Disappointment for a huge fan!

I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

When an animated family film unexpectedly strikes a chord with its young audience and develops into an unexpected hit, as was the case with 2005's Madagascar, the most common problem faced with the inevitable sequel is where to take its collection of rag-tag anthropomorphic heroes next. The original's premise was relocating a bunch of animal characters who had been raised in a New York zoo to be adored by the paying customers to the less-welcoming island of Madagascar. It was a promising idea, but the film fell flat thanks to some blocky animation and a lack of imagination and jokes. With the first sequel, returning directors Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath have pulled the same trick again, only this time dumping its hapless entourage onto the brutal plains of Africa, with Hollywood again apparently forgetting that Africa is a continent, not a country.After the adventure on Madagascar, zoo animals Alex (Ben Stiller), Marty (Chris Rock), Melman (David Schwimmer), Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith) and a small group of militaristic penguins have fixed the crashed plane and are readying to fly back home. Also joined by unhinged lemur King Julien (Sacha Baron Cohen), they crash again in Africa after running out of fuel, and eventually find themselves at a watering hole, where they are overjoyed to discover more of their own species. Alex also reunites with his mother (Sherri Shepherd) and father Zuma (Bernie Mac), with the latter the alpha of his herd. While the others are each given roles in their animal society, Alex must prove himself to be worthy of his position of heir and title of 'King of New York', while fellow lion Makunga (Alec Baldwin) waits eagerly to take control.It's a very similar route taken by Ice Age and their increasingly tedious sequels. When the big idea has been used up, simply introduce a long-lost family member and give the comic relief side- kicks their own meandering side-stories. Melman, due to his hypochondria, becomes the village's witch-doctor; Marty struggles to stand out in a herd that looks and talks in the exact same way as he does; and Gloria is courted by a douchebag while she misses the true love right in front of her eyes. The only relief on offer is when the penguins are on screen, and their extreme competency with any given task and frequent bashing of an annoying old lady never fails to raise a chuckle. When they're not the focus, we are stuck with the incredibly uninteresting Alex and a bunch of generic life lessons for the kids watching. If you were content with the little charm of the first Madagascar, then chances are you'll find something to like her. For the rest of us, this is a slow trudge through familiar ground chocked full with broad slapstick prat- falls.

Usually, when a film achieves remarkable financial success, the film industry arranges for space for one or two sequels. This is what happened with "Madagascar", but the sequel was able to maintain the initial level of quality. In this film, the attempt of the four zoo animals to return to the US fails and, by great coincidence (this only happens in the films), they end up falling in Central Africa, in the animal reserve where Alex was born, which allows him to know his parents and origins. The film is very good and fun, it retains most of the cast and voice actors of the original film and adds or recovers some characters, such as the Elder Lady, who gains some protagonism here, alongside Alex's parents. I also noticed that some characters who, in the initial movie, were secondary, were now approached for a more central space, a measure that was certainly the response to the affection they gained from the public. This is the case, for example, of King Julian. The four central characters do not change much, but the script tried to give them more space and attention to counterbalance the weight of several charismatic secondary characters. The script recaptures an old tradition of animated films and creates moments where it conveys moralistic messages, especially regarding the differences between individuals (the events between Melman and Gloria and Marty's dilemma with the other zebras are just two examples). Personally, I have nothing against this militancy implied in the film. Voice actors continue to perform flawlessly, as well as drawings, animations, and cinematography. Oddly enough, this movie is very poor in music or great songs. There are some, but none deserve particular attention.

I first saw this in the cinema in 2008 and I initially thought it was better than the first but after having watched it for the first time in five years, I actually found it on par with the first.The opening of the film involving the back story of a young Alex (then known as Alakay) was rather unusual for a sequel but I soon found that it linked to Alex re-uniting with his parents after crash-landing in Africa. The penguins were even funnier here than in the first but I wish Mort had more screen time because he's so adorable. Like the majority of sequels I've seen, there are references to the first film such as news reports concerning the disappearance of Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman and the elderly woman beating up Alex as well as the baddie lion towards the end. The red mark she left on his bottom after slapping it was a bit scary because it reminded me of my fear of parents smacking their children in public, an issue I am totally against. In terms of other positive moments, the backgrounds were just as beautifully rendered as in the first and I couldn't help laughing when Alex repeatedly called out the name of his little blanket-thingie and an adult animal covering her cub's ears because it sounded like a slightly rude word (possibly a slang term for female anatomy). I also liked some of the background music, especially the whistly tune that accompanies the shark chasing Mort and the 'Good, the Bad and the Ugly' type music when the elderly woman beats up Alex. The baby versions of the four main animals were as cute as Mort and I also liked the song that played while baby Alex/Alakay was swept away to New York. This film reminded me of 'The Lion King' in parts, especially the opening back story and the main animals seeing several more of their kind. I liked the cut-out- animation segments that played during the first part of the closing credits as well as the CGI animation during the main feature.Overall I found this sequel an engaging watch and I found it more adventurous than the first. 8/10.

I loved the original film as much as anyone else. It had a flawed story, a shorter time length, and a script that contained some humorous parts, but only some parts that were too predictable; but I loved it for it's charming characters and it's beautiful animation. So, when I saw that Dreamworks made this sequel to that film, I was only expecting this to be as good as the first, but sadly, I missed my only chance to see it in theaters of that year.Almost two years later, however, on my last birthday, I had the chance to get this on a DVD copy, feeling very desperate to watch it to see if it would whether or not be surprise me as much as the original even though that film had it's problems. Later, I became a bit surprised. OK, it's not as excellent as the previous film that came out the same year "Kung Fu Panda", but it's not one of Dreamworks' weakest (that goes to Shark Tale, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, and Bee Movie). The same characters are as charming as ever, but this time, they're much fleshed out especially King Julian and Maurice.Some of the new characters are great and I think the villain named Makunga voiced by Alec Baldwin isn't that bad of a villain, though he was underused and I liked Alex's parents as well. It's sad to see that Bernie Mac died just before this film was released (may his soul rest in peace), but I'm getting ahead of myself. The soundtrack from Hans Zimmer has improved a little in this film although it does have some generic bits. It does have some clever references which works for the comedy that got a chuckle/laugh out of me as well as it's witty and sharp dialog. There was also a scene that involved a relationship between Gloria and Melman which was so romantic and sweet to watch.The only two problems that I do have with this film is that while the story does have more heart than the original film, it's still predictable and does have it's similarities to the Lion King and Happy Feet and several scenes were dragged a lot throughout the movie. Aside from that, I said to myself, "This is a great sequel." I loved the original, but as a fan, this completely surprised and surpasses it as a much better entry of the franchise. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa isn't an excellent film, but I totally recommend this to those who haven't seen it or the original film yet. It is that good!