"Madagascar 3" on the Way?

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa doesn’t hit theaters until Nov. 7, 2008, but a third installment is already in the works. That’s cool with me. The kids and I loved the first movie. (”You’ve got to move it, move it…”)

During a preview of the flick yesterday, DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg said there’s at least one more chapter to the story. “We ultimately want to see the characters make it back to New York.”

More after the jump…

“Escape 2 Africa” finds the rag-tag group of Central Park Zoo animals trying to make their way back to the Big Apple. Returning cast-voices include Ben Stiller, David Schwimmer, Chris Rock and Jada Pinkett Smith.

New to the cast is actor-comedian Bernie Mac, who voices Zuba, the father of Alex the Lion (Stiller). “It’s been a very hard week,” Katzenberg said, referring to the death of the actor. “We love Bernie. He made an amazing contribution to this movie.”

Dreamworks is also discussing the idea of a sequel to the summer hit Kung Fu Panda, which recently topped $560 million. Not quite the caliber of “Madagascar,” in my mind, but still a really fun movie.

Image: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Dreamworks Animation, 2008