Madagascar 2: Escape To Africa (3 Stars)

This afternoon I was looking after my grandson Oliver, as I do every day. He reached an important milestone in his development: he watched his first film! This made me very happy. It was "Madagascar 2" on Netflix. I've attempted to watch films with him before, but he never had enough patience. The problem is that ever since he was three he's been watching videos on YouTube. They're short and action-filled. Things like "Tom and Jerry" and "Masha and the Bear". They last 10 to 15 minutes, and there's chaotic action from beginning to end. The problem with films is that the action is interspersed with conversation. For instance, he was watching "Ferdinand" last week and loved it, but half an hour into the film the action stopped and there was five minutes of the characters talking to one another. That was too much for him and he stopped watching. "Madagascar 2" has a very little conversation, the absolute minimum to let the viewer know what's happening. For me, as an adult, it makes it a bad film, but for Oliver it was perfect.

The story is about Alex, a lion who's lived most of his life in Central Park Zoo in New York. More by luck than by strategy he escapes and returns to Madagascar, where he was born. He's the rightful heir to become king of the jungle (or at least the nature reserve where he lives), but he fails the initiation test. He gets a second chance when the water in the nature reserve dries up, and he leads the efforts to re-direct a river.

Maybe I'll like the next film he watches. I might even try "Ferdinand" with him again. I quite liked it, as far as I saw it.

Success Rate:  + 2.0

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