We ask you, urgently: don’t scroll past this
Dear readers, Catholic Online was de-platformed by Shopify for our pro-life beliefs. They shut down our Catholic Online, Catholic Online School, Prayer Candles, and Catholic Online Learning Resources—essential faith tools serving over 1.4 million students and millions of families worldwide. Our founders, now in their 70's, just gave their entire life savings to protect this mission. But fewer than 2% of readers donate. If everyone gave just $5, the cost of a coffee, we could rebuild stronger and keep Catholic education free for all. Stand with us in faith. Thank you.Help Now >
'Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa'
FREE Catholic Classes
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) - Common wisdom holds that sequels are inferior to the movies that spawned them.
Highlights
McClatchy Newspapers (www.mctdirect.com)
11/5/2008 (1 decade ago)
Published in Movies
"Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" is an exception.
Which is not to say it's a classic. But the proprietors of this franchise _ writer/directors Tom McGrath and Eric Darnell _ bring to this second go-round a goofy sense of anarchy.
Admittedly, this reviewer was never fond of the film's four main characters, zoo-reared animals who find themselves on the loose in the wild: Alex the lion (voiced by Ben Stiller), Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith), Marty the zebra (Chris Rock) and Melman the giraffe (David Schwimmer). They're OK, just not all that interesting. Most of the fun, instead, is generated by peripheral characters.
It's hard not to love the band of thuggish penguins who pop up every now and then, organized like some sort of pint-sized Mafia and headed by Skipper (voiced by director McGrath), an order-shouting kingpin in the Edward G. Robinson mode.
Or Julien the lemur king, voiced with brilliant comic creativity by Sacha Baron Cohen and visualized as a slinky, fey, self-obsessed nut job who blurs all sorts of gender barriers.
Or the little old lady (Elis a Gabrielli) who had just one scene in the first film but who emerges as Alex's nemesis, a safari-taking grandma who organizes a band of stranded tourists into a feral tribe right out of "Lord of the Flies."
These sideshows threaten to overwhelm the main event.
"Escape" begins with the back story of how as a cub young Alex was snatched by poachers and ended up as the big attraction at the Central Park Zoo. Then it brings us up to date on the African island of Madagascar where Alex and his pals are planning an airborne escape with the help of a crashed plane and the ingenuity (and unsubstantiated self-assurance) of the enterprising penguins.
They get as far as the mainland before crashing. Wouldn't you know _ they land on the same game preserve where Alex was born and where his father (the late Bernie Mac) still rules the pride. After a reunion, Dad urges his long-lost son to take his place as the leader of the pack.
Sounds good to Alex, who's too naive to realize that he'll have to square off against another wannabe (Alec Baldwin) to earn that position of power.
Meanwhile Marty the zebra finds he doesn't fit in with his own kind . Gloria is wooed by an obese hippo (the Black Eyed Peas' Will.i.am., employing a romantic Barry White basso profundo). And the shy, neurotic Melman realizes he loves Gloria .
Bottom line: Kids will undoubtedly love it. And thanks to those undercurrents of nihilist hilarity, adults can have fun, too.
___
MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA
2 ˝ stars
Rated: PG for some crude humor
Running time: 1:29
___
© 2008, The Kansas City Star.
Join the Movement
When you sign up below, you don't just join an email list - you're joining an entire movement for Free world class Catholic education.
-
Mysteries of the Rosary
-
St. Faustina Kowalska
-
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
-
Saint of the Day for Wednesday, Oct 4th, 2023
-
Popular Saints
-
St. Francis of Assisi
-
Bible
-
Female / Women Saints
-
7 Morning Prayers you need to get your day started with God
-
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Daily Catholic
- Daily Readings for Monday, December 23, 2024
- St. John of Kanty: Saint of the Day for Monday, December 23, 2024
- Christmas Prayer: Prayer of the Day for Monday, December 23, 2024
- Daily Readings for Sunday, December 22, 2024
- St. Chaeromon: Saint of the Day for Sunday, December 22, 2024
- Advent Prayer #2: Prayer of the Day for Sunday, December 22, 2024
Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited.
Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.