I like to move it, move it, I like to.... Well actually.... (Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (DVD))

Member Name: liss_e

Product:	Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (DVD)
Date:	06/06/09 (72 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The well loved bright characters from before and it's good to see where they went next

Disadvantages: Slightly boring, and lacking the humour of the first film

This is very obviously the sequel to Madagascar, a firm family favourite in this household and I believe many others therefore we were really excited to sit down and watch this together on a rainy afternoon in June.

Madagascar was hilarious for adults and children alike, with the fabulous 'I like to move it' song being one of the high points of the film. It starred four friends from a New York zoo who ended up on Madagascar, home of the Lemur, and what happened while they were there aclimatising to the wild.

It starts with a flashback to a Lion cub playing with his father, the Alpha-Lion on a reserve in Africa, who gets taken by hunters. Zooba, the Daddy Lion chases after his son and the crate falls into a river, whereupon it becomes apparent that the cub, Aleckai, is infact Alex the main character from the first film.

This one focuses on what happens when the psychotic penguins have gotten an aeroplane running with the plan to return to New York.

But would you trust a plane fixed up by crazy penguins who eat Sushi?

It runs out of fuel somewhere above Africa, containing the Penguins, Alex the Lion, Gloria the Hippo, Marty the Zebra and Melman the Giraffe as well as King Julian and his crew.

They manage to survive the crash, only to realise that they are surrounded by animals just like themselves, where they are approached by the Alpha-Lion and his Lioness. She recognises Alex as being Aleckai, and it seems like things are going to be happy for the reunited family. Melman makes friends with the other Giraffes, Gloria meets a hunky Hippo and Marty is welcomed by a pack of Zebras just like him.

Then the bad guy get involved, and point out to Zooba that Alex cannot become part of the waterhole crew as he hasn't taken part in the rite of passage ceremony. That is where everything goes wrong as Alex has the wrong end of the stick about exactly what is required during the ceremony, meanwhile the Penguins try to fix the plane with the help of their opposable-thumbed friends, the monkies.

I won't spoil it all for you by going on, and letting you know about the surprise characters who pop up, just in case you haven't seen it as those are some of the better parts of this sequel.

'I Like to Move it' is only featured at the beginning of the film which is something of a disapointment. There are a few other songs thrown into the storyline, Tina Turner's 'Private Dancer', 'More Than A Feeling' by Boston, and 'Copacabana'.

There were some parts that were along similar lines of the first film in terms of comedy, I particularly liked the synchronised Zebras but there was just something lacking overall. It seemed rushed, and the fabulous scenes between teh four friends were few and far between and just not as entertaining or spellbinding as the first time around.

Both of my boys enjoyed it, with the two year old getting a bit fidgety by the time it was 3/4 of the way through. The man and I turned to each other as the credits came up and raised our eyebrows (take that synchronised Zebras!) to show that we were a bit disapointed.

Maybe it's because the first film was played in this house daily for about four months solid, and we still didn't get bored of it, or maybe it's just that there's very little humour in this film for the adults to appreciate. It does seem more aimed at the kids, which isn't neccesarily a bad thing but if I have to watch this film daily for three months I will not be responsible for my actions when I throw it through the window, DVD player and all.

So my verdict is that it wasn't bad, but nowhere near as engaging as the first one. Worth watching if your children liked the original, as it still has the bright colourful characters we all knew and loved in the first but I wouldn't place bets on the parents enjoying it as much.

Summary: Watch it if you've nothing better to do, but don't expect to love it like the original