On the Big Board |
| Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
| 58/196 |
Max Braden |
This is a decent followup but I wanted more penguins. |
If you saw Madagascar and came away from the experience mildly disappointed, you're not the only one. It was a nifty looking movie that just didn't do it when it came to the story. The big problem is that the penguins, easily the most interesting and entertaining characters, simply didn't have enough screen time. Of course, since then, penguins have more than gotten their due, with the birds of Happy Feet and Surf's Up covering that territory adequately (both films are far better than Madagascar to be sure).
Regardless, if you have a film that debuts to $47 million in its first three days and makes $193 million domestically on a $75 million budget, you're probably going to think a sequel is a good idea. And so it is that the good people at DreamWorks Animation have created a second go-round with the creatures of Madagascar, and they promise it will have a better story this time.
The teaser seems to contradict this theory somewhat, as it focuses almost exclusively on the animals singing the "I Want to Move It, Move It" song from the original film. We do get that along with the penguins, they're all going to try to make their escape from the island and return home, but instead they'll land in the wilds of Africa. Alex the Lion (voiced by Ben Stiller) will meet his real family, but communication problems will ensue. The penguins will assuredly do continued goofy stuff, and the Sacha Baron Cohen voiced Julien will make people laugh despite themselves. It's a formula that will work, and DreamWorks and Paramount will be most happy to collect the dollars. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
Vital statistics for Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa |
| Main Cast |
Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith |
| Supporting Cast |
David Schwimmer, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Bernie Mac, Sherri Shepherd, Alec Baldwin, will.i.am |
| Director |
Eric Darnell, Tim McGrath |
| Distributor |
DreamWorks |
| Trailer |
Click Here for Trailer
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| Official Site |
http://www.madagascarmovie.com/ |
| Running Time |
89 minutes |
| Screen Count |
4,056 |
| Awards |
Awards page for Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
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Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture |
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