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Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

An uninspired sit-com packed with Hollywood stars

By BRETT MICHEL | November 5, 2008

2.0 Stars

Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath follow up their 2005 DreamWorks hit with an uninspired sit-com sold by Hollywood stars giving voice to anthropomorphized animals.

Ben Stiller returns as Alex, the lion "king of New York," and he's joined again by Chris Rock's Marty the zebra, David Schwimmer's Melman the giraffe, and Jada Pinkett Smith's Gloria the hippo. The plot has them attempting to fly home to New York from Madagascar in a plane piloted by penguins (still the best reason to watch), only to crash-land in Africa.

It's light entertainment that can cash in with election-weary audiences; the real landslide, however, will occur when Oscar voters cast their Best Animation ballots for Wall-E, the true candidate for change. 89 minutes | Boston Common + Fenway + Fresh Pond + Chestnut Hill + Embassy + Suburbs

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Topics: Reviews , Elections and Voting, Politics, Tom McGrath, More

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[ 02/20 ] "Optical Noise: American & British Prints/Films from the 1960s-1970s: @ David Winton Bell Gallery

[ 02/20 ] Third Annual Providence Children's Film Festival @ Cable Car Cinema

[ 02/20 ] "The Providence Postcard Project" @ Brown University's Granoff Center, Martinos Auditorium

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