Cinefantastique Online

It is an amusing aspect of film franchise mentality that this title even has the word “Madagascar.” Only a few minutes of MADAGASCAR 2 are set on the epynomous island, but if the studio had simply used “ESCAPE TO AFRICA” as the title, patrons might not even realize it was a sequel; worse yet, the DVD boxes would not be alphabetically alligned when the film reaches home video. We cannot really blame DreamWorks for this sad state of affairs; the precedent for this type of title treatment goes all the way back to AFTER THE THIN MAN (in which the titular character of the original THIN MAN did not appear). Quibbling aside, MADAGASCAR 2 does an accurate job of describing the movie in terms of quality if not location: If you enjoyed bringing your kids to see MADAGASCAR, you will enjoy the return trip.

Everything is much the same as before. The character design remains ugly. The CGI seeks to compensate with some flashy spectacle, but the character animation does not particularly impress. The vocal cast strives to wring laughter out of dialogue that is at most fitfully funny. The penguins steal the show, their relatively brief screen time providing all the real highlights and making you wish there were an entire series of short films dedicated to them – maybe even a TV show.

This time out Alex the lion and his pals crash land while trying to return to New York from Madagascar, conveniently ending up at the very place where Alex was captured as a cub years ago. The majority of the plot details Alex’s attempts to reconcile with his father, who thinks he’s a dancing wimp, not a fearsome fighter. Subplots deal with Marty the zebra’s attempt to stand out as an individual now that he is surrounded by a herd of zebras (all of whom speak in Chris Rock’s voice). And Melman the giraffe declares his secret love for Gloria the hippo.

It’s not too bad as long as you do not expect too much. The father-son reconciliation plot is a trifle trite, but at least it’s not another Disney orphan story (unlike many Disney animated heroes, Alex has both his father and his mother still alive). If only the DreamWorks animation team could make the characters less of an eyesore (the new villain with his ridiculous hair – which is admittedly supposed to look ridiculous – makes things even worse), the MADAGASCAR films would be much more watchable.

MADAGASCAR 2: BACK 2 AFRICA(2008). Directed by Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, Written by Etan Cohen. Voices: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Bernie Mac, Alec Baldwin, Shrri Shepherd, Will I Am.

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