Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

Posted Nov 6, 2008 by TBO.com

Updated Nov 6, 2008 at 04:58 PM

Welcome to Reel People. It’s a place where, you guessed it, real people like yourselves spout off on new movie releases. It works best if you—yes, we mean you—jump into the comments below and tell us what you think of the movie, too.

This week, we’re watching “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa”

What I liked: It is better the second time around! I wouldn’t call it an escape; it was more of a journey to the other side. LOL. The lovable New York zoo animals, Alex (Ben Stiller), Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith), Marty (Chris Rock) and Melman (David Schwimmer) attempt to return home to the zoo. Those clever and comical penguins concoct an aircraft from a wreck.  They attempt to fly it back to NY but don’t make it out of Africa. Instead they wind up crash landing smack in the middle of Alex’s hometown.  Here we meet Zuba, Alex’s dad (voiced by the late great Bernie Mac) and Florrie, Alex’s mom (the View’s Sherri Shepherd). We learn of the animals’ roots, heritage and many ethical and life lessons. “Madagascar’s” sequel is educational and very funny. When I was not laughing out loud, I would ‘move it, move it’ in my seat to the great music.  This movie was well worth the three and a half year wait.

What I disliked: What’s not to like? Maybe there could have been more to the penguins story. They were the best characters for humor along with the old lady tourist. The movie could have been a bit longer as well. I hated to see it end. I can’t wait until the third installment. Alright DreamWorks, move it, move it! LOL.

Would I recommend it? I’d recommend this movie to anyone. It is suitable for the entire family. You should see it as a family. Dads and brothers will enjoy it as well as the ladies.

Score: 9 out of 10

- Tanisha Speight

What I liked: The original voice cast of the first “Madagascar” film are back.  In the sequel the animals try to make it back to New York and their home in the New York Zoo but instead crash land in Africa.  Although Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, and Jada Pinkett Smith do a great job of showing emotion in their respectable animals, it is Sacha Baron Cohen as Julian, the king Lemur, and everyone’s favorite military minded Penguins that get the laughs and steal the show.  Unfortunately the laughs are rare and the plot of the film is hard to find.

What I disliked: There is no full plot that moves this film.  The film seems to be a series of shorts spliced together featuring the animal stars in various personal adventures.  Many of the subplots have a lot of holes that are not explained like why Julian the King Lemur is coming along on this adventure. It’s just another reason to add some more semi-funny jokes. And if jokes don’t work the writers are quick to resort to slapstick comedy to fill in the dead spaces. The older lady who smacked Alec the lion around in the first film gets more screen time and you wonder why,  because her scenes are not that funny and they seem to drag on and on, with more slapstick added in for supposed fun. And if the slapstick comedy doesn’t work the writers think that hiring several famous actors to do voice work will help boost the enjoyment of the film.  Actors Alec Baldwin and Bernie Mac aren’t really given much to work with, and seem like they are simply in the film for name dropping.

Would I recommend it? This film is far from being an animation classic, but kids may love it if they loved the first one. And with the choices at the theaters slim for families, this film is definitly recommended for families if you really want to take the kids to a film.  Otherwise, skip this film and just wait for it to come to video, where it should have been released anyway.

Score: 3 out of 10

John T. McMillin

What I liked: Whether we like to admit it or not, we all have insecurities and struggles we have to deal with. I like that this film explores diversity and the setbacks that can occur in life even though they do it with talking animals.  This film is great at teaching the lesson that we are all unique.  Everyone has strengths and weaknesses and if we work together towards common goals we can use those strengths and weaknesses to solve each others’ problems.

What I disliked: I honestly didn’t like how short the movie was.  I was enjoying it so much I wanted it to keep going.  The other thing I didn’t like was how fast the story line moves along.  Problems can’t always be solved that fast. Yes, I know that it has to be a short movie to keep the attention of the audience it is intended for, but it does make me nervous to teach the lesson that everything has a fast answer and that all problems can be fixed quickly and easily.

Would I recommend it? I would recommend it to parents because it is funny and has a good message.  This movie is the perfect family-friendly flick to watch and enjoy together. 

Score: 7 out of 10

Ashley Grant