I've been a movie fan for as long as I can remember, and I love seeing movies in the theater. Even when I felt that I was being "dragged" to see something, I would get excited. There's just something about the big screen, the sound, and the darkness which makes the theater-going experience such a thrill. Due to this enthusiasm, I could never understand how anyone could fall asleep at the movies (especially with today's loud sounds!). And yet, I've been to the theater several times where my companion would doze off. This had never happened to me until I saw Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa in the theater. I fought hard, but I nodded off a few times. But, I wasn't sure if it was the movie, or because I'd had a hard day/was under the weather. Thus, I was looking forward to catching the movie on DVD so that I could decide what had put me in that state.

When we last left the escapees from New York -- Alex the Lion (voiced by Ben Stiller), Marty the Zebra (voiced by Chris Rock), Gloria the Hippo (voiced by Jada Pinkett Smith), and Melman the Giraffe (voiced by David Schwimmer) -- they were getting settled into life on Madagascar, where they had become stranded along with a group insane penguins from their zoo. But, as Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa opens, the group is embarking on a plan to get back to New York. The penguins have jury-rigged the crashed plane found on the island, hoping that it will carry them back to the States. As the group boards the plane, lemur King Julien (voiced by Sacha Baron Cohen) and his sidekick, Maurice (voiced by Cedric the Entertainer), announce that they are coming along. The launch is successful and the animals are glad to be on their way. Unfortunately, the penguins don't really grasp fuel, and the plane crash-lands in Africa. The group is fascinated by the site of large groups of animals from their own species. Alex feels an odd familiarity towards the location and when he meets the local pride leader, Zuba (voiced by Bernie Mac) and his wife (Sherri Shepherd), he learns why. He was born here and they are his parents. The joyous reunion is short-lived however, as the scheming Makunga (voiced by Alec Baldwin), attempts to have Alex removed from the pride. Meanwhile, Marty, Gloria, and Melman are interacting with their brethren and learning that life in the wild may not be as wild as they'd imagined.

One thing that I typically don't like about Dreamworks' films is how they tout the vocal talent as opposed to the animation. However, the actors in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa are the best part of the movie. Having worked together on the first film, the actors providing the voices have a good handle on their characters and the movie contains some great lines. (And we learn from the audio commentary that many of these are ad-libbed.) Stiller is great as the neurotic Alex, and, surprisingly, Melman is less annoying in this outing. I know that many find Sacha Baron Cohen abrasive, but King Julien's schtick about the volcano sacrifice is probably the funniest moment in the film. (Actually, my favorite joke involves a penguin and a weapon which I'm really surprised that they showed in a family movie.)

It's good that the actors are having a blast here, because the story leaves a lot to be desired. The plot where a lion with dark hair tricks the son of the pride-leader feels very similar to a certain famous Disney animated film. If the makers of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa thought that viewers wouldn't see the parallels between this story and The Lion King, they were sorely mistaken. (Or assuming that their target audience hadn't seen it.) Marty, Melman, and Gloria's encounters with other animals like them is sort of interesting, but it's also too shallow. Do all zebras think alike? Why are giraffes hypochondriacs? I realize that this is a children's movie, but the writers could have dug a little deeper. And the fact that male hippos only like female hippos because they're fat is odd and sends a strange message. And what's up with that violent old lady? I can't believe that she's the lynchpin of this movie.

Well, I managed to stay awake while watching Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa on DVD, but I still wasn't overly impressed by what I saw. The animation is very good and it's clear that a lot of work went into the landscape shots. However, this is the kind of film which I would have enjoyed a lot more if someone could have simply edited it down to the funny lines. Maybe Madagascar 3 will be able to offer comedy and some substance.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa crash lands on DVD courtesy of Paramount Home Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 1.78:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. The image is very sharp and clear, showing no grain and no defects from the source material. I have to assume that this was a digital-to-digital transfer, as the image looks fantastic. The colors are bold and the picture shows a very nice amount of depth. The DVD carries a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track which provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The track brings us good stereo effects and nicely placed surround sound effects during some of the action scenes. These scenes also bring in some mild, but effective subwoofer. The in-film music (while annoying) sounds fine.