I had a blast watching
Madagascar 2 ..
It was pleasantly surprising to discover that what was shown in the trailers was basically from the first 10 minutes of the film .. with the result being that -- for much of the movie -- I had absolutely
no idea where they were going with the story.
Not that the story was all that important. Rather, the characters are set loose on a variety of 'tangents' that intertwine in fun (and sometimes surprising) ways.
The penguins were in top form; their brief 'confrontation' with Alex, their crazy "Operation: Tourist Trap", their frustrations with the monkeys, and several gags featuring the Skipper's new 'love interest' were all great fun (why isn't there a hula-bobble 'Doll' toy tie-in..?)
Melman's 'unrequited love' storyline does seem to cull a bit from David Schwimmer's similar character-arc in the sitcom
Friends .. but it was still very sweetly done; especially King Julian's 'pep-talk' and Melman's ensuing 'confrontation' with Moto-Moto.
Speaking of culling storylines, the opening sequence featuring Alex's childhood borrows from the rest of the
Kimba the White Lion story, which had gone 'unused' in
The Lion King However, Alex's character is certainly distinct from Kimba, largely thanks to Ben Stiller .. whose personality seemed even more 'engrained' with the animation, this time around; especially in his
Zoolander-styled dance moves.
Marty and Gloria's storylines seemed far less-developed, but were nonetheless fun. King Julian seemed to be starring in his own separate movie (which, of course, is in keeping with the first). I was
very afraid in the beginning (along with Julian) that Mort had decided to join them .. but, thankfully, he was used only sparingly .. and to good effect, in the end.
It's no
Toy Story 2 .. yet it is a very enjoyable follow-up to the first
Madagascar film (which, aside from its interesting & stylish designs, I had found somewhat 'aimless' and pedestrian).
I am looking forward to the Penguins' spin-off TV series .. which I am hoping picks up where the movie leaves off (rather than 'regressing' to their zoo-bound days).