In 2005 in the original Madagascar, a quartet of Central Park Zoo animals found themselves loose in the streets of New York. In rather short order they found themselves captured, crated, and on a ship bound for the African continent. However, while en route to their final destination, the actions of a group of crafty penguins resulted in the foursome knocked overboard. They somehow floated around the southern tip of the continent and back up into the Indian Ocean where they arrived on the African island of Madagascar. They found themselves amongst a tribe of fun-loving lemurs and they settled in to make a new life for themselves.
That brings us to 2008 and the new film. The gang, again with the help of the penguins, has now found a possible way home in the form of an old airplane that has been renovated and hooked to a slingshot. Sounds like a perfectly safe way to fly, no?
The goal of the slingshot flight is to get everyone back to New York so they can resume their lives providing fine family entertainment to anyone who happens to step through the zoo gates. Problems begin early in the film when the flight crash lands on the African savanna. This begs the question about the title. The sub-title is Escape 2 Africa, but they were already in Africa. I guess the producers consulted Sarah Palin for title ideas. Oh, I kid, I kid, no harm meant. Still, they don't escape to Africa so much as they crash in a different part Africa. I guess it doesn't really matter, it has no real effect on the path of the story.
As the film opens, we are first treated to a moment ripped straight from The Lion King, chronicling just how Alex came to be at the zoo. This leads directly into the flight sequence mentioned earlier. Once on the African mainland the plot begins to fragment as each of the four primary characters get their own story threads. In addition to their stories, we also get minor threads for the penguins and King Julien, further adding to the plot fragmentation.
Each thread succeeds to varying degrees, although they all feel a little shortchanged in the final weaving, meaning that while the whole story is there it is not terribly satisfying. The main thread concerns Alex (Ben Stiller) as he reunites with his family and attempts to become a full member of the pride. His homecoming is threatened by Makunga (Alec Baldwin), his uncle, filling the The Lion King role of Scar. The story forces Alex to confront the fact that life in the zoo has never allowed him to develop the survival skills necessary for the savanna.
Article comments
1 - CallmeMaddy
Hated this movie. I actually left in the middle and got my money back.
2 - salmalion
Lot of people who loved to see our children grow up in good relax environment may vote for these kind movies like Madagascar Escape 2 Africa because of the simply ness and the nature it brings to the heart of children. They can grab what they lost in past decades. I think Madagascar Escape 2 Africa is a beginning of revolution of childhood film making. Not only think about the big money. [spam link deleted]