Find out where you belong when you escape

In the highly-anticipated sequel to 'Madagascar,' Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria, King Julien, Maurice and the penguins and the chimps find themselves marooned on the distant shores of Madagascar. In the face of this obstacle, the New Yorkers have hatched a plan so crazy it just might work. With military precision, the penguins have repaired an old crashed plane--sort of. Once aloft, this unlikely crew stays airborne just long enough to make it to the wildest place of all--the vast plains of Africa, where the members of our zoo-raised crew encounter species of their own kind for the very first time. Africa seems like a great place...but is it better than their Central Park home?

The five-year-old didn’t laugh as much as his 40-year-old father, which, granted, isn’t the basis upon which to conclude too much. Then again, most of the adults at a Saturday-morning sneak preview of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa were clearly having a better time than the wee ones, which should be expected from a film proffering wisecracks, class-warfare one-liners, smoky backroom union brokering (including a monkey subbing a spark plug for a lit cigarette), and Alec Baldwin reprising his every last dick-boss role as an alpha lion with a shellacked, gray-streaked mane. The kid adored all heck out of the first movie, which, like its subversive sequel, featured the voices of Ben Stiller, Jada Pinkett Smith, David Schwimmer, and Chris Rock; he didn’t have much to say about the second one, save for his fondness for the gag about the crashing plane and the penguins, the latter of whom emerged as the acting-out favorites among the pre-K crowd. Alas, a sad note as Stiller’s Alex is reunited with his parents in Africa—the dad’s played by Bernie Mac, whose performance ranks among his richest. On a happier note: Sacha Baron Cohen’s King Julien has an expanded role, while Rock’s zebra, who isn’t as special as he thinks, provides a kids’ movie with a thoughtful moral about fitting in and standing out. I loved the new addition of characters such as Moto Moto (voiced my Black Eyed Peas bandmate Will.I.Am), and Mukunga (Alec Baldwin). In The end they all realize where they belong. Africa is now their home and it looks like they will be quite happy. Take the kids and there is even enough for the adults to keep you interested. A Happy 4 on my "Go See" scale.