Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

A telling story about "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa": five minutes into the film, my partner leaned over and whispered to me between bouts of laughter, "You're going to give this a good grade, aren't you?" We then proceeded to laugh some more, then began looking at our watches, slumped into our seats, and an hour and a half later, as we were walking out of the film, he asked, "You're not going to give that a good grade, are you?"

The fact is, Dreamworks' animation wizards still have yet to learn what their betters at Pixar have always known: that animation expertise does not compensate for a bad story.

Frankly, the problem begins with the movie's title. Our fun-loving animals from the NY Zoo, having made their way to Madagascar during the precursor to this film, decide to return to the Big Apple. Led by the uber-theatrical lion Alex (Ben Stiller) and best friend zebra Morty (Chris Rock), the gang board a plane (I'm using the loosest definition here) under the control of the still-hysterical penguin corps and attempt to fly back home. Naturally, it doesn't work, and they crash land in... Africa. They shortly learn that they've been dumped right into a savannah ala "The Lion King." In fact, they've also been dumped right into the plot of "The Lion King," replete with stern, loving father figure (the late Bernie Mac) and malevolent would-be king Makunga/Scar (Alec Baldwin) fighting it out for control of the pride.

The rest of the gang are along for the ride, including hypochondriac giraffe Melman (David Schwimmer), humongous Hippo Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith), jovial King Julian (Sasha Baron Cohen) and his sidekick Maurice (Cedric the Entertainer). The plot incorporates the animals' introduction to their counterparts in the wilds of Africa, but ultimately circles back - as always - to the values of friendship.

So wait a minute; the movie starts in Africa, ends in Africa, and remains in Africa in between. So uh - why is it called "Escape 2 Africa"??

Lesson learned: don't seek logic here, or even thoughtfulness. This sequel offers nothing new - just more of the same momentary humor interspersed with a banal morality that panders to the lowest common denominator. That works for kids - and frankly, that's the target audience. But it's a shame that Dreamworks can't figure out how to tell a good story as part of its animated features; because then we adults would be entertained too.