'Madagascar 2' Rules at Box Office

“Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa” took the No. 1 spot at the box office over the weekend, making it the second-best premiere for an animated movie that didn’t open during the summer, The film, from DreamWorks Studio, continues the story of Alex the lion (voiced by Ben Stiller), Marty the zebra (Chris Rock), Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) and Melman the giraffe (David Schwimmer).

The movie follows the four zoo animals – joined by two chimpanzees, four penguins and Julien and Maurice, two lemurs from “Madagascar” – as they attempt to return to New York. Their misadventures land them in Africa, where Alex is reunited with his parents (voiced by the late Bernie Mac and Sherri Shepherd), Marty joins a herd of zebras and Gloria is romanced by a studly hippo (Will.I.Am).

“Madagascar 2” is directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath, who also share screenwriting credits with co-writer Etan Cohen.