Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

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Directed by 	
Eric Darnell
Tom McGrath
Produced by 	
Mireille Soria
Mark Swift
Written by 	
Etan Cohen
Tom McGrath
Eric Darnell
Starring  	
Ben Stiller
Chris Rock
David Schwimmer
Jada Pinkett Smith
Sacha Baron Cohen
Cedric the Entertainer
Andy Richter
Bernie Mac
Alec Baldwin
will.i.am
Music by 	
Hans Zimmer
will.i.am
Edited by: 	Mark A. Hester
Studio 	
DreamWorks Animation
Pacific Data Images
Release Date: 	November 7th 2008
Running time 	89 minutes (Three Minutes longer than the Original)
Country 	United States
Language 	English
Budget 	$150 million
Box office 	$602,308,178
Previous Movie:	Madagascar (Original Film)
Next Movie: 	Madagscar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (or simply just Madagascar 2, known in early development trailer as Madagascar: The Crate Escape) is a 2008 American computer-animated comedy film written by Etan Cohen, and directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath. This is the first sequel to the 2005 film Madagascar     and continues the adventures of Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, and Gloria the Hippo. It stars the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, and Andy Richter. Also providing voices are Bernie Mac, Alec Baldwin, Sherri Shepherd, Elisa Gabrielli, and will.i.am. It was produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures, and was released on November 7, 2008.  The film won the 2009 Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Animated Movie. The film was released posthumously after the death of Bernie Mac who voices "Zuba The Lion." The movie reads: For our friend Bernie Mac, thanks for all the laughter in the final credits.
==Story==
This film picks up at the point where the original left off, with the animals deciding to return to New York. They board an airplane in Madagascar, and crash-land in Africa, where each of the central characters meets others of the same species; Alex is reunited with his parents, Problems arise, and their resolution occupies much of the remainder of the film.
==Plot==
The film starts as a prequel. As a cub, Alex the Lion was called Alakay and was the son of Zuba , the alpha lion. Though Zuba tries to teach Alakay to be a hunter, the cub is more interested in dancing, and is captured by poachers when Makunga, Zuba's rival, challenges Zuba to a fight for the position of alpha lion. Alakay is forced into a crate, and taken away despite Zuba's attempts to rescue him. The crate falls into the ocean where it drifts to New York. There, Alakay is renamed Alex and sent to the Central Park Zoo where he grew up, where he meets Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, and Gloria the Hippopotamus. The events of the First Film are then described through a series of news flashes. In the present time, after the first film, Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria, the Penguins - Skipper, Kowalski, Private, and Rico, the Chimpanzees - Mason and Phil, and even the Lemurs - King Julien, Maurice, and Mort board a repaired airplane to fly back to New York. The plane takes off, but crash-lands in continental Africa. In Africa the animals are amazed to find more of their kind. Alex is reunited with Zuba and his mother. Marty fits in with a herd of zebra who all look and sound exactly like him. Hypochondriac Melman becomes a witch doctor. Gloria attracts the attention of a smooth-talking hippo named Moto Moto. Meanwhile, the penguins set about repairing the plane. They carjack several jeeps under "Operation Tourist Trap", leaving the tourists stranded in the jungle. Nana, a tough old woman known for beating up Alex in the first film, takes charge of the group ("We are Survivors!"). Unfortunately, life in Africa isn't as wonderful as it first seemed. Makunga, still determined to take the position of alpha lion, reminds Zuba that Alex must complete a traditional coming-of-age challenge that he didn't complete. Alex, thinking that the challenge is a dance contest (it is actually a fight) competes against the strongest lion, Teetsi, who was recommended by Makunga and loses quickly. To avoid banishing his own son for failing, Zuba relinquishes his title as Alpha lion. Makunga immediately takes the position and ousts Alex and his family. Marty, meanwhile, begins to feel upset because there is nothing unique about him. Melman is happy until he learns that he has the same symptoms that apparently caused the previous witch doctor to die. Melman is also angry about Gloria dating Moto Moto, as Melman has secretly loved her for a long time. Gloria goes on a date with Moto Moto and quickly realizes that he only loves her for her large body. The next day, the animals panic when the watering hole dries up. Determined to make up for his earlier failure, Alex and Marty leave the reserve to investigate. They discover that the stranded New Yorkers, under the instruction of Nana, have dammed up the river and built a primitive civilization. Alex is captured by a trap, forcing Marty to abandon him to seek help. Meanwhile, Zuba hears from Makunga what Alex did and goes to assist him. Back on the reserve, King Julien suggests that the animals offer a sacrifice in the volcano, Mount Kilimanjaro, to appease the water gods. Believing that he will die soon, Melman volunteers to be sacrificed. Gloria stops him just in time and Marty arrives to tell them about Alex. The trio, the penguins, and several chimpanzees use the newly-fixed plane to execute a rescue. However, Alex has already managed to rescue both himself and his father by dancing for the New Yorkers, who fondly remember him from the zoo. The other animals arrive to pick them up with the plane (redesigned as a helicopter), and together they all destroy the dam, freeing the water. Meanwhile, back at the volcano, Mort turns up after being chased through the jungle by a shark. The shark falls into the volcano, completing the sacrifice (Maurice says "I hope the gods like seafood.") and causing King Julien to think that he brought back the water. As the watering hole fills, Makunga angrily makes a stand for control. However, Alex manages to kick Makunga out of power by tricking Nana into attacking him. Zuba gives the alpha position to Alex, but Alex refuses, resulting in both father and son becoming co-leaders. The movie ends as Skipper marries a bobble-head hula doll from the plane and leaves on a honeymoon in Monte Carlo with the chimpanzees, and a huge tub of diamonds and gold, leaving Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria and The Lemurs to happily remain in Africa with Alex's parents.
==Cast==
Ben Stiller as Alex
Chris Rock as Marty
David Schwimmer as Melman
Jada Pinkett Smith as Gloria
Sacha Baron Cohen as King Julien
Cedric the Entertainer as Maurice
Andy Richter as Mort
Bernie Mac as Zuba the Lion
Sherri Shepherd as Florrie the Lioness (credited as "Mom")
Alec Baldwin as Makunga the Lion
Elisa Gabrielli as Nana
will.i.am as Moto Moto the Hippopotamus
Eric Darnell
Al Roker as Newscaster
Stephen Kearin as Stephen the Giraffe, Rhinoceros, Tourist with video camera
Danny Jacobs as Tourist with New York T-shirt
Dan O'Connor as Cape Buffalo, Tourist with University Shirt
Stacy Ferguson as Female Hippopotamus
Harland Williams as Additional Giraffe
Bridget Hoffman as Female Tourist
Quinn Dempsey Stiller (Ben Stiller's real-life son) as Baby Alex
Declan Swift also as Baby Alex
Thomas Stanley as Baby Marty
Zachary Gordon as Baby Melman
Willow Smith (Jada Pinkett Smith's real-life daughter) as Baby Gloria
David P. Smith as Bob the Dik-Dik
Conner Rayburn as Little Giraffe
John Eric Bentley
Tom McGrath as Skipper
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Chris Miller as Kowalski
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John DiMaggio as Rico (uncredited)
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Christopher Knights as Private
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Conrad Vernon as Mason (Phil is unvoiced)
Elisa Gabrielli as Nana 
Fred Tatasciore
==References to Madagascar 1==
==Reception==
===Critical Respone===
The film received generally mixed to positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 64% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on 146 reviews, with the consensus view that the film was "an improvement on the original, with more fleshed-out characters, crisper animation and more consistent humor," and with an average rating of 5.9/10. Another review aggregator, Metacritic classified the film into the "generally favorable reviews" category with 61/100 approval rating based on 24 reviews, also a bit higher a score than the original. Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune stated in his review that the film "goes easy on the pop culture jokes, I should clarify: one of the smarter things in the script is how Alex, who digs his Bob Fosse and Jerome Robbins dance moves, becomes the film's primary pop-cult gag."[5] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 stars and wrote "This is a brighter, more engaging film than the original Madagascar.[6] Steven D. Greydanus complained the film's plot was similar to The Lion King, Joe Vs. The Volcano, and Happy Feet. Carrie Rickey of the Philadelphia Inquirer gave the film 2 stars and wrote "Take the flat tire that was Madagascar. Retread it with The Lion King storyline. Pump it up with air. Now you have Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa."[8] John Anderson gave the film 3½ approval rating and stated "Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa, the sequel to the enormously successful DreamWorks adventure and a film that hews close to the whole Lion King/species-as-destiny/self-fulfillment paradigm."
===Box Office===
On its opening day, the film grossed $17,555,027 from 4,056 theaters with an $4,328 average. It went to be at #1 at the box office with $63,106,589 with $15,559 average per theater. As of March 19, 2009, it achieved a gross of $180,010,950 in the United States and Canada along with a gross of $422,297,228 in other regions adding to a worldwide gross total of $602,308,178.
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==Sequel==
A sequel titled Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted was released on June 8th 2012. Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman are still fighting to get home to New York. This time the journey will take them to a traveling circus in Europe which they reinvent Madagascar style.
Category:Sequels
Category:Dreamworks Movies
Category:PG Rated Movies
Category:2000s Movies
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Category:Movies released on a leap year
Category:21st Century Movies
Category:2008 Movies