"Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" - Review

Movie: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa * Official Site	In Theaters: Nov. 7, 2008
Runtime: 89 minutes	Directed by: Eric Darnell
MPAA Rating: PG for some mild crude humor	Gecko Rating:

“Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” is Too.Much.Fun! I love that they didn’t make us wait for the “Move it, Move It” song, and jumped right into it at the beginning. My kids and I loved everything about it from beginning to end. We all agreed that it’s even better than the first movie. And a third movie is on the way for 2011, so we’ve got that to look forward to.

All the originals are back — Alex the lion (voiced by Ben Stiller), Marty the zebra (Chris Rock), Melman the giraffe (David Schwimmer), and Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith). It begins on the distant shores of Madagascar, where we last left our fun-loving group. They’ve finally figured out a way to get back to New York City and their beloved Central Park Zoo. The resourceful penguins have repaired a dilapidated WWII plane and turned it into Air Penguin.

But they’re barely in the air when the plane crash-lands in the African savannah. The kicker is that it turns out to be Alex’s former stomping grounds. We learn that he began life as a cub here, until poachers grabbed him while his father, Zuba (Bernie Mac) was fending off an attack by a foe, Makunga (Alec Baldwin).

Alex’s parents are thrilled to see him, even putting him up in the room they’ve kept with his things all these years. But Makunga quickly manages to get him banished to the wilderness, thanks to Alex’s bumbling of a rite of passage. He thinks it involves dancing, not fighting!

Meanwhile, Gloria finds interest in a group of hippos there, including a certain male hippo, Moto Moto (will.i.am, whose deep voice is like the Barry White of Hippo-World). Melman wrestles with his jealousy over Gloria’s situation, and Marty is dismayed to learn that every other zebra is his exact replica, right down to the voice!

There are so many pop culture references and funny sequences, it’s impossible to name them all. But here are a few highlights:

• An Air Penguin crewman tries to handle a screwdriver, saying “Darn you Darwin!” when the tool slips from his flipper.
• Alex the dancing lion, expertly doing Jerome Robbins’ choreography from “West Side Story” in a fight scene with a ferocious lion.
• The hot-tub love scene between beautifully plump hippos Gloria and Moto Moto.
• A funny storyline involving a group of tourists, including one feisty grandma-type who has no qualms about taking down anyone who gets in her way.
• The manic and musically inventive Julien (Sacha Baron Cohen), singing Tina Turner’s “Private Dancer” as a ballad.
• Skipper the penguin, putting a hula doll on the dashboard of his airplane control panel, then falling in love with the figurine.

Even though these bits will probably go over the heads of most kids, they’re still very funny, even if you don’t get the references. “Madagascar 2″ is one of those movies to be enjoyed by both kids and adults.

Images: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, DreamWorks Distribution, 2008