Madagascar 2: Something for Everyone!

Written by Ray on November 7, 2008 – 7:37 am

This is your captain speaking - thank you for choosing Air Penguin.  As a wholly owned subsidiary of DreamWorks Animation, we aim to please.  In that spirit, when brainstorming ideas for the sequel to the popular Madagascar movie, we said yes to absolutely every thing.  That’s right, we cut nothing.

Adventure?  Check - the penguins and the apes team fix up the plane not once but twice.  And the second time, they have to strip parts from stolen Land Rovers.

A search for your true identity?  Check - we’ve got Marty finding himself after joining a herd of virtual clones - crack-a-lackin’!

Love story?  Check - we liked that idea so much, we included two, just so we could play them off of each other (and play with your emotions while we’re at it.)

Baldwin brother?  Check - we’ve got Alec as the devious alpha-lion wanna-be (think Scar from the Lion King).

Tough and Courageous New Yorker?  Check - even 7 years after 9/11, the stereotype lives.  “We ah New Yorkas!”  The fight scene between the surprisingly tough granny and Alex (the lion, not the Baldwin) gets some of the biggest laughs.

Familial expectations?  Son not living up to his father’s expectations?  Check - the reunion of Alex with his mom and dad is the closest thing we have to a main story-line.  Predictably enough, performing for crowds of adoring fans in the zoo does not prepare Alex for the rigors of life on the plains of Africa, at least until the surprise ending

Comic Relief?  Sacrifice?  Troubled Friendships and their Resolution?  Check, check, check.  King Julian (king of the lemurs, “I like to move it, move it”), a volunteer to go into the fiery volcano, zoo alum fighting and making it up - I’m telling you, this movie has it all.

Don’t think that all these story lines will be a drag on the pace of the movie - its a fast 89 minutes.  When I said we cut nothing, I meant we cut no story ideas - each one moves with lightning speed from conflict to resolution as fast as we could animate it.

Thank you for flying Air Penguin.  We know you have choices when you fly, and “all of the above” is usually a good bet.  Enjoy your movie.

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