I would never have imagined that a movie could have successfully combined references to Jaws and Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King along with a sacrifice to a volcano in one scene. That was before Lisa and I saw Madagascar 2 this afternoon. Since this movie is from Dreamworks Animation, there are lots of clever pop culture references. The CGI animation is state-of-the-art, and as such may be taken for granted. That's a bit of a shame, because it is so well done.
We laughed quite a bit and had our heartstrings tugged, too.
Thinking back to the summer, three of the last four movies we've seen at the cinema have been CGI comedies. The other one was Will Smith's usual big summer release. I find that I have no desire to pay $8.00 for 2 hours of heavy melodrama, tragedy, or completely mindless action any more. A $4.00 matinee that makes me laugh is what it takes to get me to the cinema nowadays.
If you saw the first Madagascar three years ago, you should remember the penguins. They steal the show again, especially when they stage a mugging just after the opening credits.
