Director: Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath
Writer: Ethan Cohen
Actors: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett, Sacha Baron Cohen (Alec Baldwin, Bernie Mac, Will i Am)
Release Date: December 2008
Genre: Animation/Family/Comedy
Plot
*****
Three years after we were introduced ... Read review
Are you ready to get wild?Join the zany crew on an all new adventure that takes you ... more
through the movie madagascar: Escape to Africa and beyond!Play as all your favourite Madagascar characters, including Alex, Marty, Gloria, Melman, those crafty Penguins, new friend Moto Moto and more!Play with a friend in multiplayer tournament mode mini-games!
Are You Ready To Get WILD?.Join the zany crew on an all-new adventure that takes you ... more
through the movie Madagascar:Escape to Africa andbeyond!.Play as all your favourite Madagascar characters, including Alex, Marty, Gloria, Melman, those crafty Penguins, new friend Moto Moto and more!.Adventure and laugh your way through 12 levels of action-packed fun!.Play with up to 4 friends in 8 multiplayer mini-games available in the Africa Arcade.Utilise the Wii remote and Nunchuk to dance, toss, shoot, and perform special moves.
Postage & Packaging:£0.00 Availability:Out of stock
Advantages: Funny, great animation and hilarious characters Disadvantages: The story isn't very original
...Park Zoo in the first Madagascar film, it's makers bring us Madagascar 2 - Escape to Africa. Left stranded on the shores of Madagascar when their boat crashed in the first film, Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria and the penguins hatch a plan to escape and return to the safety of their beloved home. With James Bond style precision, the weird little penguins repair an old crashed plane. Unfortunately, the repairs aren't up to scratch and they soon find themselves ... ...the true stars of the Madagascar series (along with King Julien). Their James Bond style antics their keen negotiating skills, stealth-like manner and cut throat attitudes towards anyone and everything they encounter makes for hilarious viewing. A dare you to watch a tuxedoed penguin getting amorous with a Hawaiian girl car bobble head toy and not laugh hysterically.
It is also worth taking a moment to acknowledge some of the new ... more
Director: Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath Writer: Ethan Cohen Actors: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett, Sacha Baron Cohen (Alec Baldwin, Bernie Mac, Will i Am) Release Date: December 2008 Genre: Animation/Family/Comedy
Plot ***** Three years after we were introduced to the animals of Central Park Zoo in the first Madagascar film, it's makers bring us Madagascar 2 - Escape to Africa. Left stranded on the shores of Madagascar when their boat crashed in the first film, Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria and the penguins hatch a plan to escape and return to the safety of their beloved home. With James Bond style precision, the weird little penguins repair an old crashed plane. Unfortunately, the repairs aren't up to scratch and they soon find themselves plummeting towards the wild plains of Africa, where our friendly zoo animals are reunited with members of their own species for the first time. In particular, Alex the lion, who comes face to face with his past. But will they survive the wild? Will they avoid the poachers that lie in wait outside the reservation gates? Will they get back home eventually or will they even want to?
Acting/Characters *************** Ben stiller - Alex Alex the Lion is the most central character in this film which concerned me simply because i find Ben Stiller characters in most of his films tend to hog the limelight somewhat. However, I was nicely surprised to see he didn't this time around. Instead, we were given a different glimpse of Alex's vulnerable side which balanced out the slap-stick more evenly.
Chris Rock - Marty Chris Rock is loud and Marty is loud but it doesn't seem to matter when he is so damned funny! Marty develops a complex when he's faced with thousands of other zebras that look, sound and act just as he does. No longer unique, no longer able to stand out amongst the herd, and not even being recognised by his best friend Alex, Marty fells his self worth slipping away.
David Schwimmer - Melman Melman is the most lovable if somewhat neurotic of the friends and in Escape to Africa he finds himself being respected and looked up to for all the qualities his zoo friends made fun of him. He faces mortality and discovers a strength he didn't know he had when he finally steps up to fight for love. Melman becomes our hero in this film and Schwimmer brings him to life.
Jada Pinkett-Smith - Gloria Gloria, the only girl and often the most sane of the stranded zoo animals, you get the feeling she has to put up with a lot from these guys. In the sequel, Gloria comes into her own, enjoying the attention f the fellow hippos and coming to terms with her position in a strange love triangle. Pickett plays the feisty peace keeper well and adds a necessary calm in the chaos.
Sacha Baron Cohen - Julien By far my favourite individual character, Julien is the demented and deluded King of the Lemurs who seems to enjoy cross-dressing just a little more than he should. The whole purpose of Julien is to have the audience in stitches, shaking their heads at the ridiculousness of this strange and furry little creature who believes his own hype.
Penguins For me, the penguins are the true stars of the Madagascar series (along with King Julien). Their James Bond style antics their keen negotiating skills, stealth-like manner and cut throat attitudes towards anyone and everything they encounter makes for hilarious viewing. A dare you to watch a tuxedoed penguin getting amorous with a Hawaiian girl car bobble head toy and not laugh hysterically.
It is also worth taking a moment to acknowledge some of the new voices joining the cast, including Bernie Mac, Alec Baldwin, Sherrie Shepherd and Will i am in supporting roles. I was particularly taken by Moto Moto who played the "Player Hippo" with his eyes on Gloria, played by the Black Eyed Peas singer, Will i am. However, each added value to the film and developed their own sense of style which blended well with the originals.
Writing ******* I found the writing more compelling in Madagascar Escape to Africa than I did the first one. The first, seemed to be about the one liner jokes and not as much about the story whereas, the 2nd concentrated more on the story which meant the humour and wit felt more natural and easy. Without a doubt, the script borrows from other films such as The Lion King and even the more recent Happy Feet in terms of plot, but although familiar, it is a formula that works well enough. Besides, the Madagascar series is really all about the quirky characters and their relationships with each other
Animation/Cinematography ************************ As a DreamWorks production, the one thing you can rely on is spectacular animation and Escape to Africa delivers. In fact, developments made in animation over the last few years are evident as it is even crisper and more vibrant and there is a new flow to the characters movements. The animators have certainly not shied away from a challenge, creating multiple scenes and back-drops which involve incredible detail. There are in fact a whopping 295 crowd scenes in the film setting up the special effect team with a daunting and arduous task, which they carried off beautifully.
Conclusion ********* Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa has a slightly easier pace to it than the original. It has the same loveable, wacky characters we were introduced to, the humour we were first given and a stronger story with far more heart to it than the original. All in all, this is a good one to take the wee ones too. They will love the spectacle of it and you will enjoy the more subtle humour of it. Enjoy!
Trivia ***** Alex's animated mane is made up of 50,000 individual strands of fur
On its opening day, the film grossed $17,555,027
This was Bernie Mac's last film before passing away earlier this year
The 3rd Madagascar film will be in cinemas in 2012
Parts from the film were used to advertise McDonalds
Advantages: Enjoyable, funny, great characters, the penguins Disadvantages: None, unless you dont like animated films
...Gloria the hippo still in Madagascar but about to attempt to fly back to New York. The plane has been put together and flown by the penguins who had some very comic moments in the first film. However things don't exactly go to plan and the plane crashes down into a nature reserve in Africa. Here Alex meets some faces from the past and has some hard lessons to learn along with the other characters. Will they survive in the wild, will they be shot ... ...how the animals got to Madagascar in the first place. If you want a nice funny animation and you enjoyed the first film I would recommend you give this one a try too, I enjoyed it. The DVD has lots of special features too which are good to watch. These include interviews with all the cast members, interesting to find out that some of the cast brought in their children to play the voices of the young Gloria and young Alex. It also includes interviews ...
AJ26 06.07.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Madagascar - Escape 2 Africa (DVD)
Advantages: Standard animation that children will love. Disadvantages: Annoying soundtrack.
Director: Eric Darnell & Tom McGrath Writers: Etan Cohen & Eric Darnell Genre: Animated - Family - Fantasy - Comedy Country: USA Certification: PG Language: English DVD Release: 6th April, 2009 MAIN CAST [VOICES]: Ben Stiller [Alex] Chris Rock [Marty & additional zebras] David Schwimmer [Melman] Jada Pinkett Smith [Gloria] The movie begins with Alekai as a lion cub playing with his father, and tells the story of how Alekai was taken by hunters, forced ... ...the ropes holding the crate before being shot... which then resulted in the crate falling off the vehicle and into a river where it eventually bobbed its way to the ocean and then onwards to New York where Alekai, thanks to his extraordinary talent as a dancer, wowed his human audiences and became the 'King of New York'. For those who missed the first movie, there is a brief summary of what happened in the first movie... culminating with Alekai and ...
GoFigure 14.04.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Madagascar - Escape 2 Africa (DVD)
Advantages: None at all Disadvantages: Their making a 3rd part
With the speed this went from release to dvd you have to wonder if its going to be any good, at least with their previous release Dreamworks did actually bother with a cinema release. Generally anything that goes straight to video/dvd is something to be suspicious about. I'd say this one is strictly for the kids if they liked the 1st one.
The movie has an odd start but you'll eventually release you are watching the back story behind Alex the lion ... ...few minutes that the whole movie jumps the shark (any sane adult is going to question how a baby lion cub could possibly survive drifting in a crate on the ocean from Africa to America without starving to death), but we're back on the island and jumping a whole new and completely different shark there instead with the idea that penguins can fly a DC10.
Using the crashed plane (If you remember it from the original movie) the animals decide to return ...
atytyut2434 06.01.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Madagascar - Escape 2 Africa (DVD)
Advantages: Great characters, animation, soundtrack Disadvantages: None
A great family film
Madagascar Escape 2 Africa
Alex, Gloria, Marty and Melman are back! We again follows the adventures of the loveable animals. Madagascar 2 is the 2008 sequel to the 2005 movie, Madagascar. It’s a cartoon animation by the wonderful talented Dreamworks studios.
The film follows on in from the end of the last movie. We left Alex the Lion, Gloria the hippo, Marty the Zebra and Melman the giraffe in Madagascar after they had escaped ... ...skills.
Fast forward to Madagascar and the quartet are preparing to leave on a plane flown by penguins. In my opinion the penguins are one of the funniest characters in this movie. They are portrayed as not the most intelligent animals and their antics are very funny.
Unfortunately the plane crashes and the animals find themselves in Africa. Alex soon meets up with his long lost parents who were fearful they would never see him again. The other ...
Spottydog11 01.09.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Madagascar - Escape 2 Africa (DVD)
Advantages: Great for the whole family, a very funny and entertaining movie Disadvantages: None for me
...escaped from in the first Madagascar film (2005). Still stranded on the island of Madagascar, Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller), Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer) and Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) miss their home in the big city. With the help of the military style penguins, they restore an old crashed plane and wave goodbye to Madagascar, along with King Julien - the lemur King of Madagascar (Sacha Baron Cohen), ... ...bunch of unruly chimps. However, Air Penguin doesn't last long in the air and they soon find themselves hurtling towards the ground. For the first time, the animals find themselves in their native land of Africa. The wilderness and wildlife is completely new to them, but they are amazed when they meet hundreds of species of their own kind. Alex finds himself reunited with his long lost family, after being captured by hunters when he was only a cub. ...
frankiefromings13 16.04.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Madagascar - Escape 2 Africa (DVD)
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Reviews which might be of interest for "Madagascar - Escape 2 Africa (DVD)"
Advantages: better than the original and has great animation Disadvantages: Story lacks originality
All the loveable characters are back - Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippo, King Julien, Maurice and the penguins - in "Madagascar: Escape2Africa." Left marooned on the distant shores of Madagascar, the New Yorkers have hatched a plan so crazy it just might work. With military precision, the penguins have repaired an old crashed plan - sort of. Once aloft, this unlikely crew stays airborne just enough to make it to the wildest place of all - the vast plains of Africa itself - where our zoo-raised crew encounter species of their own kind for the very first time. While discovering their roots, they quickly realize the difference between the concrete jungle and the heart of Africa. Despite long-lost relatives, romantic rivals and scheming hunters, Africa seems like a "crack-a-lackin" great place... but ...
After they escaped from New York City, the creatures of 2005's MADAGASCAR are back in this African adventure. MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA features the return of the first film's vocal talents: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, and Andy Richter.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
PARAMOUNT HOME ENTERTAINMENT; TECHNICOLOR DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
Languages
Main Language
English
Technical information
Aspect Ratio
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital
Professional reviews
Review
A notable improvement on its predecessor in every department (Variety, 26/01/2009)
DVD Description
Hopelessly stranded on the remote shores of Madagascar, the New Yorkers hatch a plan to get back to Central Park that instead finds them soaking up sun in the picturesque plains of Africa. Madagascar may be a nice place to visit, but for the gang of animals who spent most of their lives in New York, there is truly no place like home. After discovering the remnants of a crashed airplane, the penguins quickly set about making the repairs needed to get the craft airborne again. When the plane finally takes to the sky, it begins to look like it's only a matter of time before Alex the Lion (voiced by Ben Stiller) and friends are soaring over New York Harbor. Unfortunately the penguins weren't the aviation experts they claimed to be, and before long the crew is coming in for a crash-landing in the untamed plains of Africa. Now, as the animals reared in the safety of the zoo come into contact with their decidedly wild counterparts for the very first time, they get a better feel for their roots while marvelling over the differences between life in the concrete jungle and life on the world's second largest continent. Of course, while there's plenty to love about wandering the open plains, romantic rivalries and the risk of running into dangerous poachers soon begin to outweigh the joys of some long-overdue family reunions. With some particularly heavy cases of homesickness causing hearts to weigh heavy, the group gradually starts to wonder whether they'll ever find their way back home. Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, and Andy Richter lend their voices to this animated sequel that re-teams original MADAGASCAR co-directors Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath.
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