Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa/The Penguins of Madagascar
Directed by Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath
Studio: Dreamworks
Year: 2008
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 anamorphic
Running Time: 89 minutes
Rating: PG
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 English, French, Spanish; 2.0 stereo surround English
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
MSRP: $ 34.98
Release Date: February 6, 2009
Review Date: February 5, 2009
The Films
3.5/5
The cheery, cuddly talking creatures from Dreamworks' previous hit Madagascar make a return appearance in Escape 2 Africa, a sequel that builds on the winning characterizations established in the first movie with a marginally more entertaining adventure this second time out. While not possessing a scintilla of the wit, sophistication, or depth of feeling that the Pixar animated marvels contain, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is a breezy and predictably enjoyable little romp.
On their way back to New York after their adventure in Madagascar, Alex (Ben Stiller), Marty (Chris Rock), Melman (David Schwimmer), and Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith) together with King Julian (Sasha Baron Cohen), Mort (Andy Richter), and the four penguins (Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights, Conrad Vernon) go down in their jerry-rigged plane into an African nature preserve. There Alex is reunited with his mother and father (Sherri Shepherd, Bernie Mac), his dad being the king of the jungle, Marty is delighted to find a herd of zebra that are all identical to him, Gloria finds the hunk of her dreams (will.i.am), and Melman volunteers to become a witch doctor for the area. But all is not happiness and light. King Zuba’s jealous brother Makunga (Alec Baldwin; think Scar from The Lion King with a better haircut) will stop at nothing to disgrace Alex and discredit his father Zuba so he can become the master of the preserve. Meanwhile, the penguins are desperately trying to rebuild the airplane by hijacking preserve tour jeeps for their parts. On one of these jeeps is the combative Nana (Elisa Gabrielli) who’ll fight anyone who dares inconvenience her.
As with Madagascar, the sequel has many plot balls constantly being juggled, and occasionally, the stories just don’t go anywhere past a single joke or two (Melman’s adventures are particularly stagnant, and King Julien‘s efforts to offer up a live sacrifice in a volcano to the water gods represents a lot of work for little payoff). The penguins stole the first film effortlessly, but in the second one they often play secondary roles to the more interesting drama of Alex’s fall from grace in both his family and his friends’ eyes and, of course, the eventual and inevitable resurrection of his standing. The filmmakers seem to be in love with the character of the feisty Nana, but I found her slaphappy aggressiveness a trifle irritating after a time and her presence in this film greatly overused.
The film’s true genius, though, isn’t in the amusing but familiar script or the numerous performances (which are to the last person delectable) but through its gorgeous CGI animation. The savannahs of Africa look spectacular, and the sheer numbers of different animals in such quantities are constantly eye-popping. Still frames of some of the vistas could be artwork worthy of framing, and the detail lavished on the earth with the grasses swaying in the breeze, the various furs of animals so intricately designed, and skies so real you feel as if you could touch them show animation at its creative peak.
The Penguins of Madagascar - 3/5
This disc features two segments from the Nickelodeon series that features the penguins and King Julien with his attendants. The first of two twelve-minute episodes is “Popcorn Panic,” a very funny adventure where our heroes attempt to get around the zoo’s rule of not feeding the animals popcorn. The second and lesser of the two segments is “Gone in a Flash” with King Julien not understanding the workings of a digital camera and with the penguins attempting to straighten him out.
Both segments feature a few of the voices from the feature films (Tom McGrath as Skipper and Andy Richter as Mort are the most prominent returnees), but many of the main voices are handled by talent other than those stars in the feature film. The animation is noticeably simpler and less detailed with fewer characters occupying the frame. Both shorts are directed with some finesse by Bret Haaland.
Video Quality
5/5
The film has been framed at 1.78:1 and is anamorphically enhanced for widescreen televisions. Taken directly from digital files, the images are spectacular featuring lush color (the warm earth tones used at sunsets are breathtaking), sharpness that rivals high definition reproduction, and no banding artifacts which occasionally mar animation on home video platforms. The film has been divided into 23 chapters.
The Penguins of Madagascar - 4/5
The shorts are presented in 1.78:1 with anamorphic enhancement but the quality of animation is definitely lesser: less detail, less sharpness, and with a trace of video noise.
Audio Quality
4/5
The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track has a strong presence with very good spread of sound through the soundstage but occasionally lacking some dimensional pans which would give the mix a bit better depth. There is adequate use of the LFE channel though again the mix seems to hold back a bit on its utilization. Hans Zimmer’s orchestral score (assisted by some rap tunes from will.i.am) occupies the rear channels to very pleasing effect.
The Penguins of Madagascar - 3.5/5
There is a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track, but the use of the surrounds is minimal. The very front-centric mix also features almost no use of LFE.
Special Features
4/5
A filmmaker commentary finds directors Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, and producer Mirelle Soria sharing stories about the making of the film. Often quiet and absorbed in the movie or laughing along with some of the antics on display, it’s not a revelatory commentary, but fans of the movie may find something here of interest.
All of the featurettes are presented in anamorphic widescreen.
“It’s a Family Affair: The Cast of Escape 2 Africa” is a 9-minute EPK featurette featuring producer Mirelle Soria, the two directors, and various members of the cast who are interviewed about their characters and are shown recording their dialog for the film.
“The Making of Escape 2 Africa” is an 11-minute featurette with the directors talking about the difficulties encountered in bringing this second film to the screen including getting the depth for the vistas they need to convey the space, the animation of grass and various types of dust, the various herds of animals, the constructions of the dance moves for Alex, and the part that music played in the final product.
“Crash Landing” is a 3 ½-minute featurette featuring the directors and animators of the film coming up with storyboards and then shooting live action footage for this early sequence in the picture.
“African Adventure” is a 7 ¼-minute featurette on the trip the heads of the animation departments took to Africa to scout locations and shoot pictures and video footage of animals to use as inspiration.
“Jambo Jambo: Swahili Speak” features thirteen Swahili words and eight Swahili phrases that the viewer can learn of the language where the film takes place.
There are four music videos of songs written by will.i.am: “Move It, Move It” (2 ¾ minutes), “Big and Chunky” (1 minute), “She Loves Me” (1 ¼ minutes), and “The Traveling Song” (1 ½ minutes and which offers sing along lyrics printed underneath the video).
The usual Dreamworks Animated Jukebox features musical clips from the various Dreamworks animated films, all of which are available on DVD.
Test Flight of Air Penguin Game is a simple game designed for the participant to come up with solutions to three airplane malfunctions from a multiple choice selection.
There are previews for Monsters Vs. Aliens, Secrets of the Furious Five, The Penguins of Madagascar, and Madagascar.
The Penguins of Madagascar - 3/5
“The Heart of a Lion” is a 12-minute mini nature documentary on the life of the lion pride in this area of Africa where the film takes place. It’s presented in 4:3
“The Bronx Zoo: Madagascar” is an anamorphic 8 ¼-minute tour of the Madagascar exhibit in the Bronx Zoo concentrating on their collection of lemurs, crocodiles, fossa, hissing cockroaches, mongoose, and tortoises.
“Alex’s Dance Off” is a brief 3 ¼-minute featurette showing several of the dance moves that Alex is known for in the films.
DVD-ROM activities include games, HP printables, and weblinks to the film’s website and the Dreamworks website.
There are six Easter Eggs which are easy to find on the various menus. They all feature brief adventures with the penguins and King Julien.
In Conclusion
3.5/5 (not an average)
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is the usual sweet, simple Dreamworks talking animals animated picture with enough stupendous animation and silly hijinks to make it an easy recommend for an evening of family entertainment. The Penguins of Madagascar is a brief but enjoyable disc with more silly adventures and a couple of decent bonus features.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
