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Film Title: Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa

 Best for ages: 8 and up.

Movie Website: Click Here

Year Released: 2008

Rated: PG (US)

SYNOPSIS

   Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller), Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer), and  Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) are all back for their next adventure. With the help of the four crazy penguins and Julian the Lemar (Sacha Baron Cohen) the crew builds a plane and is on their way to fly back to New York City. Except they don't get that far and they end up crash landing in a wildlife preserve in Africa. While there, Alex meets his parents and is put though the test of becoming part of the pride. Meanwhile Marty, learns that he is like all the other Zebras in Africa, Melman becomes the doctor of all the Giraffes and Gloria looks for love. But not is all as it seems as Makunga (Alec Baldwin) a rival Lion to Alex's father Zuba (Bernie Mack) tricks Alex into fighting a big lion to make it into the tribe. Thinking he's  going to a  dance his way past his rival, Alex is mistaken and is beat up by the rival lion, refusing to kick his son out of the pride, Zuba hands over his title as king lion to Makunga and walks off with his son.  Meanwhile, the watering hole has dried up, and the animals are dying from thirst. Deep in the jungle the humans are building a dam and a village because the penguins have  high jacked their trucks and left them in the jungles. Knowing this is a problem Alex and his friends go into the jungle to make things right again. But not after getting into some dangerous trouble.

VIOLENCE/GRAPHIC CONTENT/language

   Violence

   Just like in the first film, Alex gets into a fist fight with a nasty old lady who knows all kinds of marital arts. The old women was in the first film and now she's back in this one in a bigger more violent role, where she fights with almost all the animals and even tries to shoot and kill some of them with a high powered rifle.  There is also a scene in which Alex fights another Lion and it's very psychical, other fights include Zuba fighting Makunga over who will be the leader of the pride. The Penguins fighting humans and anyone else who they don't agree with.  There are also a few other little things here and there, and to be honest there are a lot of things that can be deemed as being violent in the film, but really it's all very loony toon like cartoon violence and nothing more.

   Graphic Content

   There are a few things in the film that might be a bit much for young kids.  In the beginning of the film, Zuba's ear is shot off by a poacher. One of the Penguins plays dead by squirting ketchup on himself and braking an egg over his head (brains) to trick humans into thinking he is road kill.   There are also a few things such as a killer shark chasing around the little lemur all throughout the film. There is also your basic thrills and chills such as the big plane crash at the beginning of the film, the smashing of the dam, and even Melman hanging from a cliff over a volcano. 

   On another note, there is some content that does pertain to mating and meeting that special someone. Gloria meets a hunky male Hippo who she is courted by, and he invites her back to his watering hole for a date where he tells her in a sexy voice how great she looks. One of the Penguins is also in love with a hula doll as well, and even marries her.

   Language

   There is no real concern for the words said by the characters in this film.  Some of the talk is very adult oriented when it comes to some of the things the characters are talking about. Especially the Penguins and their mob like talk. You also have some arguing, disagreements and such among some of the characters as well. 

OVERALL VIEWS

   One of the major things that kids liked about the first film was all the dancing and the "Move it" song that all the lemurs sang and were really into. The song is not played much in the second film, but one thing Escape to Africa has over the first film is a better story.  I found the story and the whole trip to Africa to be not only a lot more entertaining but a lot more detailed and character oriented.

   The Animation is very good and the use of bright colors and very detailed characters, sets and background really gave the animation an almost realistic look in some scenes.  The voice talent in the film is very, very star studded with voices not only by Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith and Sacha Baron Cohen. But we also have characters voiced by Alec Baldwin, Bernie Mack, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Sherri Shepherd, Will i Am, and Elisa Gabrielli.

   The DVD has a few features such as "4 Mad Music Videos" a Penguin video game called "Test Flight of Air, Jambo Jambo: Swahlli Speak, Crash Landin, African Adventure and much, much more. If you buy the film on DVD; you can also buy it with a bonus DVD at select retailers which comes with two episodes of the upcoming Nickelodeon series The Penguins of Madagascar, which also has many DVD features (listed below) as well.

   Overall, I had a lot of fun watching Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa. I liked it a lot more than I liked the first film and I felt that Dreamworks Animation really went all out on this one to make it bigger and better. It's a good movie, but due to a lot of the cartoon like violence and some crazy graphic Looney toon like moments I don't think it's a film that is good for young kids. I'd say ages seven or eight and up would be ideal if your a cautious parent. The MPAA did not give this film a G rating for a reason, and that's why it's one of the few animated films that has been given that PG rating.

The Penguins of Madagascar Bonus Disc Review.

    The Penguins of Madagascar bonus disc comes with two episodes of the up and coming cartoon which will premiere on Nickelodeon in the near future.  The episodes are very short, maybe about only ten minutes long, but they are kind of cute and funny. Besides the Penguins the cartoons also star Julian the Lemur and his buddy Maurice. The main characters of the film are not in the cartoon, but this cartoon really belongs to the birds.

   There are a few minor things that might be a concern in this cartoon, but it's very toned down compared to the movie.  There is a zoo keeper named Alice who seems to have an anger problem and yells at guests if they feed the animals. She also has it in for the penguins and knows that they are up to no good. The problem is that she just can't prove it. The Penguins also have their exhibit booby trapped with things such as spikes hanging from the ceiling and having a furnace where they can burn any evidence of their wrong doings. The Lemurs also have their issues and Julian does treat Maurice as a bit of a slave, but that's the way the character is.  Other than those few small things, it's a pretty harmless cartoon and I think kids over six years of age will get a kick out of it.

  On this DVD there is a few good features. One such feature is The Heart of the Lion which is a small Documentary about Lions in nature and how they live in Africa.  It talks about their behavior, habits and how they hunt for food. Going Mad at the Bronx Zoo goes behind the scenes of the Madagascar exhibit at the zoo and the many animals from Madagascar that you can see when you visit the zoo. There is also Alex's Dance off, and Plenty of Penguins activities and fun.  There is also video game demos and cheat codes for video games as well. 

   This is a nice little bonus disc that helps expand the character in the Madagascar series, and also has some educational features that are good for kids to watch. The cartoon should be a hit once it hits the Nickelodeon channel this Saturday.

BUY THIS MOVIE.