By Anna Valmero
Inquirer.net

PASIG CITY—‘We like to move it!’

This hypnotic tune complemented that booty shaking dance of the funny foursome—Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo and Melman the giraffe. Even local stars are mesmerized and can’t decide which character to pick as their favorite. Watch in the video below.

Picking up from where the first movie left off, the zoo animals return to the big screen in their “ancestral crib” Africa. With lemur king Julien and Maurice, the four crash-landed on Africa while on the maiden voyage of Air Penguin’s plane, run of course by the penguin military quartet. As they set foot on the expansive plains, the zoo animals aboard Air Penguin wonder: Africa seems like a great place…but is it better than their Central Park home?

Exploring similarities and differences of identity and working our differences encapsulate the more mature themes of the sequel, alongside the nature vs. nurture conundrum.

For Alex, it was learning the rule of the jungle: losers are booted out or as the showbiz vernacular says, they don’t get the part. It was shocking and even depressing for Alex when his alpha lion father loses reign due to his son’s lost. Marty fulfills a life-long dream to run in the wild with his kind, only later to find out that it is not cool to be you when all the others are like you. Melman becomes the with doctor in the giraffe herd while facing on the side issues such as his affection for Gloria and his deteriorating health due to his witch disease. The sassy Gloria encounters a bloat and is warmly welcomed, by hot, chunky male Moto Moto—who however, can only say to Gloria that ‘she is huge.’

For the quartet penguins, leader Skipper steals the scene when he shows off his affection for his love doll. The monkeys, who provided outsourcing labor for Air Penguin plane version 2m, also knew how to demand labor rights such as maternity benefits.

A feast to the eyes, the sequel is characterized by more-realistic details such as the details of each character and the glittering pond water surrounded by a mat of lush—of which rendering is devoted for each grass blade. The film shows the thinning line between computer animation and computer-generated imagery.

In the end, each of the four lead animals rose to the challenge and resolved their conflicts. More than the similarities with their own kind, they realize differences did not hinder their friendship. More so, when they realize friendship is an effective tool to have when the going gets rough.

Innovation and perseverance also bodes well as the quartet—with the help of the local monkey herd—built again another Air Penguin plane from parts of hijacked jeeps.

Speaking of planes, who goes and who stays at Africa? You’re still reading? Move it and find out!