It seems weird now that ten years ago Pixar and Dreamworks were making movies of comparable quality. Since then, Pixar have continued to make timeless, charming stories that can effortlessly appeal to the whole family, while Dreamworks now create films based on their core ideals of sequels, celebrity voices and 'jokes for the parents'.

'Madagascar 2: Back 2 Africa' (which, as the title suggests, is set in Africa and has nothing to do with Madagascar) fulfills all these criteria and more. Are jokes about airport security and union striking really going to be popular with the under-tens? Does the average eight-year-old actually care whether Melman the Giraffe is voiced by David Schwimmer? Apparently, the answer is a big, fat, $150-million-budget 'yes'.

 

Pointless, forgettable and mostly unintelligible. It's as if Wall-E never happened.

 

2 lorries of cash for Ben Stiller out of 5.

 

'INTERESTING' FACT: Madagascar 3 is already in production. They'd be missing a trick not to use 'Born 3' somewhere in the title.

by Charlie Lyne