Madagascar Escape 2 Africa parents guide

Madagascar Escape 2 Africa Parent Guide

Overall B

New York City Zoo castaways, Alex the Lion (voiced by Ben Stiller), Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer), and Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith), have an opportunity to leave Madagascar and head home. But their travel plans, arranged by the enterprising penguins, take an unexpected detour (like in the first film), landing the domesticated beasts in the wilds of Africa.

Release date November 7, 2008

Violence B-
Sexual Content B
Profanity A-
Substance Use A-

Why is Madagascar Escape 2 Africa rated PG? The MPAA rated Madagascar Escape 2 Africa PG for some mild crude humor.

Run Time: 89 minutes

Official Movie Site

Parent Movie Review

After escaping from their comfortable digs at the New York City zoo in their first film adventure, Marty the zebra (voice by Chris Rock) and his friends found themselves washed up on the shore of Madagascar where they encountered a group of crazy lemurs. Now having had enough of the rainforest critters, Marty, Alex the lion (voice by Ben Stiller), Gloria the hippo (voice by Jada Pinkett Smith) and Melman the giraffe (voice by David Schwimmer) are eager to return to civilization in Central Park.

However, securing a return trip ticket won’t be easy. The only plane flying out of the lemur airfield is made up of patched together parts and ratcheted into a catapult. Manned by a parcel of flight-challenged penguins, the aircraft (complete with a couple of decaying skeletons) is ready to take off. Boarding the rickety wreck, the four friends, along with the lemur leader and his assistant (voices by Sacha Baron Cohen and Cedric the Entertainer), put their lives in the hands of the penguin skipper (voice by Tom McGrath) and his bird-brained crew.

But this makeshift jet isn’t destined for distance. With one engine spewing smoke and the control panel flashing, the plane and its passengers soon find themselves freefalling from the sky and landing unceremoniously in the middle of an African animal reserve. There the furry fugitives stumble upon free-running herds of zebras, giraffes and hippos along with a pride of lions. With a stronger storyline than the original Madagascar, this African adventure introduces these city slickers to the wild side of their species and life on the open plains.

Unfortunately, the script also introduces audiences to plenty of potty humor and anatomical jokes. Needing more than a lion trainer to tame down the one-liners of edgy comedians like Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and Sacha Baron Cohen, the humor in this film is an odd clash of adult and kid quips. While most of the crude references to body parts, interspecies relationships and sexual sparring between two hefty hippos will hopefully be lost on very young viewers, much of the cartoon violence won’t. Along with injured groins, animal characters in this film are kidnapped, shot at with arrows and guns, roasted over a fire and sacrificed in a lava-filled volcano. Run over by animals that are driving a car, a cranky, elderly female tourist (voice by Elisa Gabrielli) also exchanges brutal punches and martial arts moves with Alex on several occasions.

With remarkable animation and a script that heralds the importance of individuality, personal talents and friendship, it’s too bad the moviemakers didn’t crack the whip just a few more times to keep the unfriendly content in this film at bay.

Starring Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith. Running time: 89 minutes. Theatrical release November 7, 2008. Updated

Madagascar Escape 2 Africa
Rating & Content Info

Why is Madagascar Escape 2 Africa rated PG? Madagascar Escape 2 Africa is rated PG by the MPAA for some mild crude humor.

Crude humor in this film contains frequent references to male anatomy, sexual sparring and mild innuendo between the animals that includes comments about breeding, cross dressing and interspecies relationships. Hunters kidnap a young cub and shoot at his father. Animals who are involved in a plane crash find themselves in unfamiliar territory. Some characters are hit by human beings, shot at, outcast from the herd and roasted over a fire. One character falls into hot lava while others are attacked by birds, kicked in the groin and threatened with weapons. An elderly woman is hit with a car and thrown through the window. Penguins steal automobiles. A monkey mimics smoking.

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Madagascar Escape 2 Africa Parents' Guide

How do the zoo animals learn to adapt the skills they have acquired in captivity to life in the wild? Why is Alex able to help the thirsty animals on the reserve?

Even though Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman have been pals for many years, what do they discover about their friendship in this adventure?

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Madagascar Escape 2 Africa movie is February 3, 2009. Here are some details…

The chagrined characters of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa land on DVD and Blu-ray with a crate-load of options.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is available on DVD in a single or 2-disc version. Either choice is presented in wide or full screen, with audio tracks in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound (English French and Spanish) and Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound (English). Subtitles are provided in English, French and Spanish.

The Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Single disc comes with the DWA Jukebox, a filmmaker commentary, featurettes (It’s A Family Affair, The Making of, Crash Landing, African Adventure and Jambo Jambo: Swahili Speak). Other bonus materials include aTest Flight of Air Penguin Game, an Activision game trailer and four MAD Music Videos (The Traveling Song, Big and Chunky, She Loves Me and Move It, Move It).

The two-disc version of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa offers all the extras found on the single disc plus: The Bronx Zoo: Madagascar, Alex’s Dance Off, The Heart of a Lion and The Penguins of Madagascar (Popcorn Panic and Gone in a Flash). There is also a Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa PC Flash Mini-Game, a Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa game demo (with cheat code), printables and weblinks.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa on Blu-ray is presented in 1080p High Definition with audio tracks in 5.1 Dolby True HD (English) and 5.1 Dolby Digital (French and Spanish). Subtitles are in English, French and Spanish. This edition features all of the above-mentioned extras, along with a trivia track and The Animators’ Corner.

Related home video titles:

This movie is a sequel to Madagascar. Another young cub is left to fend for himself after he leaves his pride in The Lion King. Ben Stiller stars as a night watchman who works in the Museum of Natural History where all of the characters—including lions—-come to life as soon as the sun sets in Night at the Museum. In the opposite scenario, a group of wild animals experience the perks and problems of suburban life when they explore the recently developed territory Over The Hedge.