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The zany escapees from the New York Zoo are back in this sequel to the 2005 animated hit Madagascar. With the “help” of their penguin engineer friends, the animals escape the island – only to crash on a game preserve in Africa, where the animal friends face new problems: Marty learns that, surrounded by zebras, he is no longer as unique as he thought; Melman the giraffe must cope with being the animals’ new doctor – and with Gloria the hippo’s newfound romance with male hippo Moto Moto; and Alex is reunited with his parents…only to prove a disappointment to his father, “alpha lion” Zuba. Along with their wacky friend, the lemur King Julien, can the animals find a way out of their troubles? And will they return safely to New York?

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa contains some mild innuendo, though it may not be recognized as such by a young audience. Hippo Moto Moto acts seductively towards Gloria, commenting repeatedly on his own physique and on how “huge” she is, and Gloria returns the interest with remarks on the size of Moto Moto’s rear. There are also many close-ups on the animals’ rears as they dance, though this is done for comic effect.

There is a large amount of slapstick violence in the cartoon tradition in the movie, though several scenes may be problematic for very young children. Before the opening credits roll, a flashback shows cub Alex being abducted by poachers, with a rifle pointed directly in his (and the audience’s) face. A chase sequence shows his father Zuba pursuing the poachers. There are also multiple scenes with animals and people being hit in the crotch, followed by dialogue like “right in the batteries!” Some of the most extreme violence involved a fairly long fistfight between Alex and the film’s villain, a stereotypically Jewish elderly woman from New York. This old woman is repeatedly punched, knocked about and run over by a car…though she often gives as good as she gets, and is never permanently hurt, as is typical of cartoons. A tiny lemur is pursued by a shark onto land; eventually the shark falls into a volcano. Much comedy revolves around the fact that lion Alex does not know how to fight and prefers to dance. Most of the film’s other “violence,” such as chases and plane crashes, is played for humor.

There is little language of concern in the film. As the animals prepare to leave Madagascar, signs are seen reading “Goodbye Pansies” and “So Long, Freaks,” but the words are not spoken. The penguin boss tells his crew they are trying to “suck up” to him at one point. There are frequent uses of the word “butt” – “kick your butt,” “bit me on the butt” and similar. In one scene, a “flight attendant” penguin tells the passengers that to prepare for a crash, they should “kiss their --- goodbye,” but the offending word is drowned out by noise.

There is little bad behavior of concern. Marty teaches all the zebras to spit into the air and catch the spit again in their mouths, and is deluged by the other zebras, and King Julien makes “raspberry” sounds several times in an attempt to whistle. The movie also contains some comedy that will likely go over the heads of young viewers, such as the penguins’ “labor dispute” with their monkey allies, or King Julien’s ruminations on the importance of maintaining “class distinctions” in the face of the other animals’ “democratic” behavior.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is a fun-filled romp, though it contains some material which may be of concern for parents of very young children. The Parents Television Council does not recommend this movie for children under age seven.

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