Escape 2 Africa

Everyone’s favourite New York City animal foursome is back with a wilder and wackier adventure of epic proportions. The creators behind Madagascar, the film that snatched the title of number one family comedy of 2005, are back again with Escape 2 Africa. Director and voice actor Tom McGrath hopes the second installment surpasses the heights reached by the original, and reaches audiences on a new level.

“It took almost four-and-a-half to five years making [Madagascar], and we just fell in love with the characters,” says McGrath in a phone interview. “After making a film, you really know your characters. So, we had an idea for a story even before the first movie came out that kind of grew into Madagascar Two. When the film did so well, we were fortunate that the studio green-lit our next movie.”

While Madagascar tested the stability of friendship, Escape 2 Africa delves deeper into family relationships when Alex finally meets his parents. “What makes [Escape 2 Africa] a better movie than the first, we feel, is the story is much more accessible and you go a little deeper with these characters,” explains McGrath. “The main story is between Alex and his father, who is the alpha-lion of the pride and voiced by Bernie Mac. His father has expectations of what a lion should be, and Alex is a song-and-dance man from New York. How they get along is the core of the story. Hopefully it’s something kids can relate to with their parents and vice versa.”

However, a good storyline wasn’t enough for Tom, fellow writer/director Eric Darnell and their team of filmmakers, so they took a research trip to Africa. “Not many people know a lot about Madagascar, so we could make up the place. We could have a fantasy version of the island,” remarks McGrath. “But when we actually took a trip to Africa, we just realized how big it was, how much scope there is and how familiar people are with it. So, we took about 15,000 photographs, we did hours and hours of videotaping, we studied the animals, we studied the reserves, and it really helped inspire the film in a way cinematically and story-wise.” Additionally, McGrath brought in the expertise of cinematographer Guillermo Nevarro (Pan’s Labyrinth) and composer Hans Zimmer (Dark Knight).

In the end, Escape 2 Africa racked up a total of 30 million hours of computer animation rendering time in three-and-a-half years. “Madagascar only took 15 million hours,” says Tom. “So, [Escape 2 Africa’s] gotta be twice as good.”

With Madagascar already established as a favourite with kids and adults alike, there’s no doubt that Escape 2 Africa will be a sweet escape, leaving you roaring with laughter.