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PG Dirs. Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath. Ben Stiller, Chris Rock.

This sequel to the 2005 DreamWorks animated smash picks up right where the first film left off—in Madagascar. Displaced Central Park Zoosters Alex the lion (Stiller), Marty the zebra (Rock), Melman the giraffe (David Schwimmer) and Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith)—along with island natives Julian, king of the lemurs (Sacha Baron Cohen), and his sidekick Maurice (Cedric the Entertainer)—board a jerry-rigged plane bound for the Big Apple.

When their rickety ride crash-lands in an African wildlife reserve, each animal meets herds of his or her own species. Romantic rivalries and other dramas ensue. Joining the topflight return cast are Alec Baldwin, who voices Alex’s evil uncle, and the late Bernie Mac, as Alex’s father. We expect this crew will sharpen the flick’s comic edge to rival its laugh-out-loud predecessor. (Opens Nov 7.)

In Tinker Bell, the fairies help some lightning bugs with their luminous assets.

Photographs: Walt Disney Studio Home Entertainment

Bolt
PG Dir. Chris Williams. John Travolta, Miley Cyrus.

John Travolta lends his chords to the title character, a canine actor who mistakenly believes he possesses the same explosive bark, gravity-defying leap and other superpowers as his jacked-up TV character. When the pampered pup escapes from his posh Hollywood soundstage and is accidentally shipped to gritty New York City, he must get his paws dirty if he wants to reunite with his beloved human costar, Penny (Cyrus). With the help of two unlikely traveling companions—Mittens (Susie Essman of Curb Your Enthusiasm), a cynical, abandoned house cat, and Rhino (Chicken Little’s Mark Walter), a pop-culture-obsessed hamster who idolizes the would-be heroic hound—Bolt sets off on a misguided cross-country rescue mission, and the pooch ends up finding more than merely the way home. (Opens Nov 21.)