"Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" – Blu-ray Bonus Features:

• Filmmakers’ Commentary
• It’s A Family Affair: The Cast of ESCAPE 2 AFRICA (HD)
• The Making of ESCAPE 2 AFRICA (HD)
• Crash Landing (HD)
• African Adventure (HD)
• Jambo Jambo: Swahili Speak (HD)
• The Bronx Zoo: Madagascar (HD)
• Alex’s Dance Off (HD)
• Test Flight of Air Penguin Game (HD)
• The Heart of a Lion (HD) – BD-LIVE
• MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA Activision Game Trailer

Music Videos:

• "Move It, Move It" (HD)
• “Big and Chunky” (HD)
• “She Loves Me” (HD)
• “The Traveling Song” (HD)

THE PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR

• “Popcorn Panic”
• “Gone in a Flash”

Penguin Easter Eggs

• Move It, Move It
• Hock Shop
• Julien’s Birthday
• Tug of War
• Fully Armed
• No Thanks, I’m Stuffed

Blu-ray Exclusive Content

• The Animators’ Corner (HD)
• Trivia Track (HD)

Post from: Film Gecko

“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

Post from: Film Gecko

“Death at a Funeral”

I should watch it soon, so I can compare with the remake coming up. Chris Rock is on board to produce, star, and co-write the script with Aeysha Carr. Sidney Kimmel is part of the producing team.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new movie is an ensemble comedy that takes place in urban American. It centers on a funeral that devolves into a debacle of misplaced cadavers, indecent exposure and family secrets. The cast will be primarily black, in contrast to the earlier, England-set version’s British cast.

More after the jump…

Sounds funny! I can totally see Chris Rock bringing this to life. It also marks the first Sidney Kimmel Entertainment production since the company announced a few months ago that it would focus on more commercial films. Recent less-commercial endeavors include “Synecdoche, New York” and “Lars and the Real Girl.”

And by the way, if you haven’t seen “Lars and the Real Girl,” you should really see it. Read my review here.

Image: Chris Rock, Head of State, Dreamworks, 2003

Post from: Film Gecko