DreamWorks Animation is known for creating wonderful animated films that are entertaining for people of all ages. The Shrek series, Bee Movie, Kung Fu Panda, and other DreamWorks productions have achieved massive financial success, critical acclaim, and popularity with audiences worldwide. Another successful DreamWorks production was Madagascar, a film that was released on May 27, 2005 and went on to gross over $530 million worldwide. Plenty of notable Hollywood stars led their voice talents to this film, whose charming plot about the adventures of some pampered animals in the Central Park Zoo captured the minds of moviegoers of all ages. This November, the second entry in the series, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, will be released in theaters. Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, and David Schwimmer, among other stars from the first movie, will reprise their roles in the movie, setting the stage for another box office success for DreamWorks Animation. If you have not seen the first film in the series, there is plenty of time between now and then to catch up on your Madagascar knowledge in order to enjoy the second film that much more.

The first film in the series followed the adventures of Alex the lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the giraffe, and Gloria the hippo, four animals that live their lives in the sheltered Central Park Zoo. They are content living out their lives showing off to crowds, but Marty decides that he wants to see the rest of the world before he passes on. When Marty escapes, the other three animals decide to follow him to Grand Central Station, where they finally catch up with Marty. The chaos that they cause in Grand Central Station, though, proves too much to ignore, and after being tranquilized by the authorities, the animals are sent off to Africa where they can live free. Of course, the story does not end there, as instead of ending up in North Africa as expected, the four animals wind up in none other than Madagascar. This is due to a group of renegade penguins who also escaped with the four who are responsible for diverting the ship to Antarctica. At first, the animals think that they are in California, but a tribe of lemurs informs them that they are in fact on an island off the eastern coast of Africa.

After some initial conflict caused by the fact that Alex believes that a boat is coming to rescue them, the animals decide to live together peacefully. This peace only lasts so long, as Alex the lion begins to regain his predatory instincts. Marty the zebra is his natural prey, and when Alex starts to lose control over his instincts, the other animals decide to send him over to the other side of the island, where the lemurs’ enemy lives. When a boat arrives at Madagascar, Marty, Melman, and Gloria realize that this may be a way to get back to New York and escape the rigors of island life. When they go to get Alex and bring him back to the boat, the lemurs’ enemies attack them and corner them. Things are looking bleak until Alex appears and fends off the enemies by pretending to have no control over his predatory instincts. This terrifies the other animals, allowing the rest of the New York crew to get away and back to the boat. They celebrate a victory feast and Alex discovers that rather than zebra meat, he much prefers sushi. Little do the four victorious animals know that the ship is out of fuel and that they will have to keep looking for a method to get out of Madagascar.

This is where Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa picks up. Presumably, the animals, upon realizing that the penguins were withholding the important fact concerning the ship’s fuel supply, tried everything to get off the island of Madagascar. Eventually, the crew finds an old airplane. After some modifications by the animals, the four manage to get the plane working again, allowing them to get off the island. Unfortunately, the flight engines fail and the animals end up in an even scarier location – the plains of Africa. For the first time, the zoo-raised animals find other members of their species, providing an interesting contrast between the pampered four and their wild counterparts. Because of this, the animals begin to understand and appreciate their roots, but they find that it is quite a bit different than the concrete jungle of New York City. Although they find plenty of long-lost relatives and find new and exciting ways to outsmart enterprising hunters that would try to get these animals for their own nefarious purposes, the four are faced with the decision to either live in Africa or make their way back to New York City to live the life that they have always known. Considering the emotional attachments that the group will forge with Africa, including romantic connections, familial ties, and other such bonds, the choice becomes a difficult one to make.

As with many of DreamWorks Animation’s films, there are plenty of big-name stars lined up to offer their voice talents to the movie. Ben Stiller will reprise his role as Alex the lion and Chris Rock will return as Marty the zebra. Jada Pinkett Smith, actress and wife of Will Smith, will reprise her role as Gloria the hippo, and David Schwimmer of Friends fame provides the voice of Melman the giraffe. Other notable voice actors include Cedric the Entertainer, Sacha Baron Cohen (or Borat), and Will.i.am. This is also one of the final films to star Bernie Mac, and for this reason, the film will be dedicated to the actor due to his recent untimely death. The film will be rated PG for some mild crude humor, but that should not prevent the parents from bringing the children watch the movie. Like all of DreamWorks Animation’s films that earn the PG rating, the humor will most likely be just the sort that parents understand and get a kick out of while it will go right over the heads of the kids in a good way.

If you enjoyed the first Madagascar film, you will most certainly enjoy the sequel. It is quite easy to become emotionally invested in the stories of these four animals as they traverse the world, and if you found yourself wanting more at the cliffhanger ending of the first movie, the second movie will provide some much needed closure. DreamWorks Animations is known for making films that are plenty of fun for the whole family, so the fact that the movie is ostensibly a kid film should not hold mom, dad, and the teenagers in the family from going to see it. If you have not seen the first movie, you should take the time to see it beforehand and then go and watch the movie when it comes out in theatres on November 7, 2008. The success of the first film is as good an indicator as any that DreamWorks will pull out all the stops to make Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa as entertaining as it can possibly be, so it is well worth the price of admission.