New animated film funny for kids, not for adults

Computer generated animation has been all the rage lately. The old "Mickey Mouse" style animation is slowly disappearing as audiences have moved towards the new "Pixar" style. Ever since "Toy Story," the world of animation has never been the same. So now audiences are given more computer generated movies then they can keep track of. For every good movie like "Shrek" or "Wall-E" there are bound to be subpar movies like "Monster House" and "Shark Tale." "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" falls somewhere in between excellence and mediocrity.

The sequel to "Madagascar" picks up where the last movie left off, with the four characters - Alex the lion (Ben Stiller), Marty the zebra (Chris Rock), Melman the giraffe (David Schwimmer) and Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett-Smith) - attempting to get back to the confines of the Central Park Zoo from the island of Madagascar. Problems arise when their makeshift-plane runs out of fuel, landing in Africa (where the rest of the film takes place).

Keep in mind, this film is primarily for children. Adults accompanying youngsters should beware the film does little to cater to adult humor subversively, as "Wall-E" or "The Incredibles" have done. The film does do some impressive comedy inspired by "The Lion King," with the late Bernie Mac as Zuba, as the king of the jungle. Other notable moments are Sacha Baron Cohen as Julien the Lemur, and the charming pack of penguins that ironically fit in perfectly with these other animals.

However, the movie leaves viewers wanting more. With a cast of this caliber, this movie should have brought the house down. Unfortunately that was not case. That is not to say that this is a bad movie by any means but it is not a great movie either.

The animation is better and the dialogue and story have improved but the film never has those memorable funny moments that "Finding Nemo" or "A Bug's Life" have. If you are going to be making a computer generated movie, you better bring your A-game because you are going to be compared to an impressive list of movies. Save "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" for the children or for a random rental in the future.