Film Reviews

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

• Rating:
• Director: Eric Durnell, Tom McGrath.
• Starring: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett-Smith, David Schwimmer.
• Details: US / 89mins (G).

Despite opening with a flashback intro of how Alex the lion (Stiller) came to New York to entertain zoo crowds, this sequel to 2005's Madagascar kicks off right where the last one left off. Alex, Marty the Zebra (Rock), Doris the hippo (Pinkett-Smith) and Melman the giraffe (Schwimmer) board a beat-up plane to leave their adopted land of Madagascar for new York. They don't make it, and crash land in Africa where Alex runs into his father (the late Bernie Mac in one of his last roles), battling with rival Makunga (Alec Baldwin) for the king of the Pride. The reunion is short lived, however, as Alex fails an initiation rite and is banished. He gets a chance to be a hero, though, when the nature reserve’s watering hole dries up... As usual, there are a multitude of pop references for adults that kids will enjoy too: gags nicked from (sorry, pay homage to) West Side Story, The Simpsons, The Twilight Zone, Planet Of The Apes and the plane crash scene from Almost Famous; while there's a number of song and dance numbers that include Private Dancer and More Than A Feeling. The best gag, although, has to go to Alex's Deja vu line - a nod and a wink by the filmmakers that we've seen all this before, perhaps? It might star Ben Stiller and Chris Rock, but neither are able to bring their own brand of comedy to the proceedings. As with the previous instalment, the best thing about Escape 2 Africa are the penguin mafia. But, again, there's not enough of them. Sacha Baron Cohen and Cedric The Entertainer return to lend their voices.

Review by Gavin Burke