• Login

    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

    Featured In Issue 139, March/April 2009

    Picture5+
    SoundNR
    WSR Score4
    Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
    (Studio/Distributor):
    DreamWorks Home Entertainment
    (Catalog Number):
    14050
    (MPAA Rating):
    PG
    (Rating Reason):
    Mild crude humor
    (Retail Price):
    $39.99
    (Disc Type):
    Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    No
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    89
    (Color Type):
    Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access):
    Yes
    (Closed Captioned):
    Yes
    (Regional Coding):
    Not Indicated
    (Theatrical Year):
    2008
    (Theatrical Release):
    Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release):
    No
    (Disc Release Date):
    02/06/09
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    No
    (Director):
    Eric Darnell & Tom McGrath
    (Screenplay/Written By):
    (Story):
    (Music):
    (Director Of Photography):
    (Production Designer):
    (Visual Effects):
    (Costume Designer):
    (Editor):
    (Supervising Sound Editors):
    (Re-Recording Mixers):
    (Executive Producers):
    (Co-Producers):
    (Producers):
    (Academy Awards):
    (Principal Photography):
    (Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
    (Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
    (Disc Soundtrack):
    Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1
    (Theatrical Sound):
    (Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
    (DTS Bit Rate):
    (Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
    (Additional Languages):
    (French Language):
    (Spanish Language):
    (Chinese Language):
    (Subtitles):
    (Cantonese Language):
    (Mandarin Language):
    (Japanese Language):
    (Italian Language):
    (German Language):
    (Portuguese Language):

    The four zany zoo denizens in the original Madagascar prepare to head home to Manhattan in a rickety aircraft piloted by the ever-inventive penguin cadre. But when they crash-land in the African savannah, it's time for a crash course in survival. Now the four friends far from home must answer a question of the heart when Alex (Stiller) finds his long-lost parents (Mac and Shepherd), Marty (Rock) joins a herd of his wild brethren, Gloria (Smith) finds romance with a hippo Casanova (Will.I.am), who appreciates her curves, and Melman (Schwimmer) has one last chance at his truest desire. All in all, Escape 2 Africa is a zany adventure. (Gary Reber)

    Special features include filmmakers' audio commentary; the following featurettes: It's A Family Affair: The Cast Of Escape 2 Africa (HD 09:13), The Making Of Escape 2 Africa (HD), Crash Landing (HD 03:40), African Adventure (HD), Jambo Jambo: Swahili Speak (HD 36:21), The Bronx Zoo: Madagascar (HD 08:17), and Alex's Dance Off (HD); the Test Flight Of Air Penguin Game (HD 26:00); an Activision Game trailer; four music videos (HD); The Penguins Of Madagascar (HD 24:17); The Animators' Corner (HD); a trivia track (HD); and BD-Live interactivity.

    The 1.78:1 1080p AVC animated picture quality is superb. If there is such a thing as animation-look natural, this is it. Colors are saturated, but not exaggerated, presenting a natural palette of hues. Resolution is excellent. Images are sharp, and textures are finely resolved. Contrast is perfectly balanced, with deep, rich blacks and shadows that are revealing. There is absolutely no noise or other artifacts, for an extremely pristine picture. This is one beautiful picture and exhibits incredible textural depth, dimension, and detail. The picture is reference quality. (Gary Reber)

    The Dolby® TrueHD 5.1-channel soundtrack is well produced and often delivers a holosonic® enveloping soundfield, with aggressive directionalized surrounds and pans. Foley sound effects are excellent as well. Dialogue, which sounds a bit forward, is, of course, ADR-produced with limited spatial integration, but then this is an animated feature. The real standout is the music score, which drives this soundtrack throughout. The sound is spacious, with a wide and deep soundstage and an enveloping surround presence. Instrumental timbre is nicely captured, and the dynamics are superb. Sound effects and music often attain high SPLs, but bass extension in the LFE .1 channel, while deep, is limited. At times, the soundfield collapses to monaural, which is a disappointment. Overall, this is a terrific soundtrack with invigorating moments of aggressive surround envelopment. (Gary Reber)

    Reason #63 Why Readers Love Widescreen Review:

    I am an older guy who had not bought any A/V equipment for the last 14 years. I was really out of the loop as to what was happening. Did not even own a DVD player until now. This summer, my wife and I decided to build a small home theatre in our basement. Widescreen Review has been an invaluable research partner. The room was completed in mid September and now Widescreen Review can really show its stuff. The extensive DVD reviews are the final word for us when picking movies to watch. The news and equipment reviews keep us current, as we start down the never-ending path of upgrade-itis. Thanks for a great magazine.

    Daniel Brown
    26864 Mandelieu Drive, Murrieta, CA 92562 • Phone: 951 676 4914 • Fax: 951 693 2960
    Copyright © Information • All Rights Reserved • www.widescreenreview.com • Web Site Established In 1995 • Privacy Policy • Partners