Cohen and the penguins steal the show again

Rating: 6/10 (10 November 2008)

The original Madagascar film was one of my favorite animated movies of the decade because it was very original and outright hilarious, in addition to having the most amazing penguins the world has ever seen. In the second installment, however, the screenplay is sacrificed for better animation, and while it looks good, the film doesn't carry itself well, despite having a very short runtime.
Our favorite zoo animals have been kicked out of New York and end up in Africa, where they quickly fit in with a pride of lions and other animals. Basically, from here, the film because formulaic, even for a children's animated movie. It's hard to believe they spent almost 3 years making this movie.
Of course, most animated films are only as good as the voice actors, and while the big four of Stiller, Rock, Schwimmer, and Pinkett Smith are enjoyable, it's Sacha Baron Cohen who steals the movie once again as King Julien. His performance had me laughing on end for most of the movie, and I lit up like a lamp whenever his little rodent appeared on screen. The late Bernie Mac was also fun to have in the movie.
The best thing about the movie are the penguins, bar none. They literally had me crying tears from laughing so hard. The actor playing the lead penguin is some sort of genius. I kept wanting every scene that played out in a straightforward way to end quickly so I could see the penguins again.
Madagascar 2 is as beautifully animated as it is horribly written. There is so much attention to detail, making it the second most accomplished animated film this year in terms of picture quality. However, Madagascar 2 falls victim to cheesy lines, a stereotypical villain (a ripoff of a character played by Alec Baldwin, if you ask me), and formulaic plot resolution. I will say, however, that most of the jokes were good ones.
Madagascar 2 is a tolerable kids movie that doesn't live up to the first film's glory as one of my favorite animated films of the decade. It's not terrible enough for me to hate it, or for me to not see the 3rd one that's already in production. I just hope that one tries a little harder in the writing department.