Nov. 14, 2008

Reviewed by Richard Lee Zuras

Released 11/07/08

1 hr. 29 min.

PG

Eric Darnell/DreamWorks

Ben Stiller

Chris Rock

David Schwimmer

Jada Pinkett Smith

Sacha Baron Cohen

Bernie Mac

Alec Baldwin

Shotguns, hit and runs, and a psychotic grandmother shouting “Bad kitty.” No, this isn’t a Looney Tunes cartoon from yesteryear, this is post-modern (or post-decency?) DreamWorks fare. Unlike Pixar, with its to die for stories and even better animation, DreamWorks is making its mark fusing pseudo-violence with re-told stale jokes and images.

Parents will be amused enough by Madagascar 2. And why shouldn’t they be? Studios figured out years ago that kids aren’t very discerning when it comes to movie vs. wallet. If you can get the parents into the theater, so the logic goes, then the kids seem to follow. But, as truth would have it, the kids in my theater laughed much more at the scatological humor in the trailer for DreamWorks Hotel For Dogs than they did at Madagascar 2. And as for the parents–they seemed more interested in the trailer for DreamWorks Monsters vs. Aliens.

And herein lies both the problem and the solution: If you can’t compete with Pixar’s appeal on the quality level, then knock them dead with quantity. This is, after all a world about commerce not Art, and Madagascar 2 is simply good enough to turn the turnstiles. There are things herein that succeed better than in the first film. Madagascar 2 has allowed itself, or its animals, some worthy and at times funny scenes. The voice cast is solid, especially the work turned in by Cohen and a dialed in Bernie Mac who reminds us once more how much we will miss him.

Children however, must bear witness to the violence that now passes as PG “cartoon violence.” Several times the animals are fired upon and we, and children as young as three or four, are forced to stare down a rather realistic double barreled shotgun as it noticeably displaces the flesh of a lion’s left ear. But these films are increasingly made for the adults who might otherwise stay home. There is a joke about post-9/11 baggage checks and a reference to a rather famous Twilight Zone episode. Need we not forget the requisite nods to the iPod and Survivor. And, of course, New Jersey is disparaged.

Those who appreciated the message in the far superior Wall-E will take solace here in the almost concern for drought in Africa. And if Nana karate-chopping animals and being herself run over by a Land Rover are too much for you, there is always that adorable group of penguins whose dialogue and action scenes actually seem to have been written with care and who do, in all certainty, steal the film if not your heart.

bottom line 3.0/5.0