'Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa' (PG ) (out of four)

If it is at all possible to see "Madagascar 2" at an IMAX theater, that's definitely the way to go. The animals are livelier, the backgrounds more colorful and all around, the animated sequel is just more fun than a barrel of monkeys.

In the DreamWorks sequel to the 2005 film, the lion, hippo, zebra and giraffe pick up the story where it left off. After being stranded on the tiny island of (where else?) Madagascar, the four animal friends are on their way back to their cushy life at the Central Park Zoo in New York.

A group of smart-aleck penguins have figured out a way to actually make penguins fly by cobbling together a makeshift airplane called Air Penguin. There are some very funny references to air travel between the first class passengers, headed up by the very funny King Julien XIII, an overly energetic lemur, being fed grapes while others suffer in coach class. Sasha Baron Cohen voices King Julien with a comical Indian accent, and has some of the most hilarious moments in the movie.

As you may expect, Air Penguin drops the ball. The foursome never makes it to New York and instead gets dropped on the African mainland, discovering that there are other animals that look just like them. "It's like 'Roots,' " Marty says, in a pop-culture reference that will only be appreciated by those over the age of 40.

For the kids, there's the usual slapstick, plenty of pratfalls and the usual bad guy to throw a wrench in the whole thing. The evil Makunga (slyly voiced by Alec Baldwin) is lifted right from "The Lion King." In his Scar-like way, he is trying to take over the crown of the Zuba, the Alpha Lion (voiced by the late Bernie Mac) and father to Alex, who went missing when he was just a cub. As fate would have it, Alex (Ben Stiller) has been dropped right back in the lap of his father and mother.

In one of the funniest subplots is a group of New York tourists who have their jeep stolen by the penguins. If you remember the feisty senior citizen in the subway in the first go-around, this time she's got a co-starring role as a go-go granny who can spar with a lion and come out barely bruised.

There is a bit of a plot about the King of the Jungle, a water shortage, a giraffe being sacrificed in a volcano, and a date between two hippos, but none of that really matters.

While the sequel definitely doesn't have the originality of its predecessor, "Madagascar 2" is a pleasant escape and the group of A-list stars assembled to voice the characters, including the return of Chris Rock as Marty, Jada Pinkett Smith as Gloria the hippo, and David Schwimmer as the hypochondriac giraffe named Melman, give credence to their animal alter egos.

If you and your kids can't get enough of everything that's jam-packed into this film and there is a lot, don't worry -- already "Madagascar 3" is planned for 2011. Love the penguins? They are ready for their close-ups and have their own series already in the works on Nickelodeon.