Julien: Oh, suddenly throwing a giraffe into a volcano to make water, is crazy! (Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (DVD))

Member Name: ajbluestar

Product:	Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (DVD)
Date:	11/11/09 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: entertaining and funny, good support cast/characters

Disadvantages: animation not as good as pixar

(film only)

Introduction

Madagascar 2 : Escape to Africa is the sequel to the original Madagascar film which came out in 2005. It was released in 2008 and is another movie produced by the Dreamworks animation studios. The film showcases the continuing adventures of Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, and Gloria the Hippo as well as all the other animals and some new characters.

Plot

The film starts of as a prequel to the first film as we see how Alex the lion is separated from his family early in his life and is put in a crate and eventually ends up in New York zoo. Meanwhile back to the present and the crew are still stranded in Madagascar. They all board a repaired plane with the skipper and the penguins in the hope of flying back to New York. All of a sudden they crash land in the wilderness of Africa. Here they find there are more animals like them. Alex meets the rest of his family, but has trouble communicating with them after spending so much time at Central Park Zoo. There are many adventures with the gang as they all discover Africa. King Julian and the penguins are back as well to provide more laughs.

Opinion

The original Madagascar film was a bit different from the typical family animated movie: it was fearless, didn't slow down to teach a lesson, and was not afraid of entertaining solely on physical humour. The content was light but it was entertaining and funny. This film is the same and the characters and voices are all pretty good. I would say that again the penguins and Sacha Baron Cohen (King Julian) steal every scene they are in. Ben Stiller and some of the other main characters had fewer chances at being funny, as they had to handle all the major slower moments. Chris Rock's role was quite limited which was a bit disappointing as I am a fan of his comedy. This movie has many references to 'The Lion King' which was a Disney classic with the whole story of Alex trying to become an Alpha lion. Overall though it is a funny movie and highly entertaining.

Alex: I like to move it, move it!
Gloria: He likes to move it, move it!
Marty: She likes to move it, move it!
Melman: We like to...?
Lemurs: Move it!

Summary: good sequel