Product Details

• Actors: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen
• Directors: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath
• Writers: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, Etan Cohen
• Producers: Lorne Orleans, Mark Swift, Mireille Soria
• Format: Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English, French, Spanish
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: DreamWorks
• DVD Release Date: February 6, 2009
• Run Time: 89 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (172 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001NCDFTW
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,065 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #2 in	Movies & TV > Comedy > Comedy Stars > Ben Stiller
  #4 in	Movies & TV > Animation > DreamWorks
  #31 in	Movies & TV > Animation > Comedy

• For more information about "Madagascar - Escape 2 Africa (Widescreen)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The sequel to the animated movie Madagascar gives more of everything audiences loved in the first movie: More of the penguins; more of Julian, king of the lemurs; more musical bits of classic rock; and many, many more lions, zebras, hippos, and giraffes. In the first film, a quartet of coddled zoo animals found themselves shipwrecked on the island of Madagascar in a misguided effort to return them to the wild. InMadagascar: Escape 2 Africa, a failed attempt to fly back to New York maroons Alex the lion (voiced by Ben Stiller), Marty the zebra (Chris Rock), Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith), and Melman the giraffe (David Schwimmer) in an animal preserve on the African continent, accompanied by the four deranged penguins and the lunatic lemur king (deliriously voiced by Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat). By wild coincidence, this is where Alex was born--and where his father is still the alpha lion, and where his malevolent uncle seeks to take over (let's call this an homage to The Lion King). The other beasts have their own story arcs, but really it's all an excuse for daffy comic bits. Though the result is disposable, it's also entirely entertaining. The action sequences pop with dizzying spectacle; though some jokes are mainstream fodder, more often they're surprisingly quirky and engagingly oddball. This is the best kind of cotton candy filmmaking--it dissolves into nothing, but it's oh-so-sweet to the taste. --Bret Fetzer

Product Description

All of 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. They find themselves in the wildest place of all – the vast plains of Africa – where our zoo-raised crew encounter species of their own kind for the very first time. While discovering their roots, they quickly find the differences between the concrete jungle and the heart of Africa. Despite long-lost relatives, romantic rivals and scheming hunters, Africa seems like a great place...but is it better than their Central Park home?

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Main feature great; penguins add-on not worth the extra cost, February 6, 2009

By	J. King (North Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Madagascar - Escape 2 Africa/Nick Penguins 2-Disc Move It, Move It, Double DVD Pack (Widescreen) (DVD)

The Madagascar 2 movie is a great flick, full of fun and witty lines. If you liked the first movie, this is more of the same, if not better and probably worthy of five stars. The second DVD featuring two Nick Penguin shorts for a total of about 25 minutes of video, isn't worth the additional cost, in my opinion. The first Madagascar release had a Penguin animation short included as an extra on the movie disc, whereas the new one has two shorts and charges the buyer for the priviledge. And frankly, I thought that the two penguin cartoons, while a bit amusing, were a bit of a disappointment. If one is a REAL fan of the Nick Penguins, then you'll need to get this DVD set. Otherwise, I would recommend just getting the main feature and save yourself the $7.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More heart, humor than the first, February 8, 2009

By	Poor Napoleon (TX United States) - See all my reviews

Dreamworks' animated films have not been able to hold a candle to caliber of Disney/Pixar films, but let's face it: who can? That said, Madagascar 2 is learning from Pixar at the very least. Animated films work when they are able to successfully blend humor, heart, and a good story to keep the audience sustained for at least 90 minutes.

Madagascar 2 starts in the right direction by presenting a very nice opening featuring a brief origin of Alex and how he got to New York. It's probably less than 5 minutes, but already set the tone for the heart of the picture, which focuses chiefly on Alex fitting in with his fellow lions. The other chief characters are also stumbling as they interact with their own in Africa.

Also back is the humor. I sometimes feel like the movies would be funnier if the penguins had more screen time, but they are still funny in whatever scenes they're in. The granny who beat up Alex in the first film is also back for some humor. The humor is better and more consistent than the first.

The only flaw in the film is that it is fairly predictable. The chracters are a little bit better here than in the first and it has a good heart, but sometimes they don't spend as long on the emotional aspect as they could. It's still good entertainment and I like to see Dreamworks progress with their films.

31 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars penguin adventures, February 1, 2009

By	bob (charlottesville VA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

note: this blue ray includes the nick penguins episodes available in the dvd 2 pack