Madagascar-Escape 2 Africa (Blu-ray) (2008)

"You'll love it! Love it!  Pat Collins, WWOR-TV
"A nice surprise, surpassing the quality of the first film.  Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle
"...a brighter, more engaging film than the original "Madagascar."  Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"The rare sequel that is better than the original.  Stephen Cole, The Globe and Mail
"Lively and quite funny...with a number of engaging new characters.  Todd McCarthy, Variety

Editor's Note In 2008's MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA, the endearing New York City zoo animals of the original hit movie return for another zany round of CGI adventures abroad. Leaving the island of the title by way of a ramshackle penguin-designed aircraft, the quartet of Alex the Lion (voiced by Ben Stiller), Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith), and Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer), along with unlikely friends such as King Julien the Lemur (Sacha Baron Cohen), crash-land on the African savannah, setting in motion a whole new series of exploits, involving Alex's long-lost parents (Bernie Mac and Sherri Shepherd) and a stranded group of tenacious NYC human tourists. Reuniting directors Tom McGrath and Eric Darnell, as well as all the principal cast members of the first film, MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA takes full advantage of its sweeping setting, making room for beautifully expansive landscapes amidst the mammal mayhem. While the leads are in fine form, they are ably assisted by series newcomers, including the late Mac, Shepherd, and Alec Baldwin, who plays a scheming rival lion. Though various plotlines get increasingly ridiculous as the movie goes on (see the return of MADAGASCAR's aggressive Grand Central Station granny), the good-natured main characters and their silly support players (particularly lemurs and penguins) keep ESCAPE 2 AFRICA entertaining no matter how far the story strays off the wildlife reserve.

	Will.I.Am - Voice
	Andy Richter - Voice
	Chris Rock - Voice
	Jada Pinkett Smith - Voice
	Alec Baldwin - Voice
	Sacha Baron Cohen - Voice
	Bernie Mac - Voice
	Ben Stiller - Voice
	Hans Zimmer - Song Composer
	Philippe Gluckman - Visual Effects Supervisor
	Kendal Cronkhite - Production Designer
	Tom McGrath - Screenwriter
	Hans Zimmer - Composer
	Mireille Soria - Producer
	Etan Cohen - Screenwriter
	Mark Swift - Producer
	Eric Darnell - Screenwriter
	David Schwimmer - Voice
	Cedric the Entertainer - Voice
	Shannon Jeffries - Art Director
	Eric Darnell - Director
	Tom McGrath - Director

USA Today
"While the cast of characters has grown, the story still focuses on the value of friendship. The plot expands to include familial and romantic love, and to celebrate diversity and uniqueness....MADAGASCAR 2 is amusing animated fare." 11/07/2008

New York Times
"There's true playfulness here whenever this wacky animal pack takes over....The exaggerated character designs create a nice visual contrast with the photorealistic details and flourishes." 11/07/2008

Variety
"Spreading the comic wealth around are Cohen, whose lemur monarch is now given sufficient screen time to emerge as memorably nutty....Another enhancement is the film's look....The colors are particularly rich..." 11/02/2008

Chicago Sun-Times
"This is a brighter, more engaging film than the original MADAGASCAR....The action is thrilling, and there is a romance between Gloria the hippo and Melman the giraffe." 11/05/2008

Entertainment Weekly
"Stiller excels at exploring the sillier aspects of self-involvement, and it's pleasant to see Alex reunited with motormouthed Marty the zebra..." 11/14/2008 p.54

Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "DreamWorks' animators up their game with the CG visuals..." 11/01/2008 p.50

Reel.com 6 of 10
To a film critic, the mainstream is like a ravenous shark with a defective hypothalamus. As long as Hollywood seeds the entertainment waters with chum, the masses will feed and feed until their dead, lifeless eyes roll back in their head. Examples of this baffling binge and purge are released every year with inexplicable, unexplainable crowd-pleasers like Wild Hogs, Norbit, and Night at the Museum. Now comes Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, the even louder, more obnoxious sequel to Dreamworks' loud, obnoxious CGI original. This is a film about more: more already dated pop culture references, more digitally-rendered eye candy, more abject pandering to a seemingly easy-to-satisfy demographic...Like being beaten over the head with a bag of baby bunnies, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is so relentlessly cutesy-pie it's almost sickening. This is a big screen experience so kid-oriented it should come with a pacifier and a selection of Huggies. It goes for the easy, unimaginative laughs and then barely succeeds at finding said funny business...And this doesn't even begin to address the inappropriate nature of some of the material. The sexualizing of cartoon animals hasn't been this blatant since Bugs Bunny gussied up to seduce Elmer Fudd...Still, if it makes the wee ones happy and keeps their parents at bay, no one will really complain. Madagascar 2 will make money, and the cast will reconvene in a couple of years to make the already unnecessary three-quel. At least there is no questioning the visual approach--the movie looks amazing. As an example of the technological leaps and bounds the genre has experienced, the images are astounding. But this is a movie relying on its wit, not its vistas, to keep audiences interested. In that regard, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa plays it safe. It's the viewer who'll be sorry. - Bill Gibron

ReelViews 7 of 10
One reason to lament the existence of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (which will hereafter be referred to merely as Madagascar 2) is too bemoan the considerable amount of talent that was tied up developing this uninspired sequel when it could have been employed in the service of something fresh and new. As a product - a flashy and shiny bauble lighting up the screen, featuring familiar faces and voices and offering a brief diversion from the real world - Madagascar 2 accomplishes what it sets out to do. The bar isn't that high, but the picture clears it. This movie reminds me of the forgettable Disney animated movies from the immediate pre-Little Mermaid era: creative sinkholes brought to the screen exclusively to provide parents and children with an opportunity to bond over something that's not frightfully bad. If Madagascar 2 is the best Dreamworks can provide to go toe-to-toe with Pixar's beautiful WALL*E, then it's game, set and match to the Disney subsidiary...The IMAX version of Madagascar 2 is being sold as the best way to see the film, and it's no wonder. Whatever faults this movie may have, it is a visual feast and a definite step-up from the disappointing look of its predecessor...It's hard for me to generate much enthusiasm for or against Madagascar 2. It is what it is and it will absorb entertainment-thirsty families the way a parched sponge sucks up water. It's an adequate way to spend 90 minutes with the family and, seen from that perspective, it achieves its aims. However, this is not the kind of animated movie that provides a rich, fulfilling experience for solo, adult viewer. As such, it is more properly labeled a "children's movie" than a "family film." And, like many such films that target less discriminating viewers, it's as forgettable as it is disposable. - James Berardinelli