Review: MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA

Before I jump into a delightfully short, yet detailed review, let me tell you - I did not see Madagascar. It didn't appeal to me back when it came out in the days before this blog's existence, and even now I probably won't go back and see it. But - I absolutely loved Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

Spoilers May Occur - But Not Major Ones
Written by Etan Cohen (Tropic Thunder) and directed by Eric Darnell (Madagascar) and Tom McGrath (Madagascar), this film tells the story of Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller) growing up with his dad, Zuba (Bernie Mac). One day, Zuba turns his back and Alex is captured by poachers and sent to the New York Zoo. Then (the first movie) along with some of his friends, Alex left the zoo, went to Madagascar. Now, accidentally ending up in Africa, they need to figure out how to get back to New York as well as deal with family and personal issues along the way.

The visuals are great and stylized in a very delightful, and not distracting way, and the voice acting is pretty excellent. While the cast includes Chris Rock, Alec Baldwin, Ben Stiller, Jada-Pinkett Smith, and David Schwimmer, my favorite character in the film was Bernie Mac, who channeled a king as powerful as Mufasa was but with a heart that might seem even bigger. I was tremendously sad after watching the film when I came to the realization that that character will likely not be in the next installment.

This isn't a Lion King rip-off. Face it, it's pretty hard to make a movie about a pride of lions in Africa and escape similarities entirely. But DreamWorks pulls it off nicely.

The score is written by Hans Zimmer (surprise) and includes a few songs by will.i.am, who also voices the character of Moto Moto in the film. This brings me to another point. DreamWorks seems to have gotten over their ideas that an animated character needs to look like its real life counterpart. Bernie Mac doesn't sound like Bernie Mac, and will.i.am does not sound like you're watching an animated will.i.am. I have always liked the idea of actors creating voices for their characters, because it adds a lot to the film and makes each character even more authentic.

I loved the fact that you did not have to have prior knowledge of the first film to see this one. They explain the previous plot nicely in about 2 minutes and you are instantly caught up to where you should be, as any good sequel should do. All the characters are great, as is their development, and the visual gags are hilarious and simply amazing - especially since there are hardly any pop culture references (finally).

What I didn't like was the heavy inclusion of the old woman from the first movie. I thought that she was a terribly annoying and frustrating character. But every vine of gapes has a few bad ones on it, and it doesn't stop you from eating the rest of them with joy.

Remember when DreamWorks made great movies like The Prince of Egypt and Road to El Dorado? Well, Kung Fu Panda showed it and now Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa has confirmed it. Dreamworks is back on the great filmmaking track, and I have nothing but the highest hopes for their next film, Monsters vs. Aliens.

RIP: Bernie Mac

This morning, Legend and King of Comedy Bernie Mac died. He was 50 years old and suffered from sarcoidosis, which is a lung disease where lumps of cells grow on the body's organs. In early 2005 it went into remission, but on August 1st he was admitted to the hospital for Pneumonia. Several days a rumor was stated that he had passed, it turned out to be false, and all was thought to be well until he passed earlier this morning.

To quote Wikipedia for a quick biography of Bernie Mac:

Mac was born in Chicago, Illinois, and was raised by a single mother, Mary, who died of cancer when Mac was sixteen.[1] Mac attended Chicago Vocational Career Academy. Mac started his career during high school, when he would put on shows for neighborhood kids in Chicago's South Side until moving to Tampa. During his 20s he worked in a variety of jobs, including furniture mover, UPS agent, and a bread delivery sales rep.
Career

Mac started as a stand-up comedian in Chicago's Cotton Pickin' Club. He won the Miller Lite Comedy Search at the age of 32, at which point his popularity as a comedian began to grow. A performance on HBO's Def Comedy Jam thrust him into the spotlight. He opened for Dionne Warwick, Redd Foxx and Natalie Cole. He also had a short-lived talk show on HBO titled Midnight Mac. Later, Mac also began acting in minor roles, and received his big break as Pastor Clever in Ice Cube's 1995 film Friday. Following that role, Mac would also work in many other movies, and some television appearances, including Booty Call, How to Be a Player, Life and What's the Worst That Could Happen?. Mac was one of the few African American comedic actors to be able to break out of the traditional "black comedy" genre, having roles in the 2001 remake of Ocean's Eleven and becoming the new Bosley for the Charlie's Angels sequel Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. In 2003, he also turned in an impressive performance in a small but important role as Gin "The Store Dick" in Bad Santa. He also starred in Guess Who?, a comedic remake of the film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. He also made an appearance in the 2007 movie Transformers as the car salesman Bobby Bolivia.
In 2000, Mac returned to his stand-up comedy roots, touring the country as one of The Original Kings of Comedy, along with Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer and D.L. Hughley. The comedy act was filmed by Spike Lee and was included later in the movie The Original Kings of Comedy.
In 2001, Fox gave Mac his own sitcom called The Bernie Mac Show, somewhat based on his own life. In the show, he suddenly becomes custodian over his sister's three children after she enters rehab. It was a success, in part because it allows Mac to stay true to his stand-up comedy roots, breaking the fourth wall to communicate his thoughts to the audience. The show contained many parodies of events in Bernie's actual life. However, the show was not renewed after the 2006 season. Viewers were left without a conclusion for the series, and no ending to the storyline where Bernie and Wanda were trying to have a baby. His character on The Bernie Mac Show was ranked #47 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" [June 20, 2004 issue].
In 2004, Mac had his first starring role as a retired baseball player in the movie Mr. 3000. In the 2003 NLCS, Mac sang "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" at Wrigley Field with the Cubs leading the Florida Marlins in the series 3-2 and up in Game Six 3-0. Instead of saying "root, root, root for the Cubbies" Mac said, "root, root, root for the champions!" The Cubs would go on to lose the game and the series, with some fans claiming that Mac helped to jinx the Cubs. Mac later admitted that he has hated the Cubs his whole life, is a die-hard White Sox fan, and was seen during the 2005 World Series at US Cellular Field.
Mac was number 72 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of all time. On March 19, 2007 Mac told David Letterman on CBS Late Show that he would retire from his 30-year career after he finished shooting the comedy film The Whole Truth, Nothing but the Truth, So Help Me Mac. "I'm going to still do my producing, my films, but I want to enjoy my life a little bit," Mac told Letterman. "I missed a lot of things, you know".[2]

Mac married Rhonda McCullough in 1977. They had one daughter, Je'Niece (born 1978), who attended Xavier University of Louisiana, where she received both her bachelor's degree in Psychology and master's degree in Mental Health Counseling. She has been married for three years and has one daughter, Jasmine.

One good thing about him being an actor is that he will never be forgotten. Later this year and in the next, there will 3 films with him in solid roles (Old Dogs, Soul Men, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa), there was to be another TV series starring him, but it is assumed that will either be recast or scrapped entirely.

R.I.P Bernie Mac. You will be missed.