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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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64
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You, the Living
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
EMAILPRINTDreamWorks Animation

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 25 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 29 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Action | Adventure | Animation | Comedy | Family/Kids
Written by:
Directed by:
Eric Darnell
Tom McGrath
Release Date:
Theatrical: November 7, 2008
Running Time: 89 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG for some mild crude humor
Starring Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, and Bernie Mac
All the loveable characters are back - Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippo, King Julien, Maurice and the penguins - in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. Left marooned on the distant shores of Madagascar, the New Yorkers have hatched a plan so crazy it just might work. With military precision, the penguins have repaired an old crashed plane - sort of. Once aloft, this unlikely crew stays airborne just enough to make it to the wildest place of all - the vast plains of Africa itself - where our zoo-raised crew encounter species of their own kind for the very first time. While discovering their roots, they quickly realize the difference between the concrete jungle and the heart of Africa. Despite long-lost relatives, romantic rivals and scheming hunters, Africa seems like a "crack-a-lackin" great place... but is it better than their Central Park home? (Dreamworks)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
The outcomes of all the mini-dramedies are too messy and equivocal to produce morals; that's just as it should be in a farce about confusion. Co-directors Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath are most intent on completing the circle of comedy.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Stephen Cole
The rare sequel that is better than the original.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
Escape 2 Africa is pretty tame, but it knows how to keep its own turf tidy.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
The visual style is typical, ultra crisp computer animation, bright, sharp, somewhat clinical.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
This is a brighter, more engaging film than the original "Madagascar."
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
The film shoehorns in every memorable character from the original film.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub
A nice surprise, surpassing the quality of the first film.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall
Lessons about family loyalty, tolerance, ingenuity, and sacrifice add depth to the screenplay by Etan Cohen and directors Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath, but thankfully don't detract from the lunatic maneuvers of a delusional lemur king (Sacha Baron Cohen) and those wily spheniscidae.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
The roots are shallow, but the sequel is good-natured, high-spirited and perfectly enjoyable if you take it for what it is.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
Cartoons can get away with being serviceable and skillful without much creativity since they have an endlessly renewing audience. "Mad 2" surfs along on such waves, entertaining youngsters while mildly amusing adults.
Read Full Review >Variety Todd McCarthy
Lively and quite funny without being obnoxious, this follow-up smoothly mixes the original's New York Zoo escapees with a number of engaging new characters.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Robert Wilonsky
Funniest movie of '08? Close enough, for those who don't mind monkeying around.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Theresa Everline
Young children will enjoy this piece of sweet cartoon candy.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
More animals don't necessarily translate to more fun and laughter, at least not when it comes to animated sequels.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
If Madagascar 2 is the best Dreamworks can provide to go toe-to-toe with Pixar's beautiful WALL*E, then it's game, set and match to the Disney subsidiary.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar
Let’s not lose sight of what's really been accomplished here. Alex and Marty – just like Batman and Robin, Fred and Barney, and Snagglepuss – are welcome additions to the gay animation pantheon.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Joe Neumaier
Dilutes the idea some by giving every four-legged hero a story arc. And there's not enough of the first movie's super-erudite monkeys. Yet the sitcom-style silliness is still there, and it's nice to see that the old "grin or frown as you wave a hand across your face" joke still has cross-generational, and cross-species, appeal.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
Take the flat tire that was "Madagascar." Retread it with "The Lion King" storyline. Pump it up with air. Now you have Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
A by-the-numbers follow-up to the highly successful 2005 feature that was no great shakes to begin with.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Manohla Dargis
Good enough in patches to make its distracting star turns, storybook clichés and stereotypes harder to take than they would be in a less enjoyable movie.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Ann Hornaday
Epitomizes the best and the worst of what animated filmmaking has become in an era dominated on the one hand by ever more sophisticated computerized imagery and, on the other, by the grasping, increasingly grating desire to be hip.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson
When it comes to time-wasting memory games, crossword puzzles are more fun than this movie.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.2 (out of 10) based on 29 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
steven r. gave it a6:
Computer graphics have passed into a realm of beauty not witnessed before and Blu-Ray is the pinnacle. this film looks extraordinary in BR. the characters stay true to the original with the penguins and the king hilarious. you have to listen closely to get all the gags. it is worth seeing for this alone.
Tom S gave it a7:
Good movie, not as great as the first one, but definetley worth watching if you liked the first. Story is well written, characters are well played. Overall a good movie to watch with the family.
Jason Deatherage gave it a7:
This movie was just ok for me. It was not nearly as good as the first one.
Jay H. gave it a7:
Funny and well animated. Expressive voice overs, good screenplay. It's not one of the best animated films of recent years but it is fun and entertaining. The penguins are hysterical.
Tony O. gave it a9:
Pretty darn funny. The opening sequences launching the plane are just hysterical. Considerably better than the original film, and as someone else pointed out, hard to see how it could have been much better. Lots of droll movie references and in-jokes (The Lion King in particular gets a good workout) and one of the best scripts of 2008. Oddly enough, because it has so many in-jokes, it is probably a slightly better film for adults than it is for children, which makes me drop a point off what it might have been. But one of the best films of the year anyway.
Phillip S. gave it a10:
I absolutely loved this movie. I thought at first that it would be some cheesy sequel, but it proved me wrong. The soundtrack is absolutely amazing and it sends shivers through my spine every time I listen to it. The best sequel to surpass the first one!
Jackie gave it an8:
Very very good movie for teenagers , kids and adults.
