Merry Madagascar is a made for television special that sees the zoo animals trying to escape Madagascar and get back to their zoo in New York before Christmas.They try to escape by a hot air balloon which is shot down by King Julius and his band of lemurs who mistake them for the Red night goblin.This is because every year on December 24th someone flies through the sky showering coals at Julius. Alex the lion shoots down this villain and discover that its is Santa Claus and he now has amnesia.Alex and the gang have to save Christmas by delivering the presents and reindeer's and penguins need to put their old rivalry aside.The animation short, it is only about 20 minutes long and is a festive cash in but their is enough pizazz in the story to keep the young ones interested with a dash of Romeo and Juliet thrown in as the penguins with the help of magic dust help the animals deliver the presents.The animation is rather vanilla but good enough for a television special and DVD extra.

I watched this short film at Christmas this year along with countless other films and programmes that feel like they have been made because they have to be for the festive season rather than being a case of someone having a great idea and everyone wanting to do it. The plot is simple – calling him the "Red Goblin", King Julian succeeds in shooting down Santa Claus, meaning that the New Yorkers have to leave the island on Santa's sledge and, with the help of the penguins, make sure that all the presents are delivered and that Christmas is saved. Meanwhile, on the island, an amnesiac Santa joins in the annual celebrations of Julianuary – a festive period where everyone gives the King presents.This TV special is quite amusing but it is not as funny or as clever as the recent Penguins spin-off show and part of the problem is the same problem I have with the films. This is that the main characters are actually not that good as characters. OK, they are almost a necessary evil in terms of the narrative but really time spent with them makes you think you're missing out on something better with the other side characters. The global sleigh ride is amusing but seems a bit cloying and obvious and the film is at its best where we are back on the island with King Julian. These sections have their own "message" but Julian is a great character and these bits are well written with his usual selfish self-importance and produces plenty of good laughs (such as the carol singing bit). The Penguins produce a few good laughs as well but their role doesn't give them much to do and I didn't think they worked as well as they have done elsewhere. Likewise Mort can be relied upon for easy laughs.These good bits do well to carry the film while the main animals go around the world – these bits are quite funny but just not as good as the rest. Ironic then that all the stars are back for these main animals while Cohen didn't do Julian. This is not a problem though because, as with the TV show, Jacobs does a very good job of making the character his own and delivering with timing. Overall Merry Madagascar is an enjoyable little festive offering but this is almost despite of itself. It has the feel of something that was a business decision rather than something everyone wanted to do and, while funny, the presence of the four main characters repeats the problem in the films – the strongest material lies with the supporting characters, not the New Yorkers.

So, at first! I think this short is much better than the second part of Madagascar. This Christmas special has a very good mood and super ideas for the story. After Santa crashes, Alex and his co. are the only ones who can save Christmas. But they want also back to New York so they think maybe this could be a good way to find the way back home. Of course with this plan comes a lot of funny and adventure full happenings so we can laugh almost 30 minutes with our good-known crew. The only disappointing is the short running time, it could have been a new movie. Everything was made so well here that I haven't enough after the end! I hope the third part will be like this or better!

This animated short is about the Madagascar creatures wanting to go back to New York for Christmas, but things get complicated when they meet the amnesic Santa Claus.I find the story quite festive, given the fact that the setting is mostly in Madagascar. I enjoyed watching "Merry Madagascar" more than the regular "Madagascar", because I find the animals less annoying and more fun. The story is squeaky clean, and can be enjoyed by people of all ages. There are even a few one liners for adults, and it did make me laugh. "Julianuary" is a great invention, I hope they will capitalise on this in future "Madagascar"!