Sidewalks On The Corner

Those loveable creatures are back in "Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa."

Follow up:

MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA
Paramount Pictures/DreamWorks Animation
MPAA Rating: PG
Running Time: 89 minutes
URL: www.madagascar-themovie.com

Studio Synopsis:
All the loveable characters are back — Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippo, King Julien, Maurice and the penguins — in “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.”

Left marooned on the distant shores of Madagascar, 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 itself -- where our zoo-raised crew encounters species of their own kind for the very first time. While discovering their roots, they quickly realize the differences between the concrete jungle and the heart of Africa.

Despite long-lost relatives, romantic rivals and scheming hunters, Africa seems like a “crack-a-lackin” great place…but is it better than
their Central Park home?

J.P.'s Take:
It was great fun to see Alex the Lion (voice of Ben Stiller) and his friends Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith), Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer), Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Maurice the Aye-aye (Cedric The Entertainer), and Julien the Ring-Tailed Lemur (Sacha Baron Cohen) back together again. Crashed land in Africa, the group tries to find their way home back to New York in this sequel to 2005 hit film, "Madagascar."

To me, the story resembles the plot of "The Lion King," where a young cub longs to be King. Only in this case, Alex has forgotten about his home and his heritage. While the first film was a snappy comedy with great contemporary jokes for the adults and wacky slapstick action for the kids, the second time around the audience becomes more involved in the story. The comedy provides a lighthearted overtone to the whole film. Some especially funny moments are when Gloria finds love at a pool gathering with a male hippo named Moto Moto (Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am).

Along with will.i.am, there are some surprise voices appearing this time around from the late Bernie Mac (as Zuba, Alex's dad), The View's Sherri Shepherd (Florrie, Alex's mom), and 30 Rock's Alec Baldwin (Makunga, Zuba's main rival). Mac sounded very fatherly; his voice was commanding and warm at the same time. Shepherd worked well with Mac as both were pretty funny ... naturally. will.i.am was a total surprise because he altered his voice in a way to make himself sound more masculine with a deep rumble and a macho tone. In fact, he sounded like the rapper Tone Loc. Baldwin is pretty good at playing sinister parts, and he projected that same influence as the voice of Makunga. Andy Richter also returns as the voice of Mort the Pygmy Mouse Lemur. All the actors made the sequel, a watchable children's animation without the star power ego.

"Madagascar 2" is a fun, cute family oriented animation with loveable characters and a nice story that's pretty easy to follow. If you can spend a couple more bucks, view the film in the IMAX format, simply because the animation has become more sophisticated and the backgrounds and scenery are alive, which makes for a grand adventure. Over all, I'm surprised that the sequel lived up to the first movie; in fact, I'd say it's slightly better because of a more involved story line. Nice work from the makers of "Shrek" -- they're catching up with Pixar. I would definitely recommend "Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa" especially to parents with kids.