Don't expect to laugh more than 5 times...

Rating: 5/10 (17 November 2008)

I went to watch this movie last Sunday with a dozen of my friends expecting to see another entertaining movie from DreamWorks like Shrek I, Shrek II or Kung Fu Panda. In fact before going to cinema a friend of mine told me that Madagascar 2 is even better than Kung Fu Panda. Wow! So it is really hilarious. Or is it?
Here I don't want to compare Madagascar 2 with the "original" Madagascar. I think every movie should have its own identity. Of course it's natural to feel a deeper connection with the old characters of a sequel and to expect a better or at least equally good movie when you see a "number" in front of the name of the movie. Unfortunately, it seems that the producers of Madagascar 2 were not able to come up with a descent scenario and instead tried to capitalize on the success of the first Madagascar.
So here is the deal. They gather all the characters from Madagascar 1, add a few more characters, write a cheesy story and include some moral advices, some jokes, some dance scenes and some supposed-to-be-funny fights. The producers did not manage to make a film which is both entertaining for children and adults. You know why? Fight scenes and jokes are not appropriate for small kids. But they are the only people in the theater that laugh at them! I laughed very loudly at first few minutes of the movie, maybe once or twice during the movie and once at the end. Rest of the time I was hoping that the movie eventually gets better. But the middle part of the movie remained boring.
King Julien, penguins and monkeys are very funny and adorable. Other characters are forgettable. The old woman's character and her fights are really annoying. The voices are not that brilliant. Although Cohen does a wonderful job, Stiller, Schwimmer and Baldwin are merely good. The rest voices are so-so. The animation itself is top-notch.
**Spoiler**: Here is what I remember from Madagscar 2: previews- here we go the film begins- I like to move it move it- The airplane takes off, God that's soo funny- The airplane lands- Alex and old woman fight, WTH?-The penguins are very funny-blah blah blah- King Julien rides Flamingos like Lawrence of Arabia riding camels, that's funny- blah blah blah- some hippo and zebra and lion blah blah blah- Monkeys are funny- blah blah blah- King Julien says something funny. THE END.