“Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa”

Dreamworks Pictures

Directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath

Starring Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, David Schwimmer, Sacha Baron Cohen, Andy Richter, Bernie Mac and Cedric the Entertainer

Rated PG

3 Stars

Of all the animated family film franchises, “Madagascar,” the story of some New York City zoo animals getting back to their primal roots, just never really caught creative fire. Sure, it made enough money to merit a sequel, but the youngsters that I know didn’t seem to care (My highly-unscientific poll revealed that my nieces were far more interested in Disney’s “Bolt,” which arrives in theaters this Thanksgiving.)

So color me pleasantly surprised by “Madagascar 2,” a film that is far superior to the original in every way. The main characters are more interesting and have fuller stories, and the supporting cast is given additional time to strut their animated stuff to delightful effect. With apologies to stars Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith and David Schwimmer, you can forget the main cast, this film really shines due to the manic energy of Sacha Baron Cohen playing the King of the Lemurs, and of course, a loveably regimented troop of military penguins.

Things start off with our animated animal quartet trying to fly a crashed airplane back to New York City. They don’t make it, crash-landing on an African game preserve instead. Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller) finds that preserve is actually his birthplace and has a joyous reunion with his parents (Bernie Mac and Sherri Shepherd). Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock) is thrilled to find an entire herd of Zebras that look and act just like, well, Chris Rock. Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer) and Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) use the extra time to go looking for a little jungle love.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. All of this is cute and provides the emotional storylines that drive the film, but the side characters really steal the show here. As I mentioned, I once again loved the antics of the penguin mercenaries and the oblivious King of the Lemurs, but there’s also a lot of fun to be had from a kung fu-kickin’ granny, some bemused monkeys that start a labor union, and an impossibly cute gerbil (Andy Richter) who swims an entire ocean in order to join in all the fun.

“Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” is very funny, brightly colored and filled with non-stop energy and enough physical humor to keep the young ones entertained. Mom and dad will also have a blast. Now if they’d just give the penguins their own movie…

Movie reviews by Sean, “The Movie Guy,” are published bi-weekly in “The Port Arthur News” and weekly on KFDM-TV. Sean welcomes your comments via email at smcbride@kavutv.com.