Movers and Shakers

Rarely does a film make you wish away the suave-cute-bumbling-uber-smart-at-the-same-time hero for something completely goofy and not quite human...

Film: Madagascar 2
Director: Eric Darnell. Tom McGrath
Voice Cast: Ben Stiller, Jada Pinkett Smith, David Schwimmer, Chris Rock, Alec Baldwin, Will.I.Am,
Rating: *******
Running at: Inox (Forum, City Centre, Swabhumi)
Rarely does a film make you wish away the suave-cute-bumbling-uber-smart-at-the-same-time hero for something completely goofy and not quite human. Unless of course, the film has 13 nasal songs and the hero has a makeshift mane. But somebody like Alex, the King of New York, makes you want to do crazy things. Like giggling insanely in a crowd of quieter 10-12-year-olds.

True, redoing the Madagascar magic was not the easiest thing around. And if Madagascar 2 limps in places, that is because your memory refuses to give up on even a moment from the preceding film. Memories that are still a little high on the cute surprises every character was in the first film.

Alex and his gang is all set to leave for New York after their stay at Madagascar. But thanks to the cheesy quartet of penguins, they instead crash-land in Africa. And immediately, there’s a sense of belonging that invades them. Alex, it is revealed, is the son of the Alpha Lion (the leader) of the pride and should claim the throne of the King. But Africa is a different ball game it turns out for the showstoppers…

What really make animations on the lines of Madagascar special, is the probably the amount of sensitivity that is invested in the little subplots. Like the animals’ reaction to the unfamiliar world of familiar creatures, like the truth and the untruths in the never-say-die attitude that makes the dizzying urbanity of New York, like the dichotomies of the insider and the outsider. However, farce and feeling plays a delightful game of hide and seek preventing sugary emotions or brine humour from taking over the chocolatey sweetness of the idea. Now, people familiar with the Walt Disney pedigree need not be told so, but it’s just that you can’t help it at times. When a film like this comes amid the landslide of deliberated nonsense, a little indulgence is completely justified.