The Runaway Mama by Jen Gregory

Guess what?  I’m doing my first-ever Runaway Mama giveaway!  As Lightning McQueen would say, “Ka-Chow!”  Except this post is about “Madagascar,” so as Marty would say, “That’s off the chizain!”

Before I explain the promotion, let me tell you a story.

A few years ago, Mike and I received a frantic call from our babysitter.  After she put Dylan to bed, she heard him through the baby monitor saying, “I can’t breathe, can’t breathe, darkness creeping in.  Can’t breathe, walls closing in around me.  So alone, so alone.”  After we stopped laughing, we explained to her that Dylan wasn’t hallucinating; rather, he was performing a monologue from his favorite movie, “Madagascar.”  It was from the scene where Alex, the lion, is stuck in a crate en route to Madagascar.

And so began our wild ride with Dylan and “Madagascar.”  That Halloween, Dylan refused to wear a costume.  In fact, he opted out of Halloween altogether, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t try like hell to make him a costume he would love (Crafty and Crazy Mama!).  Behold:

A flat screen television and remote control showing the movie!  I was particularly proud of this costume (check out the craftsmanship on the remote control!), and when Dylan refused to wear it (and after I finished weeping from his disapproval), I wore it myself.

For Dylan’s third birthday, he had a “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” cake:

This was one of his favorite birthday presents:

(Who doesn’t belong in this picture?)

Shortly after Dylan’s birthday, we visited the Miami Zoo and saw Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman in the flesh!

Notice Dylan’s t-shirt.  In our family, we go hard or we go home.

That spring, Dylan’s preschool teachers told me the story of how each child in the class was asked to name their favorite animal during circle time.  When it was Dylan’s turn to answer, he said (after a long, pensive, and concerning silence), “Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman.”

These days, “Madagascar” and “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” play on a continuous loop (between “Cars 2” and “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”) on our DVD player.  Riley is catching up nicely, which is a good thing, because “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” will be in theaters in June.

And here’s where I tell you about my super-exciting, first-ever Runaway Mama giveaway!  Yah!  Here are the details:

Ten lucky SOUTH FLORIDA readers have the chance to win passes to an advanced screening of “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” on Saturday, June 2^nd at 10:30 a.m. at either the AMC Sunset Place in South Miami or the Cinemark Paradise in Davie.  

Now that’s CRACKALACKIN!  (Long distance readers, hang in there.  Eventually, I’ll go national.)

If you’d like to enter (each winner can invite three guests), leave a comment here telling me why you love “Madagascar” and/or who your favorite character is. (In case you’re wondering, my favorite character is Melman.  For obvious reasons, I can relate to his anxiety and hypochondriacal tendencies.)

Please do not enter if you can’t arrange your own transportation and/or lodging.  Winners will receive movie tickets ONLY.  As Alex would say, “Don’t bite the hand that feeds ya!”

The deadline to enter is midnight on Friday, May 25^th.  After that, I’ll choose 10 winners at random.  Good luck!