Matthew ShallueMadagascar: Escape 2 Africa
Having never scene the first Madagascar movie, I didn’t really have much of an option about it. I figured it would be your typical animated comedy with a large cast of already famous actors and actresses. And that’s about what you get with Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. That’s not to say that it’s a bad movie, to the contrary is a decent film, just not anything special.
There were a few details that could have been explained better in the opening sequence. I felt that I needed to have seen the first movie to understand what was going on. The opening of the film jumps around through what I assume was events from the last film and deposits you on the Island of Madagascar where the main cast is boarding a pieced together airplane, which is propelled into the air by what must be the world’s largest slingshot. It’s all done very abruptly.
The plot of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is exactly what the name implies. The characters end up in Africa on a game reserve, thinking that they have found what has been missing from their lives. Each animal comes to a different realization about themselves and what is important to them. So the movie has an undertone about friendship and how you should not take the people who matter to you, for granted. This is really done well and blended into the story so that younger children wouldn’t even notice it.
The voice acting good and each actor fits the animal they are speaking for. I think I like Ben Stiller as an animated lion Alex more then when he plays a live action role. Alec Baldwin as Makunga, is brilliant. The scheming up to no good loin character was built for him. David Schwimmer lends his voice, creating the awkward, hypochondriac giraffe, Melman and Chris Rock returns as Marty the sly talking Zebra who discovers that what he though made him unique is not so unique after all. Jada Pinkett-Smith rounds out the cast as Gloria, a Hippopotamus looking for love.
The film is enjoyable for adults as well, with some great comedic parts, but without the tongue in cheek adult humor that many animated tales include. Some the best moments involve the mechanically inclined penguins and their attempts to gather the materials to repair what is left of the airplane. I found myself wishing that they would have been incorporated into the story more, especially since they end up saving the day.
Director: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath
Starring: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Bernie Mac, Alec Baldwin
MPAA Rating: PG
Runtime: 89 minutes
There were a few details that could have been explained better in the opening sequence. I felt that I needed to have seen the first movie to understand what was going on. The opening of the film jumps around through what I assume was events from the last film and deposits you on the Island of Madagascar where the main cast is boarding a pieced together airplane, which is propelled into the air by what must be the world’s largest slingshot. It’s all done very abruptly.
The plot of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is exactly what the name implies. The characters end up in Africa on a game reserve, thinking that they have found what has been missing from their lives. Each animal comes to a different realization about themselves and what is important to them. So the movie has an undertone about friendship and how you should not take the people who matter to you, for granted. This is really done well and blended into the story so that younger children wouldn’t even notice it.
The voice acting good and each actor fits the animal they are speaking for. I think I like Ben Stiller as an animated lion Alex more then when he plays a live action role. Alec Baldwin as Makunga, is brilliant. The scheming up to no good loin character was built for him. David Schwimmer lends his voice, creating the awkward, hypochondriac giraffe, Melman and Chris Rock returns as Marty the sly talking Zebra who discovers that what he though made him unique is not so unique after all. Jada Pinkett-Smith rounds out the cast as Gloria, a Hippopotamus looking for love.
The film is enjoyable for adults as well, with some great comedic parts, but without the tongue in cheek adult humor that many animated tales include. Some the best moments involve the mechanically inclined penguins and their attempts to gather the materials to repair what is left of the airplane. I found myself wishing that they would have been incorporated into the story more, especially since they end up saving the day.
Director: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath
Starring: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Bernie Mac, Alec Baldwin
MPAA Rating: PG
Runtime: 89 minutes
