Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa review (From Basingstoke Gazette)

It’s a greater escape

4:22pm Wednesday 3rd December 2008 in Reviews By Joanne Mace

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (PG)

DREAMWORKS Animation recently pulled its socks up big time with Kung Fu Panda, and, now that the quality of its output is on an upward trajectory, it should try to maintain it.

In one sense, their new release Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is a step back because it’s a sequel to what was a relatively inferior animated film, especially when you consider Pixar’s field-leading, world-conquering work.

The plot follows on from where things left off at the end of the first film. Alex the lion (Ben Stiller), Marty the zebra (Chris Rock), Gloria the hippopotamus (Jada Pinkett Smith) and Melman the giraffe (David Schwimmer) are trying to get back to their former home, a New York zoo, aided by the brilliant penguins. And crazy lemur leader King Julian (Sacha Baron Cohen) is along for the ride, too.

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But, mid-flight, things go awry, and the gang crash land in the middle of Africa. Introducing themselves at the local watering hole, Alex is reunited with his mother and father, from whom he was stolen as a cub, while the rest of the animals move off to mingle with those of their own kind.

Plot thickeners come in the form of Alec Baldwin’s nasty lion Makunga, who wants to seize power from Alex’s father, and a group of lost tourists, whose terrifying little old lady leader’s survival tactics will disrupt life for every living being in the continent.

Putting aside the obvious question of why make it at all, this instalment of Madagascar is, it must be acknowledged, a vast improvement on its predecessor. The characters who make it amusing – the penguins, the monkeys and Julian – are given slightly larger roles, although still not big enough. There’s a sense of the animators pushing the boat out – there’s one great scene which tracks a paper plane as it winds its way through the working monkeys – and their hard work has been complemented by labours on the parts of the scriptwriters. Things have been tightened up, and a refreshingly madcap element pops up here and there. The writers do, however, try to cram too much in there, and make a mistake with the very unfunny fighting granny plot line. And of course they owe a little debt to Disney’s The Lion King. Other inspirations like Born Free get a musical nod.

Stiller’s posturing persona is as unchanged as ever, and fans of his will recognise his usual argumentative exchange. He clearly has it written into his every contract as an essential component. The four lead characters remain, sadly, a bit dull. So thank goodness, then, for the wonderful King Julian, an irreverent joy who pops up now and then and idly scratches his bottom while trying to work out why the world might not be revolving around him.

But all this analysis really matters little – Madagascar 3 (due in 2011) was apparently confirmed before this one was even released in US cinemas.