The year 2005 witnessed the rise of one of the most popular animated movies of the last decade. “Madagascar” managed to make more than half a billion dollars worldwide, in ticket sales alone. The movie registered such success with viewers from all age groups and all continents, which obviously prompted its creators to make a sequel.

In the first movie, we are introduced to Alex the Lion (King of New York), the star of the Central Park Zoo, and his friends Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith), Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer) and Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Alex’s unlikely best friend.

Together, they follow a group of mischievous penguins all the way to Madagascar. Once there, Alex discovers that he is indeed a predator, but doesn’t want to be one and turns vegetarian by the end of the movie. The fact that he almost ate Marty contributed to making the decision. Also, during the self-discovery journey, his friends find out that Alex wasn’t the frightening roar-machine he portrayed at the Zoo.

The second movie is less focused on references to pop-culture movies, such as “Chariots of Fire”, “Planet of the Apes” or “American Beauty”. The group takes the penguins’ lead again and ends up in Africa instead of back in New York. Once there, Alex finds his parents and here start the similarities between “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” and “The Lion King”.

And of course, a “Madagascar” wouldn’t be complete without everyone’s favorite dancing teams, the lemurs led by King Julien (Sacha Baron Cohen). The movie premiered today, Friday, in theaters nationwide. The movie, although seemingly made for children of all ages, is still rated PG-13.