all come to the conclusion that they have to go after him, since they know that Marty wants to go to Connecticut. They all make it to the Grand Central Station, but the FBI are called to capture the four of them, where Animal Control shoots them all.

The four of them are in boxes that are on a boat to Kenya, and the two start to fight. We are pretty much told that the two are best friends, and Alex blames everything on him. Alex whines about the people loving him, while Marty mutters that they only liked what they thought of him (the performer) instead of who Alex really is. All we have seen so far of the two use one another for their boosting egos. This is also where the protagonist shift that I mentioned in my review takes place.

All of them end up in Madagascar, after their boxes tip over the boat. It seems like Alex and Marty are going to run into an embracing hug, but it turns into Alex trying to fight Marty, who then runs away. Marty tries to apologize, since he did not intend all of this to happen, and a shift starts to take place, once they all find out the animals that are residing in the area. Marty is the most optimistic one, while Alex is the most pessimistic one. Because Alex is petty, he creates a line, where Marty is excluded, and the others are with him. This leads to some weird rivalry between the two, as they both are building shelters, and Marty ends up being the more successful one. Gloria and Melman end up walking over to Marty’s side, and the zebra tries to make it up to Alex, offering him to come join them.

Marty tells him that it is no fun without him, which causes a desperate Alex to go onto their side to apologize. It turns out that Marty’s side is not much better, as there is no edible water, and the food is less than pleasing. I was not expecting what happens next to happen, as it involves Alex starting to have hallucinations about steak (which he was obsessed with), and his primal instincts start to take over. It gets to the point where he is literally licking Marty’s butt, causing everyone to look at him weirdly.

They finally join the other animals, which is pretty much paradise. Alex and Marty are starting to get along, as the lion starts to get more weak, and Marty cheers this up. It works a bit too well, to the point where Alex gives into his lion instincts, and bites Marty in the butt. Everyone looks at him weirdly, but it is too far gone. He tells Marty that he looks like a steak, causing him to chase after the zebra. Alex returns to normal after he is hit with a fruit on the head, and realizes that he has become a predator and a monster.

So he feels remorseful to Marty, and runs as far as he can from everyone else. A montage song of “What a Wonderful World” is played, which shows the other three petrified of the predator/prey relationships that are all around them, and Alex feels more ashamed of himself to the point of building an isolated haven. A ship makes its way to Madagascar, with Melman and Gloria telling Marty that he can’t go find Alex on his own, but he already ran off.

Marty tells him that the boat is back, and that they can go home, only for Alex to tell him to go away. Almost instantly, he tries to snatch Marty, before running off again. In a way, this is the proto-Frozen. Of course we have the pretty nice scene of Marty telling him that he’s not leaving without his best friend, and sings the song that Alex used to cheer him up in the beginning of the film. Right as the song continues, a bunch of other animals attack Marty to eat him, causing Melman and Gloria to save him…. for now. The animals still chase the three of them, and Alex appears as the predator he is, using this to help all four of them escape, thanking Marty for not giving up on him. What I have to say is that their friendship is pretty damn dynamic and complex; they fight like friends, have fun like friends, and have a lot of nice moments. Of course, there is still a lot of story issues with this film, but the interaction and chemistry with Alex and Marty is a strong point.

 

In the second film, we see a background of little Alex with his father, and how he ended up in the Central Park Zoo, where we learn that Marty did not initially like him, thinking he is a showoff, which has not really changed much in the years.

There is not a whole lot to say in this movie, since it is more about Alex’s interactions with his family, but I have to cover all films, since it is a franchise. Their plane is about to crash, and Alex tells his favourite zebra that he is a one in a million friend, and Marty agrees, only to find out that Alex broke his IPod (making a final confession before they die), causing the two of them to fight.

All four of the main characters are going through their own dilemmas; Alex reuniting with his family, Marty reuniting with zebras who are exactly like him, Melman is a witch doctor, and Gloria has a new relationship with the head hippo of the clan. This causes them to be separated throughout most of the film, meaning a lack of interaction amongst one another. All of this changes when each of their dilemmas do not work in their favour, so they all meet up by the plane. Turns out, there is another issue, when the zebra on the plane turns out to not be Marty, who walks to the plane, and is mad.

He is sad that there is nothing unique about him, as Alex cannot tell the difference between the two. Pretty much, Alex does not care as much because his family dilemmas are a bit more important, which…… is kind of what I mentioned in the last film. Marty finally admits that it is always about Alex, and says that his “one in a million thing” is a bunch of crap. Alex accuses Marty of always running away, and then yells about not caring that Marty is a dime a dozen. Of course when he is finally gone does the lion not want him to leave.

Alex has to leave the reserve, since there is no water, and goes to the zebras to say goodbye to Marty and to apologize. He struggles with finding out who he is, though speaks to the “white stripped” zebra with his back turned that Marty’s such a great friend that he forgets that Marty has his own issues. Marty then decides to join Alex to find water.

What I will say is that the Madagascar series has great continuity, as there is constant references to the first film which makes this interaction more realistic. We go to the third film, where Marty cheers Alex up from his horrifying nightmare, and it is Alex’s birthday, where all of them made a sandcastle of New York. I guess it makes sense to transition from Marty’s birthday to Alex’s birthday.

There really is not much interaction in the two of them, because Marty interacts with the seal Stefano, while Alex interacts with his romantic interest Gia. The only main interaction between the two that I recall is them coming up with a plan regarding what to do when reunited with the penguins in Monte Carlo; who were supposed to come back to get them. There was also some slight arguing about who becomes the leader, but there is nothing else of substance. Overall, it just causes all four of them to be discovered by humans, and is why all of them are chased after humans for the entirety of the film.

 

Final Thoughts

My final thoughts are that it is not the most stand-out, but I do like how they end up showing AND telling, instead of just telling. Both are annoying as their own characters, and don’t have much going for themselves, but are fine together I guess.

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