Dr. Venkman Reviews: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
I think I laughed more than the kids did during this CGI Animated flick. Madagascar 2 was much better than I expected. It was a fun and silly film with lots of hilarious randomness, which made sense in the context of its animated world of craziness. The one thing I didn't expect was that this sequel would end up being better than the first movie, but I enjoyed this film much, much more than the first Madagascar. I think the story and comedy were just much more fun and playful. They played with the characters of the film a lot more.
'Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa' begins with an origin story for Alex the Lion, and how he ended up making his way from Africa to the New York City Zoo. The first part of this film was pretty intense, but a great start to a great story. We are lead from this origin story to the present day where our favorite animals Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, and Gloria the Hippo are about to leave the island that they got stuck on in the first film in a old beat up repaired airplane, which has been fixed up by those awesome penguins and strapped to a giant slingshot. You may have guessed from the title of the film that they end up in Africa from this point, and for the first time these zoo raised animals are going to be reunited with their own wild species. From here things get out of control. It seems like Africa is a great place to be! Or is it?
From beginning to end this movie doesn't let you down on its amazing comedic adventures. It is full of fun surprises that you will love, especially if you have seen the first movie. The characters have certain elements from the first film that come back to haunt them.
You could tell the creative team had a blast making this movie. They really stretched their imaginations with this one. I loved the ideas that they came up with, and the way they used them to move the story forward. I thought the Marty story line was a brilliant addition to the movie.
My favorite parts of the movie always involved those awesomely pesky penguins. Once again they stole the show, and it seemed like they had a little bit more of a role than the last movie. This little penguin mob is extremely funny. You are going to laugh every time they are on screen.
Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Picket Smith, Sasha Baron Cohen, and Cedrick the Entertainer all came back to reprise their roles in Madagascar 2. A few more people joined this great cast such as Alec Baldwin and Bernie Mac whom the movie was dedicated to. Everyone did a great job lending their voices to these characters.
'Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa' was an all around great comedy. You really can't go wrong checking this one out. Both adults and kids will have a fantastically fun time at this movie. It is full of comedy, adventure, and talking animals trying to get through one of the craziest times of their life.
Just so you know if you have kids and you end up taking them to this movie they will be dancing in the theater. As soon as the song "You've got to move it, move it!" hits the kids go nuts!
No matter what you see, always remember to enjoy your time at the movies!