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FILM DETAILS

Certificate PG

Cast

Directors Eric Darnell Tom McGrath.

Screenwriters

Running Time 89 minutes

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Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
They like to move it, move it. Again

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Plot
Attempting to reach home, the quartet of New York zoo animals and assorted hangers-on crash-land on the African mainland. As the wily penguins set about another escape plan, Alex the lion (Stiller) re-discovers his heritage...

Review

You may recall Alex as the leonine variation of Ben Stiller’s road-tested neurotic New Yorker schtick: a motor-mouthed CG dumbkopf discombobulated by the call of the wild. His first adventure was a Looney-Tuned about-face: critters with human foibles crave the sanctity of their zoo-life when confronted by nature’s party animals. It was lightly knowing and refreshingly silly by contrast to the grandeur of Pixar, slyly deconstructing the nutty fixtures of modern living.

The inevitable sequel plonks the furry gasbag into the bosom of his family. Centred around a species-cluttered watering hole (the Columbus Circle of the Serengeti), his long-lost pop Zuba (Bernie Mac) runs a factitious pride, while his sneaky Uncle Makunga (Alec Baldwin) is oiling a take-over, leaving self-obsessed junior to stop preening and get busy being an alpha male. It doesn’t take Einstein to realise this is about to get all Woody Allen on The Lion King’s ass. Out go the identity crises and homesickness of part one, in come facing your responsibilities and some dad issues.

Despite cheering blasts of prog-rock, a chimpanzee pay dispute, a spectacular penguin-manned plane crash, and a great gag about zebra herd mentality (that they are all voiced by Chris Rock), we must face up to a sequel’s inevitable waning of invention. Nothing catastrophic, but for all the pop-culture riffing on The Twilight Zone and Survivor, and Hollywood in-jokes (the big snicker being that Alex is Stiller), the script struggles to juggle both sentiment and parody and ends up a bit square.

Even visually, the zanier flourishes of its still distinctive animated style (a Cubist Merrie Melodies) fall prey to show-off shots of impossibly detailed vistas, teeming with wildlife, and a generally less charming bigness. The real source of its weakening limbs, however, is overcrowding. The creators have set themselves the unenviable task of maintaining an already hefty cast of furry screw-ups, while adding a herd more, and still rustle up a decent storyline. In this lion-leaning tale, too much good stuff gets neglected. To wit: not enough penguins, not enough lemurs, too much Stiller. Something true of most films.

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Average user rating for Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

RE: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) All the characters are back and all are voiced by the same stars as before so continuity is a go for launch. Starting life as a prequel we get a brief glimpse at the main characters when they were very young in the zoo and how 'Alex' got there. From there we are back on Madagascar as the mammal team prepare to leave in their homemade plane back to New York. On route the plane crashes in Africa where they all experience the real wild of their dreams a... More

Posted by Phubbs at 06:03, 21 October 2012 | Report This Post

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is an improvement on the original, with more fleshed-out characters, crisper animation and more consistent humor. ... More

Posted by the film man at 22:06, 02 January 2012 | Report This Post

King Julien Needs his Own Film!

Much funnier than the first film. Although I didn't find the humans necessary. Especially the old lady - very annoying. The penguins are brilliant! But it's King Julien who stands out for me. Wish there had been more of him. He has me in stitches. His lines are delivered perfectly! Funniest line of the film for me... When King Julien explains that they need a sacrifice to the Volcano to get the water back: "Hurry up before we all come to our senses!" ... More

Posted by Pezbury at 13:57, 28 April 2010 | Report This Post

Better than the first one

Just saw this on Sky Movies. Very well done and more entertaining than the first one that suffered a bit from a weak last third. This one is just a great laugh with gags for young and old. Its the little details that play off the already well fleshed out characters that make this film very enjoyable. In contrast to other reviews here, I thought that the penguins, apes, King Julian and Co were all spot on. I never thought I'd hear a Barry Manilow soundtrack during a Dam Busters type scene though... More

Posted by Francis46 at 21:27, 10 April 2010 | Report This Post

Good Cartoon Sequel.

After seeing the first Madagascar, I wondered if there would be a sequel and so they did which I rented out to see if it would be a good enough one. This time, the gang crash land in Africa while trying to go back to New York. Alex finds his long lost parents, Marty has a lot of friends that sound and look the same while Gloria finds a love intrest leaving Marvin in the dark of his feelings to her. Yes, there isn't a lot of laughs and there is a lot of new characters that don't have time to shin... More

Posted by joanna likes films at 14:08, 20 April 2009 | Report This Post

'Its more fun if you raise your arms like this'

I went to see Madagascar this morning and i loved ever minute of it. Well almost every minute of it. To be honest I find the four main characters knid of boring. On the other hand I absolutely love Sacha Baron Cohens King Juliene. Its a hard call to pick which is funnier, King Julienne or the Penguins. Each have their own style and amazing gags. I couldn't help laughing at the monkey strike or Julienne's attempt to sacrafice David Schwimmer (we've all dreamt about it). I think if the main charac... More

Posted by Ruairt at 16:35, 03 January 2009 | Report This Post

Beg to differ... too many lemurs!

I just don't find the lemurs at all funny... If anything you should write them out entirely and then you'd have more space for the penguins, which would be ideal! As a whole though, not great... ... More

Posted by tanchalluno at 12:23, 15 December 2008 | Report This Post

once again the penguins, monkeys and sacha baron cohen steal the show from the main chracters boring, unfunny and unoriginal subplots. ... More

Posted by THE DALTONATOR at 09:50, 14 December 2008 | Report This Post

RE: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

One of the best movies of 2008. 10/10 ... More

Posted by Timmy_Brisby_05 at 18:31, 10 December 2008 | Report This Post

RE: Wet pants!

Very amusing - King Julian is ridiculously funny. A lot of common themes borrowed from the Lion King, but it's a fun way to spend 90 minutes - and that's all it is ever going to be.   7/10 ... More

Posted by Paul2j at 15:06, 10 December 2008 | Report This Post

Wet pants!

Saw it last night and pissed myself!! ... More

Posted by fraser1978 at 16:59, 08 December 2008 | Report This Post

Wet pants!

Saw it last night and pissed myself!! ... More

Posted by fraser1978 at 16:59, 08 December 2008 | Report This Post

I got confused - this may have made more sense had I seen the first one but - one minute they were on a boat that was missing then the next they were surrounded by animals somewhere and had a plane??? Other than that I really enjoyed it - lots of laughs; I particularly liked the "thanks Darwin" comment from the penguin when talking about his lack of thumbs!!!!! :) ... More

Posted by captain jack harknes at 21:19, 07 December 2008 | Report This Post

Escape from the movie

A slighter effort from the first movie. Too heavy on sentimentality, too light on gags! Ben Stiller's character seems to have hijacked the movie and turned it into an animated soap. Why relegate the penguins(by far the funniest things in the first movie) and even the lemurs were underused! Less making the movie by committee. Could try harder ... More

Posted by kittybinks at 17:31, 05 December 2008 | Report This Post

It follows in the same vein as the first one- ie not a masterpiece, but almost entertaining throughout. Good, goofy fun, i think ill be seeing this again :) 3 stars is about right ... More

Posted by kumar at 13:33, 01 December 2008 | Report This Post

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