I’ve always had a weird relationship with Madagascar Escape 2 Africa which is the sequel to the 2005 Dreamworks hit. Even though I was admittedly a big fan of the first Madagascar movie as a kid, for some reason, I never really got into the second movie despite my love for the franchise. As an adult, it is made even more clear why I couldn’t connect with Marty Alex and the rest of the gang in this well-meaning but ultimately disappointing sequel. It may have had a few laughs and heartwarming moments, but this is surprisingly the worst of the franchise as it had many story problems that kept me from enjoying it as much as the last movie.
Taking place where the first movie left off, Alex (Ben Stiller), Marty (Chris Rock), Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith), and Melman (David Schwimmer) along with the Monkey's King Julien (Sacha Baron Cohen) and Maurice (Cedric the Entertainer) board a recently fixed-up plane in Madagascar to fly home with the help of the crafty Penguins lead by Skipper (Tom McGrath). However, the gang finds themselves crash-landed in the middle of Africa where Alex finds his long-lost parents Zuba (Bernie Mac) and Florrie (Sherri Shepherd). The other members of the gang find themselves fitting in as well with Marty joining a zebra heard Gloria meeting a male hippo named Motto Motto (Will.I.Am) and Melman becoming a witch doctor. The penguins meanwhile stay behind to fix up the plane but the main friends may have found where they truly belong until they realize that maybe things aren’t what they seem. As tensions rise, the friend relationships are tested. Can the gang work things out before it is too late?
The story goes all over the place and tries to focus on so many subplots at once, but the subplots don’t really come together that much and some of the subplots could honestly use some work. The main story is mostly focused on Alex instead of Marty and it has to do with him finding out that he is part of a family that he never knew he had. Now I admit that this subplot is where most of the heart comes from and I appreciate it very much. Even though that part is good, I don’t think the relationship between Alex and his dad Zuba is very strong and the fact that their arguments were mostly caused by a bland villain who contributes mostly nothing to the role is honesty baffling. There are also other subplots that are rather hit or miss, for the most part, subplots like Marty being a part of a herd or the penguins stealing the tour group’s cars leaving them stranded in the wild are good, but some like Melman's crush on Gloria while not bad do seem a little out of place and even manipulative at times. This is a case where the story felt more annoying than charming despite the filmmakers trying their very best to make something funny and likable at the same time.
The Characters are hit and miss as sometimes they retain their charm from the last movie and other times they seem rather underdeveloped at times. The main four friends Alex, Marty Gloria, and Melman are played by the same actors as before and their well-defined personalities are great but are also put to challenges that don’t feel necessary and rather forced especially when they are fighting about their relationships with each other, now arguing is good as it creates conflict but i didn’t feel like the tensions in this movie were as well laid out as they were from before. Thankfully the voice actors' spirit did make them more enjoyable even despite the weak scripts they were given. The penguins get a little more time on screen and they are still the best part of the movie as their secret agent-like tactics never fail to put a smile on my face. Then there are the other characters the main four meet in Africa such as Alex’s mom and dad played by the late Bernie Mac and Sherrie Shepard respectively. The way they act as parents to Alex is downright heartwarming and even though their arcs may be underdeveloped their acting makes them more interesting than the script allows them to be. Motto Motto is a male hippo played by Will.I.Am himself who like most music celebrities get cast into animated roles feels rather like a pointless choice as his acting is not very good but I give him credit that he’s not in the movie for long. Speaking of wasted talent, Alec Baldwin plays the evil Makunga who feels unneeded in the story and feels like they used the talent of Baldwin's voice to do nothing but to play a discount version of Scar from The Lion King. I know Baldwin can be a better villain because I've seen him play the more superior threatening Dennis from The Spongebob Squarepants Movie and it honestly baffles me that Dreamworks did not really take advantage use his talent to portray a much better character than he was given. The characters are not as good as before but I appreciate the cast and the writers trying to do their best at the very least.
The Animation keeps the same cartoony and tex avery-like designs made popular in the first movie. For the most part, it works well, especially with the slapstick, and the textures on the characters and environments are a lot more smooth and less choppy than before. The scenery of Africa is decent enough even though it makes me wish that I could see Africa from Disney’s The Lion King as that Africa looks so much more lively and colorful. Its not to say the representation of Africa in this movie is bad, but it sort of lacks the appeal and lushness of the Madagascar island from the last movie. Of course, you can expect some pretty out-there visuals that you would never expect to see in an animated movie that has realistic movements such as animals walking on two legs as well as some weird but fun visual gags that pop up from time to time. Like before this is a style of animation that is not gonna be for everyone. While I would have preferred to have an Africa that looks more beautiful than it really is, the quirky character designs and slapstick humor did suffice enough to make it interesting enough to watch.
The music is a collaboration between Hanz Zimmer and Will.I.Am. Hanz Zimmer of course gives it everything he’s got to create beautiful orchestrations while Will.I.Am takes Zimmer's orchestrations and adds lyrics to them. I admit that these lyrics over the orchestrations would be a bad thing if they were done wrong, but I actually found the lyrics to be not that bad and less annoying than I would have thought. Will.I.Am also does his own cover version of I Like to Move It Move It for the movie and even though I prefer King Julien's version more, Escape 2 Africa’s version is still pretty catchy and unique. The soundtrack was one of the best bits from the original Madagascar movie so it’s great to see that Zimmer and Will.I.Am have collaborated to bring something familiar but new at the same time.
I want to like Madagascar Escape 2 Africa as much as I enjoyed myself from the first movie. I’m not gonna act like the first movie is perfect or timeless, but there were at least enough substantial things that kept adult me engaged and entertained. This movie had the potential to be the same way but its balancing of too many subplots and okay characters did make this movie less entertaining and more subpar and maniputaive. This is far from the worst thing Dreamworks has ever dished out and there were some funny and charming moments to go around, but this movie was, unfortunately, a bit of a step backward and lacked what made the last entry decently enjoyable.
(Final Grade: C+)