BD Review: Madagascar – Escape 2 Africa

Movie Info:
Writer: Etan Cohen, Eric Darnell
Director: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath
Cast: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Bernie Mac, Alec Baldwin, Sherri Shepherd, Will i Am
Rating: PG
Studio: Dreamworks

Release Info:
Theatrical Release: November 7, 2008
DVD Release Date: February 6, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $19.99

I was not entirely thrilled about the release of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa though I am not entirely sure why. I am normally a fan of Dreamworks pictures. I liked the first movie well enough, too. Still, when it came time to put this movie in I didn’t exactly rush over to the PS3. Sauntered is more like it. I even looked at my review list to see if anything else could go before it. However, the time came and Escape 2 Africa was put in the player.

I think the biggest problem I had when I went to watch this sequel is that, while I liked the first movie, I didn’t really remember anything about it. I remembered the basic premise but nothing stood out to me, especially now, that made me want to watch it a second time.

Madagascar had elements of any typical Dreamworks Animation project. It was a movie with funny, likable characters that both kids and adults could enjoy. The movie was filled with a voice cast that adults could appreciate with voices animated enough that kids would love. People like Bernie Mac, David Schwimmer, Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, and Jada Pinkett Smith are in these movies. It was a cute movie then and I am sure if I saw it again, I would think the same thing. Still, as cute as it was, I only saw it that one time, so the sequel wasn’t of major importance to me. In fact, when I found out that the third movie in the franchise was greenlit prior to filming, I just couldn’t understand it.

I was pleased to discover that I was wrong about Escape 2 Africa. While it was cute in many ways, what I found out was that I actually liked it more than I did the first movie. I was surprised that I liked it as much as I did because I am not usually a big sequels fan. I suppose it had a lot to do with the comedic timing and the cute storyline.

Chris Rock was beyond amusing and hearing David Schwimmer voice the role of a hypochondriac giraffe witchdoctor was funnier than I could have imagined. Best of all, there was enough adult humor to keep adults happy, but the amount of kid humor was high, too. It ends up working for both audiences on completely different levels.

Perhaps the most bittersweet parts was knowing that this was one of Bernie Mac’s last roles. Mac plays Zuba, Alex’s (Ben Stiller) father in the movie. In real life, Mac sadly passed away just a few months before the opening of the film. Adults that hear his voice may look to this performance fondly. I know it made me smile, but then there was rarely a time that Mac didn’t get that reaction out of me. Of course, Mac was just the icing on the cake. Escape 2 Africa came together for me in a way that the first film didn’t come together. I don’t think I will have a hard time remembering this when it’s time to review the third in the series.

The Madagascar – Escape to Africa Plot
Escape starts with a flashback of young Alex (Stiller). He’s in Africa with his father Zuba (Mac) and his name is Alakay. His father is head of the pack and it’s obvious that he takes his job as alpha very seriously. Perhaps that is why he cannot understand why his son is the one lion in Africa that has a need to dance. He never gets a chance to find out though because Makunga (Alec Baldwin) challenges Zuba to a fight for the alpha role and while this happens Alakay gets captured by poachers.

Zuba tries to catch his son, but it is too late. Fortunately for Alakay, the crate that he is in falls off of the truck and into the water, which drifts all the way to New York City. When he’s taken out of the crate they name him Alex and he is put in the Central Park Zoo.

After the little back story, we end up back in present day where Alex, Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith), Melman (David Schwimmer) and Marty (Chris Rock) hop on board a restored airplane that the penguins are going to fly to New York. The plane gets up in the air though it soon crashes in Africa because they have no fuel. The animals are all shocked when they get off the plane because there are so many other animals just like them.

Alex finds his mom and dad. Marty learns he’s not the only zebra on the planet and that all other zebras look and talk just like him. Gloria finds a man named Moto Moto (Will.I.Am), who loves her for the junk in her trunk. Meanwhile, Melman becomes the witch doctor to all of the animals in the wild. The penguins set off with goals of fixing the plane and to do that they steal a Jeep from some NYC tourists to use for parts.

Makunga, still with high hopes of becoming alpha lion forces Zuba to send Alex through his adulthood challenge. Alex misunderstands the purpose of the challenge and loses when he learns it’s not a dance contest. Zuba steps down rather than banish his son, but this is the first of many problems. Soon after, the watering hole dries up and King Julien thinks that an animal sacrifice is the only way to go and that’s just the start of the problems that come up!

Things get a little crazy with an unconventional wedding, a whole lot of animals saving other animals, Nana trying to eat herself a lion, the alpha power changing hands once or twice, and Gloria finding the love of her life.

Storyline/Plot:
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:

Audio/Visual:
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa looks absolutely stunning in Blu-ray and there is no other way to say it. The film is presented in 1080p with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and AVC encoding. It’s rare to be blown away by a movie you think would be suitable for children, but Dreamworks has always made sure to go above and beyond the call of duty in the visual department.

Madagascar offers a definite clarity, fine amounts of detail, good contrast, and a superb color palette. Everything is perfect with a highly sharp picture quality that is gorgeous and spot on without offering too much. Depending on the movies you watch, you can hear some people complain about CGI quite a bit, but you won’t hear them complain about this film because it looks fabulous just the way it is. This is certainly one of the better looking Blu-rays that have recently been put out.

Audio is a very important issue for any type of film, but animated films need the voices and the effects to come through perfectly in order to drive the story home. Escape 2 Africa contains all of the necessary audio enhancements wrapped up in a beautiful Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack. Dialogue is never an issue. Everything is easy to hear and realistic on the voice track front.

The surround system gets a workout from the dynamic sound effects and the musical moments that are often littered throughout the film. Things go from loud and boisterous to much quieter in an instant without a problem to be heard. Dreamworks has done an excellent job with this audio in every respect and it makes the movie that much better, as a result. Tracks are also available in Dolby Digital 5.1 in French and Spanish. Meanwhile, subtitles are present in English, French, and Spanish.

Visual:
Audio:

Bonus Features:
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa contains a plethora of bonus features, which should be interesting for both adults and children in their own way. Things get rolling with an audio commentary that includes the directors and the producers of the film. All in all, the commentary is a rather informative offering. There are not many dead spots and a nice variety information flows between the four participants. It’s not as interesting as talking about the creative side might have been though it’s certainly worth a listen.

The Animators Corner is available and is especially awesome if you’re not a fan of listening to commentary. This feature offers some PiP footage that shows off artwork and other things while the commentary plays during the movie. It certainly makes the addition of the commentary more interesting.

The Trivia Track is a self-explanatory feature, but if you are confused about what is offered, it’s basically trivia.

There are a series of production featurettes including “It’s a Family Affair: The Cast of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa”, “The Making of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa”, “Crash Landing”, and “African Adventure.” Each of them are fairly easy to understand just based on the title alone.

“It’s a Family Affair” is a featurette that shows the voice talent doing their thing. If you’re into the actor’s you should like this but there isn’t anything too fabulous here. “The Making Of” is your standard making of featurette. There isn’t really anything to report because if you’ve seen one you’ve seen most. “Crash Landing” comes in to offer information about the film from storyboard conception to the film finish. Finally, “African Adventure” wraps things up with what it was like to give the sequel the African spin.

“Jambo Jambo: Swahili Speak” is an amusing, but small feature about the basic language of Swahili. As I mentioned, it’s short, but it is fun while it lasts.

“The Bronx Zoo: Madagascar” This takes you to the actual Madagascar exhibit in the Bronx Zoo. It was interesting, but it was obviously material that was thrown in just to add another special feature. With that in mind you can take this for what it’s worth.

“More Penguins” offers some short films about the Penguins. There is about 30 minutes worth of material here and the films are broken up by 11 minute (give or take a few) segments. The kids should adore these. It’s obvious that they tossed these in because Nickelodeon is bringing the show to the network in March. With that in mind, these should do plenty to make sure kids want to watch the show.

“Test Flight of Air Penguins” is a game that has you with the penguins. Your objective is to keep the plane from crashing. This is your standard DVD game, which means that it’s pretty much not even worth playing.

“Alex’s Dance Off” gives the kids a chance to learn to dance just like Alex!

Rounding out the special features are six musical videos, a handful of trailers, and the Dreamworks Animation Jukebox, which offers music from other Dreamworks films that you can sing along to.

Bonus Features:

Bottom Line:
Madagascar – Escape 2 Africa was a surprisingly good animated film. I wouldn’t just recommend this one for the kids. Everyone, regardless of their age, can enjoy this fun comedy. The voice talent is superb, the story is engaging and the animation is gorgeous. If you have a chance, pick this up in Blu Ray. The quality here is absolutely breathtaking. This is well worth the purchase and then some.

Overall Rating:

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Written by Ashtyn Evans – Visit Website
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Ashtyn is in her early 30s. She is a mother, writer, college student, and music lover. Ashtyn has had a successful career as a writer since 2003. She turned to blogging in 2005. Ashtyn is getting a degree in Psychology. She has extensive knowledge in SEO and Social Media Development.