Off to Africa… by accident
We’re back to the wacky animals from the first Madagascar film, this time they’re mistakenly in Africa (thanks to a Penguin plane) still trying to get home to New York. What they end up finding is possibly a home in Africa, or is it something more?
The story is really quite nice. You get plenty of humor from the group, just like in the first film. The opening act of the movie really snatched my kids attention, as you see a young Alex being kidnapped and whisked away by some poachers as his father gives chase. You understand that this character lost his home and ended up at a new place (New York, which is where the first one begins). Unlike the first one, which wanted to throw you into the comedy immediately, you’re given an emotional backstory that lays the groundwork for something much deeper and appreciated towards the end of the film. Sure there are bits of comedy everywhere in the film, but you’re now emotionally connected with the characters at this point (not just through their comedy).
As for the characters, you’ve got a cast that now understands and is comfortable with these particular characters. It’s like watching episode four of Star Wars and then episode five. You can literally see the difference (or hear it in this case) between the uncomfortable comedy they were delivering last time and the new understanding of how their characters are suppose to be this time. The second time with anything is always a more comfortable experience than the first (I know, that doesn’t sound right, but it’s true!). In other words, everybody knows their roles and it certainly shows onscreen. The comedy has been upped a notch and the situations the characters find themselves in is a lot better than simple slapstick.
So, with that said, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa doesn’t fail in hardly any places. It’s a lot deeper than the first film, the comedy is definitely more refined and each character gets an even amount of attention to truly establish themselves as factors in the story. It’s good stuff. Any complaints? Not hardly. I wish we would have seen the Penguins a bit more, but they were worth it while they were onscreen. My kids loved them the most, although there were some uncomfortable questions in regards to the bobble head’s relationship to the main penguin.
Nothing Blu about this one, just plain good
Blu-rays enhance regular film, but I was always skeptical about animated features. After watching Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa it is quite clear that the HD makes the experience better. You get some really gorgeous animation, no artifacts one bit. You also get some fantastic sound coming in through the 5.1 system. Sound is extremely important here as the visuals aren’t real so the sound/audio must back the visuals up just as perfect as the animation needs to be clean and fluid. There is equal importance placed on both visuals and audio that can’t be ignored or faltered on when you’re doing an animted motion picture. Blu-ray makes it all better. Good stuff here.
As for features, here’s what you get:
– Storyboards and Interviews with animators
– The Penguins of Madagascar (extra movie)
– Four Music Videos
– Alex’s Dance-Off
– Test Flight of Air Penguin Video Game
– Jambo Jambo: Swahili Speak
– BD-Live material (The Heart of Lion)
Dreamworks did a fantastic job with this set of features, and especially with fitting the Penguin feature on the same disc (in HD no doubt). Your kids will love them, heck anyone will love them. Solid features that fit the bill. Also, don’t skip over the BD-Live option, it’s worth a look.