Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)

The first Madagascar was a colourful and above average animated movie. I saw its sequel last night for the first time, not sure not to expect, and I was surprised. It actually lives up to the first pretty much (and almost surpasses it), it isn't as zany in terms of humour to its original despite some very clever references, but it has more heart than the first film did. Of course the plot is very predictable and I did notice one or two similarities with the Lion King, and probably slower than pace. But it is well the watch, for a number of reasons. The animation was beautiful and very colourful, even more so than the original. The characters are still great, the penguins were great fun, but Julien was absolutely hilarious here. The voice actors bring a lot of vigour into the film, Jada Pinkett Smith has more to do here, Ben Stiller and Chris Rock provide great comedy and heart and Sacha Baron Cohen is a hoot as Julien. Plus there is a sweet romantic interlude between Melman and Gloria. All in all, a fun sequel that lives up to the first. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Fmovies: I loved the original film as much as anyone else. It had a flawed story, a shorter time length, and a script that contained some humorous parts, but only some parts that were too predictable; but I loved it for it's charming characters and it's beautiful animation. So, when I saw that Dreamworks made this sequel to that film, I was only expecting this to be as good as the first, but sadly, I missed my only chance to see it in theaters of that year.

Almost two years later, however, on my last birthday, I had the chance to get this on a DVD copy, feeling very desperate to watch it to see if it would whether or not be surprise me as much as the original even though that film had it's problems. Later, I became a bit surprised. OK, it's not as excellent as the previous film that came out the same year "Kung Fu Panda", but it's not one of Dreamworks' weakest (that goes to Shark Tale, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, and Bee Movie). The same characters are as charming as ever, but this time, they're much fleshed out especially King Julian and Maurice.

Some of the new characters are great and I think the villain named Makunga voiced by Alec Baldwin isn't that bad of a villain, though he was underused and I liked Alex's parents as well. It's sad to see that Bernie Mac died just before this film was released (may his soul rest in peace), but I'm getting ahead of myself. The soundtrack from Hans Zimmer has improved a little in this film although it does have some generic bits. It does have some clever references which works for the comedy that got a chuckle/laugh out of me as well as it's witty and sharp dialog. There was also a scene that involved a relationship between Gloria and Melman which was so romantic and sweet to watch.

The only two problems that I do have with this film is that while the story does have more heart than the original film, it's still predictable and does have it's similarities to the Lion King and Happy Feet and several scenes were dragged a lot throughout the movie. Aside from that, I said to myself, "This is a great sequel." I loved the original, but as a fan, this completely surprised and surpasses it as a much better entry of the franchise. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa isn't an excellent film, but I totally recommend this to those who haven't seen it or the original film yet. It is that good!

Just saw this at a discount movie theater ($2.50 a seat) and that's about what it's worth. Don't watch it expecting some major innovative work of art - it isn't, nor was it meant to be. It's purely fun fluff.

Without a doubt, the penguins steal the show. Their banter and antics are just downright hysterical. Granny on the other hand, needs to be retired. A cameo of her might have been funny, but she is overused to the point of irritation.

The ill-fated aircraft ride is a raucous ride, but after that the story splits into four or five (at least) concurrent sub-plots, so enough time isn't really given to each, and the pacing tends to jerk along in spurts. Basically it seems as if the filmmakers just strung together scenes of the funniest supporting characters from the original then tried to wrap it around a Lion King send-up.

All that said, I actually liked this one better than the original. Not every movie is intended to be a piece of ground-breaking cinematic artistry and this certainly isn't. But it IS just downright fun to watch. Now if Dreamworks would just give the penguins their OWN full-length picture...

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa fmovies. I was really excited about seeing the sequel to Madagascar, because I really loved the first and thought it was one of the best animations of the decade, regardless of how underrated it is, and this looked just as good, and in my opinion it almost was. Both of them are excellent films that are nothing but fun and are super energetic from the moment they come on screen, and this just made me appreciate the first even more than I already did, and am even looking forward to a third installment. The quality of this film might seem more fast paced and careless, but it is just as lovable.

When it started up, I was immediately sucked in, and I never became uninterested and it never stopped entertaining, because they did an excellent job at keeping your attention just like the first. There were some parts in the movie where I felt as if they tried too hard to please the audience and then others it got a little dumb and boring, but overall I laughed insanely and was very pleased. When it was over I wanted to watch it again. It's a great sequel to a great movie and I enjoyed watching it as much as the first, as I have said. Some hilarious scenes like the plane crash, any scene with Moto Moto and of course Mort are lovable too. It's story is touching and fantastic as well, go see it.

Well, so far "Madagascar" is two-for-two in the laughs department. This is just as good, if not better, than the first film.

It's another good example of the "new" (last 10 years) kind of animated feature film that adults can enjoy just as much as the kids. In some cases, perhaps like this one, adults would laugh even more because many of the gags might over the kids' heads. I'm not talking sexual innuendos, just references to things older people could recognize.

It isn't just the writing that is excellent; the artwork is spectacular, especially on Blu-Ray. The colors and the detail are just amazing! More than once, my jaw dropped at what I was seeing on the TV screen. Like the first Madagascar, the high-def images are truly spectacular.

The combination of humor, drama, family and friendship ties and romance all make this a wonderful animated movie and the 90 minutes zip by.

As with the comment ahead of mine: it's all about the penguins. They should have their own movie.

We were chanting: more penguins, more penguins. At the screening we just saw, people who loved the first Madagascar movie waited excitedly for the magic to begin... I LOVED the first one. Interesting note: I liked the first one better, but my BF thinks this one has a better and deeper plot and pointed out in particular that while in the first one Gloria (the hippo) was the butt of many fat jokes, in this one she is celebrated just for being beautiful.

The whole movie is breathtakingly beautiful. We didn't see this on IMAX but I bet the IMAX version will be a treat.

Sascha Baron Cohen's King is again the hands-down favorite, I heard a ripple of joy murmur through the theater at everything he said and did, although my personal favorites (after the Penguins) are Maurice and Mort, the King's cohorts.

BF was also teasing me mercilessly because (and I'm nearly ashamed to admit it) there's one scene that had me totally teared up! Yes, I cried. Can't spoil it - go see the movie and tell me after if you know what choked me up! The film did not hold the attention of some of the very small children at the screening we saw, because some portions of the film only involve adult storyline concerning the adult star characters (Alec Baldwin, Jada Pinkett Smith, Chris Rock, and so forth) but when the little characters are on screen (the baby lion in particular is DARLING) the children present were absolutely captivated.

It's fun. It's not the greatest movie of all time, but it's very fun and children will want to watch it again and again.