Movie Review: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA
Main Players: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, et al.
Calling the shots: Eric Darnell & Tom McGrath
Running time: 89mins
What's it about? Picking up pretty much right off from the original, our favourite castaways are about to make their way home; by sling-shot plane. As the title suggests they don’t quite make it back to their home, by they do crash land in their “home”...if you catch my drift. Let the laughter and discovery of their roots and friendships begin.

What did I think? I love my animations. Call me a big kid, but I always look forward to them. I am therefore vindicated when they turn out to be as good as this and it’s rare for a film these days, but I think it out does its predecessor.

Two major things work for this film. The entire original cast is back. Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith and David Schwimmer all reprise their roles and that kind of thing is always a blessing for a sequel. With the addition of some other strong voice talents (Alec Baldwin and the late Bernie Mac) it brings a certain fun to the film.

The second is the fact that not all the jokes are lame or rely completely on slap-stick as most “family” films tend to do. A lot of the jokes are actually quite mature/smart and it gets just as much airtime as the, afore mentioned, slap-stick humour. So it satisfies both adults and kids alike and it’s probably fair to say, my friends and I laughed the loudest in the cinema.

There is literally so much to enjoy in this film. The penguins, the monkeys, the shark, Mort and King Julian constantly provide the laughs. It sounds like I’m running of a list of animals but they are much funnier than the main characters. The annoying characters are actually the humans in the film, particular the old-lady who kind of out stays her welcome.

As enjoyable as the original was, this one improves on it by leaps and bounds. Better animation, better characters, better everything! So take your kids, cousins, nieces, nephews, friends or whoever you need to take. It’ll definitely be worth it.

70%