Everett, Wash.
Published: Friday, November 7, 2008

Too much happening outside the zoo

The "Madagascar" sequel's plot suffers from the addition of even more animals to the menagerie.

By David Germain
Associated Press

 A giraffe in love with a hippo, a zebra with an identity crisis, a lion desperate to win his newfound daddy's respect -- the makers of "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" could have plunked their heroes down in a therapist's office for an animals-with-issues session.

Instead, they maroon them on the African mainland for what amounts to more of the same: a shrill retread of the 2005 animated hit "Madagascar."

Voice stars Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith return, along with Sacha Baron Cohen and Cedric the Entertainer.

Operating on the principle that the bigger the menagerie, the merrier the movie, the filmmakers tack on fresh characters to the point of distraction: among them the late Bernie Mac as dad to Stiller's Alex the lion and Alec Baldwin as a devious lion conniving to oust Mac as leader of the pride.

Whether or not they've seen or remember the original flick, young kids will eat up this manic mess, a nonstop rush of slapstick and jabbering dialogue. The noise and mayhem will annoy most parents, who can take some solace in the movie's brisk running time.

Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath, who made the first movie, return to direct and co-write "Escape 2 Africa."

They keep the story simple, picking up where "Madagascar" left Alex and his fellow pampered zoo animals: Marty the zebra (Rock), Melman the giraffe (Schwimmer) and Gloria the hippo (Pinkett Smith).

Still stranded in Madagascar, off the mainland coast, the foursome strap in to a derelict plane rebuilt by their pesky penguin comrades for the return to New York. The rickety contraption crashes on the plains of Africa, where Alex is reunited with his parents.

McGrath reprises his vocals for penguin boss Skipper, again eerily sounding like the ghost of Phil Hartman doing one of his voices for "The Simpsons." Singer will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas is a Barry White sound-alike as ladies man hippo Moto Moto.

To its credit, "Escape 2 Africa" does maintain a distinct visual style amid today's animation overload. The landscapes are vast and vivid, while the geometric shapes that go into the characters' design lend them a distinct look.

With so many characters to cram in, "Escape 2 Africa" ends up a choppy, episodic affair. The main players all have their own little subplots: Alex aiming to prove himself to papa, Marty trying to find his individuality, Gloria looking for love and Melman desperate to show that he's the man for her, despite their extreme genetic differences.

Giraffe-hippo romance aside, there's nothing remotely challenging about any of this. Children who were big fans of the first movie three years ago may have long since outgrown the superficiality served up in the sequel.
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA