Urban Thought Collective

Movie Biases: I like to move it move it - again!

Major Players: Voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jada Pinkett Smith, Bernie Mac.

Logline: When their airplane crashes over the African bush while heading home to New York, Alex (Stiller) is reunited with his long lost lion father Zuba (Mac), with his friends Marty the Zebra (Rock), Melman the Giraffe (Schwimmer), and Gloria the Hippo (Smith) in tow. Oh and those penguins. Gots to have those penguins!

The Deal:
Still pop culture crazy enough to entertain the adults while babysitting the kiddies with broad animated humor, “Madagascar” returns like the U.S. Mint - ready to print money. By opening with Alex’s origin story of how he came to be a Central Park Zoo show lion and giving a quick refresher to all those who may have missed Madagascar Un, The Deuce provides Crystal Lite-heavy themes of family, forbidden love and, of course, culture clash.

Plus the comically talented gang is all here, from the psychotically comedic penguins, still fighting an imaginary war in their heads with pitch perfect paranoia, to the self-important, future “Dancing with the Lemurs” star King Julien (Cohen), he of “move it move it” fame.

The dancing’s back as is the overall entertainment - just cute enough to do its job without alienating the grown-ups in the room. New additions such as Alec Baldwin (PLS EMBED http://www.alecbaldwin.com/) and a jovial Bernie Mac solidify this movie that’s soft on animation but firm on fun. After a surefire $50 million plus opening weekend, does anyone doubt there will be a “Madagascar 3″? You gotsta move it move it!

@@@ REELS

(THREE REELS)

It’s pretty hot - go give it a shot.

UTC’s resident film critic Edwardo Jackson is the author of the novels EVER AFTER and NEVA HAFTA, (Villard/Random House), a writer for The 213 Magazine, and an LA-based screenwriter. Visit his website at www.edwardojackson.com where his new novel I DO? is available NOW.