Pixar has redefined the meaning of animated film, while Madagascar and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa are not even in the same league. But both of the Madagascar films (more so the sequel) are so goofy and enjoyable they are perfectly viable pieces of entertainment in their own right.
From the jump, it is clear Madagascar 2 is going for a slightly more serious emotional arc (with the key word here being “slightly”). We see Alex the lion (Ben Stiller, Tropic Thunder) as a cub, tenderly cared for by his father, Zuba (the late Bernie Mac, Transformers). The rival lion, Makunga (Alec Baldwin, whose animated character actually looks a little like him, My Best Friend’s Girl), distracts Zuba long enough for Alex to be captured by hunters. Through a ludicrous series of complications, Alex is taken to the fictitious New York Central Zoo. The opening scene has a level of emotional seriousness not seen anywhere in the prior film.
After the opening, it is more or less silly time. Madagascar 2 has instances of emotion here and there, and some do connect, such as a heartfelt speech from Melman the hypochondriac giraffe (David Schwimmer, Nothing But the Truth) to his love, Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith, The Women).
But the real appeal of Madagascar 2 lies in its oddball characters and equally screwy dialogue. Kids will enjoy the movie plenty (though parents may be surprised at the level of cartoon violence), but for adults, the draw is the occasional, out-of-nowhere adult joke.
At one point, as a penguin tries to repair a crashed plane, he fumbles with a screwdriver (no opposable thumbs) and curses, “Damn you, Darwin!” Monkeys are brought on to help finish the job but soon go on strike for maternity leave (despite being all male). The penguins protest to Alex when he asks them to hurry the repairs, one of them exclaiming, “Can’t you see these Communists are breaking me?” And when King Julien the lemur (Sacha Baron Cohen, Sweeney Todd) discusses things he wishes to do before he dies, he includes, “I want to invade a country and force my ideology upon them, even if they do not want it.”
Speaking of Julien, Cohen’s vaguely Indian-crossed-with-Caribbean accent makes nearly everything he says a little funny to begin with, and he steals the show every time he appears onscreen. Though Cohen is a remarkably reliable comic presence, his feature film appearances have been despairingly few since Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. But even in the more recent Sweeney Todd, he was hilarious in a minor role. Simply put, Cohen is the standout among a group of amusing secondary characters.
And it really is the secondary characters propping up the film. There’s the crew of military-organized penguins who fake death on the roads to steal Jeeps from tourists. Two cultured monkeys are often seen playing chess or wearing top hats. Also, Andy Richter (Semi-Pro) as Mort, the adorable and persistent lemur, absurdly survives a fall from a plane and a chase with a shark that extends deep inland.
But the general lack of internal logic (the shark example being one of many), or really any logic at all, prevents Madagascar 2 from being taken seriously. Its nonsensical tone should prevent most adults from ever believing the characters are in any sort of danger. When a plane clearly is about to crash and magically pulls up, when a shark can follow someone through a volcano, when a Jeep can ram an elderly woman at full speed and she survives – well, we clearly are in Wile E. Coyote territory. So, any time the characters are in danger, the audience feels no need to worry. As the movie has no logical rules, we can be assured a magical solution will present itself.
As for the leads, Chris Rock (Bee Movie) sounds slightly less bored than in the first film as the zebra, Marty. Schwimmer is still the most endearing as Melman, and Pinkett Smith is still largely relegated to the “No-you-didn’t-girl!” stock character as the spunky hippo. Stiller gets a few laughs but is more a tool to further the story than a comic mouthpiece.
Because Madagascar 2 has about as much emotion and depth as 10 minutes of Ratatouille, it remains a trifle. But it’s about as good of a trifle as you can get.
dan.benamor@gmail.com
RATING: 3.5 out of 5 stars
