Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa - Movie Review and Synopsis

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Category: Movies. Tags: Action, Adventure, Animation, Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Comedy, David Schwimmer, Eric Darnell, Family, Jada Pinkett Smith, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Sacha Baron Cohen, Tom McGrath.

Madagascar Escape 2 Africa In the highly-anticipated sequel to ‘Madagascar,’ Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria, King Julien, Maurice and the penguins and the chimps find themselves marooned on the distant shores of Madagascar. In the face of this obstacle, the New Yorkers have hatched a plan so crazy it just might work. With military precision, the penguins have repaired an old crashed plane–sort of. Once aloft, this unlikely crew stays airborne just long enough to make it to the wildest place of all–the vast plains of Africa, where the members of our zoo-raised crew encounter species of their own kind for the very first time. Africa seems like a great place…but is it better than their Central Park home?

Say what you will about the original’s primitive animation and whatnot, but it tallied up over $400 million in worldwide receipts, so this crack-a-lackin’ sequel comes as no surprise — but did it really require three years to come together? Maybe those psychotic penguins held out for more money. Maybe this time around the creative talent behind the camera will have more going on in the wild (something sorely missing from the first movie). And while we expect a big return here, honestly, we’re more primed for Dreamworks’ 2009 offering, Monster vs. Aliens.

Rated PG for some mild crude humor.