Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Blu-ray Movie Review

Just as charming, just as funny, and just as flawed as the original...

Against all odds, DreamWorks Animation has carved out quite a niche for itself. Being stuck in line behind a seemingly indestructible industry giant like Pixar Animation Studios can't be an easy task, but Katzenberg and company have persevered, sidestepping culinary rodents and lovelorn robots with sarcastic one-liners, pop culture references a plenty, and a parade of distinctly modern protagonists. It's counter-programming at its finest and it continues to work year after year. From Shrek to Bee Movie to Kung Fu Panda, the studio has earned tremendous attention and acclaim, billions of dollars at the worldwide box office, and a loyal legion of multi-generational animation fans who adore the production house's skewed sensibilities and edgier humor. One such successful DreamWorks Animation property is the Madagascar series. While not as well-received by critics, Madagascar and, more recently, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa have demonstrated their ability to draw in an audience and score some serious laughs.

Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman crash where no Central Park zoo animal has crashed before...

After escaping the Central Park zoo and finding themselves shipwrecked on a remote island, Madagascar's imported wild bunch -- a self-centered lion named Alex (voiced by Ben Stiller), a roots-starved zebra named Marty (Chris Rock), a boisterous hippo named Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith), and a timid giraffe named Melman (David Schwimmer) -- board a rickety airplane bound for New York. But when their trusty penguin pilots and cohorts (Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights, and John DiMaggio) lose control of the plane and crash on the African mainland, Alex and his friends find themselves in their ancestral home. At first, Alex reconnects with his long-lost father (the late, great Bernie Mac), Marty realizes he's not as special as he once thought, Gloria decides she's ready to settle down with a womanizer name Moto Moto (recording artist will.i.am), and Melman begins pining after the secret love of his life. But when a manipulative lion named Makunga (Alec Baldwin) gets Alex and his father banished and a precious watering hole dries up, the zoo crew are determined to set things right. With the help of tag-along lemurs King Julien (Sacha Baron Cohen) and Maurice (Cedric the Entertainer), a pesky rodent named Mort (Andy Richter), and a pair of civilized monkeys (Conrad Vernon), the New Yorkers embark on an adventure of a lifetime.

Like the original Madagascar, Escape 2 Africa is at its best when showcasing the quick wit and sharp sense of humor layered within its many subplots. Once again, the lead actors are largely relegated to handling the film's contrived plot while the supporting characters are given the opportunity to steal the show. Cohen, Baldwin, Vernon, and Richter make the most of their scenes, sinking into each line and finding the comic gold buried in every word coming out of their mouths. Standout voice actors McGrath, Miller, Knights, and DiMaggio hijack the flick every chance they get, nabbing belly laughs and creating four of the most disarmingly lovable animated characters to ever grace a DreamWorks Animation production. It's no wonder the penguin commandos will be headlining their own Nickelodeon television series this spring. Granted, Stiller, Rock, Pinkett-Smith, and Schwimmer do a fine job with the script they're handed, but they spend so much time sludging through their rather cliche roles that they simply become tools of exposition, leading the story from point A to point B while other characters win our every affection. It's not necessarily a bad thing -- I've really enjoyed both Madagascar films -- but it always leaves me wondering what the writers at Pixar could do with the same concept.

Just don't try to tell that to my son. While adults may grimace at the film's gimmicky plot and tired message points, children will be enthralled by Alex's African misadventures. The animals are indeed cute-n-cuddly, the physical comedy will leave kids rolling on the ground (even when particular jokes sail over their heads), and its simplistic themes are sure to register with their young hearts and minds. All things considered, Escape 2 Africa is best suited for families with young children who love sitting down with mom and dad for a movie night at home. It doesn't boast the replay value of new-classics like Finding Nemo or the plot cohesion and subtle character development of other DreamWorks Animation hits like Kung Fu Panda, but it's nevertheless an infectious, oft-times hilarious film that's sure to send your kids bouncing around the room.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Did I mention the film is absolutely gorgeous? While it may not come as a surprise to most high-def enthusiasts, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa features a flawless 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer that, quite honestly, blew me away. Colors are vivid and lively, primaries are rich and stable, and blacks are as deep and resolved as they come. Contrast is bright and inviting, perfectly capturing the warm sunlit plains and stark skies of the African plains. And detail? Detail is a sight to behold. Whether it was an animal's fur, a tree's leaves, a stone's imperfections, or an airplane's weathered hull, I simply couldn't peel my eyes away from the screen. Some of you may have grown numb to the visual impact that generally accompanies a CG-animated Blu-ray release, but each and every film hits me like a cold shower stream. The desert floor is littered with shriveled weeds and chipped branches, swarms of well-defined birds flitter in the distance, a hundred-strong herd of zebra are intricately textured, a gathering assembly of lions is perfectly rendered no matter how far the camera pulls away, a swirling pool of lava... well, I could go on and on. Every scene, every shot, every frame looks completely and utterly fantastic.

To top it all off, Paramount's transfer is never disrupted by artifacting, noise, or any other intrusive issue. I caught glimpses of faint (I stress faint) banding here and there, but it was hardly a distraction. I doubt I would have even noticed it if I wasn't looking for something... anything that was even remotely wrong with the film's technical presentation. Mark my words, Escape 2 Africa delivers the animated transfer to beat in 2009.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa's noteworthy Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround track is just as impressive. Line after line of crisp, perfectly-prioritized dialogue has been replicated with exacting precision. Character voices and naturalistic effects are meticulously situated throughout the soundfield, low-end bass tones are weighty and resonant, and the rear speakers offer a never-ending parade of ambient and acoustic support. As it stands, the film has more than a fair share of showcase sequences -- the plane crash, Alex's hapless search for Marty, Melman's encounter with a volcano, the unforgettable appearances by a lunging shark, and a dam's violent destruction hit hard and refuse to let go. Maybe it's just me, but it seems animated films tend to offer more convincing and immersive soundfields than the vast majority of live-action flicks. Not only are the track's pans invisible and its spatial accuracy dead on, there isn't a single moment that struck me as strained, inconsistent, or problematic. My sole gripe (admittedly an extremely minor one) is that some of the film's songs are more subdued than others. However, I would imagine their allocation in the soundscape has very little to do with a technical mishap and everything to do with intentional choices made by the film's sound designers.

As far as I'm concerned, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa sounds as good as it looks. Audiophiles will be hard pressed to drum up a complaint, casual viewers will be bowled over by the track's raw power and tenacity, and animation fans will find themselves lost in plains alongside Alex and his friends.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Blu-ray edition of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa ports over all of the standard DVD's special features, presents all of its video content in high definition, and even includes a few notable BD exclusives.

• Audio Commentary (with optional subtitles): Co-directors Tom McGrath and Eric Darnell sit down with producers Mireille Soria and Mark Swift to discuss the challenges they encountered in developing a sequel to a successful animated film, the expansion of the original story, the improvements made to the animation, and how the design team enhanced the tone and personality of the tale. It's quite informative, but also a bit dry. I would certainly recommend skipping the audio commentary and activating...
• The Animators Corner: An engaging Picture-in-Picture experience that plays the filmmakers' audio commentary while presenting storyboards, early animatics, various stages of animation, and more in a rather large window. It even intermittently tosses in footage of the commentators as they talk about the film and its merits. It's not the best PiP track I've had the pleasure of sitting through, but it was certainly more exciting than the standard audio commentary.
• Production Featurettes (HD, 32 minutes): Paramount has also included four behind-the-scenes featurettes. The Making of Escape 2 Africa gives a brief overview of the production, It's a Family Affair focuses on the film's voice cast, Crash Landing examines the genesis and implementation of a key sequence, and African Adventure follows the filmmakers to Africa as they research the local wildlife. While each one spends the majority of its time promoting a flick you already have sitting in your Blu-ray player, they at least dug a bit deeper than comparable mini-docs found on most other animated releases.
• Jambo Jambo (HD, 36 minutes): Designed primarily for kids, this interactive tutorial teaches children how to say common Swahili phrases. I thought it grew old after a few minutes, but my son was fascinated from beginning to end.
• The Bronx Zoo and Madagascar (HD, 8 minutes): A promotional tour of a new Madagascar-themed exhibit at New York's Bronx Zoo.
• More Penguins (HD, 24 minutes): Instead of the traditional bonus short often bundled with animated releases, we get a pair of amusing minisodes -- Popcorn Panic and Gone in a Flash -- from the upcoming Nickelodeon animated series based around the Madagascar penguins.
• Music Videos (HD, 9 minutes): Next up is series of music videos. The first four feature songs from the film -- Move It Move It, Big and Chunky, She Loves Me, and Traveling Song -- and the fifth is an instructional video for kids that teaches them some of Alex's dance moves.
• Trivia Track: Since the disc already boasts an audio commentary and a PiP experience, this trivia track will mainly appeal to completists.
• Air Penguins: A meandering, unexciting point-n-click game that progresses at a dreadfully slow pace. Kids are instructed to help the Madagascar penguins fly a plane, but they're merely tasked with moving a cursor and selecting the appropriate tool for each obstacle the aircraft encounters.
• Dreamworks Animation Video Jukebox: Escape 2 Africa also includes a video jukebox that offers dozens of musical clips from a variety of Dreamworks Animation films.
• BD-Live Functionality

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa certainly isn't a perfect animated film, but you can be sure it will provide you and your family with a fun night at home. It'll also be easy to ignore its flaws when you watch this immaculate Blu-ray release. A reference quality video transfer combines forces with jaw-dropping lossless audio to produce an early 2009 standout disc. Add to that a generous helping of special features and exclusive content (in high definition no less) and you have a title that's well worth the price of admission. A solid film, a fantastic AV presentation, and a lengthy list of supplements? What are you waiting for?