Belgian postcard by Boomerang.be. Image: PDI / UIP / Dreamworks. The animals of Madagascar (Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, 2005).
Belgian postcard by Boomerang.be. Image: PDI / UIP / Dreamworks. Marty the Zebra in Madagascar (Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, 2005).
Belgian postcard by Boomerang.be. Image: PDI / UIP / Dreamworks. The animals of Madagascar (Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, 2005).
A midlife crisis after his 10th birthday
Madagascar (2005) was written by Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, Mark Burton, and Billy Frolick.
Marty the zebra, Alex the lion, Gloria the hippo and Melman the giraffe live at the Central Park Zoo in New York. There they perform for the visitors, and Alex in particular is the big star.
Marty suffers a midlife crisis after his 10th birthday and wants to escape to live in the wild. One night, Marty escapes along with two chimpanzees and four penguins. Alex now wants to escape too - along with Gloria and Melman - to get him back. After all, Alex himself loves the zoo and is afraid Marty will do stupid things that might get them all transferred.
People panic and the animals are stunned and trapped. While the animals are sedated, animal protection groups and protesters, who believe the animals belong in the wild, put pressure on the zoo and the city government. One gave in and sent the animals back to Africa. They are now captured and locked in wooden crates taken by a cargo ship. On the way, the crates fall off the ship and wash up on the island of Madagascar.
There they meet a colony of lemurs led by King Julien XIII who welcomes them. This colony is in fact besieged by fossas, who are startled by Alex and his fearsome roar. However, some problems arise on the island when Alex gets really hungry for the first time in his life. After all, in the zoo, he was always given meat, which is only available in Madagascar if he kills other animals...
Belgian postcard by Boomerang.be. Image: PDI / UIP / Dreamworks. Alex, a lion, in Madagascar (Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, 2005).
Belgian postcard by Boomerang.be. Image: PDI / UIP / Dreamworks. Melman the giraffe in Madagascar (Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, 2005).
Belgian postcard by Boomerang.be. Image: PDI / UIP / Dreamworks. Gloria the hippo in Madagascar (Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, 2005).
The penguins as a commando unit rather than a rock band
Madagascar (2005) was yet another computer-animated film about animals in a short time. According to co-director Tom McGrath, the idea for Madagascar began as a one-sentence prompt, and it took two years of development for the idea to be refined to the point where the four main characters were finalised.
In 1998, DreamWorks and PDI started development on an animated film titled Rockumentary, which featured a Beatles-like penguin rock band. The idea was scrapped, but after production on Madagascar started, director Eric Darnell decided to revive the penguins, albeit he retooled them as a commando unit rather than a rock band.
The English voices were by Ben Stiller (Alex), Jada Pinkett Smith (Gloria), Chris Rock (Marty) and David Schwimmer (Melman). Andy Richter, Bob Saget, Sacha Baron Cohen (King Julien XIII) and Cedric the Entertainer also make appearances.
Critic Roger Ebert was mildly amused: "Madagascar is funny, especially at the beginning, and good-looking in a retro cartoon way, but in a world where the stakes have been raised by Finding Nemo, Shrek and The Incredibles, it's a throwback to a more conventional kind of animated entertainment." At the box office, the film became a huge success. Worldwide, Madagascar was the sixth most successful film of the year. Competitor Pixar did not make a major animated film in 2005, a big advantage. In 2004, when DreamWorks released the second part of Shrek, it did have major competition due to the premiere of The Incredibles. Shrek 2 ended up being the big box-office success of 2004, while The Incredibles did a bit less.
Madagascar is often compared to the Disney film The Wild (2006). That film, starring Kiefer Sutherland as the lion, did much worse, although it was not a flop. The Madagascar DVD was released in 2005, including a short animated film called The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper. That short animated film was also shown in cinemas ahead of other films. Later, two sequels followed - Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, 2008) and Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (Eric Darnell, Conrad Vernon, Tom McGrath, 2012). A fourth film is coming up.
Dutch postcard by Boomerang Schoolcards, Amsterdam, no WK23-05. Image: UIP / Dreamworks. Publicity for Madagascar (2005). Caption: From the creators of Shrek and Shark Tale. Visit Madagascar, Lose yourself in the wild, It's a jungle out there, Departing June.
Dutch postcard by Boomerang Schoolcards, Amsterdam. Image: UIP / Dreamworks. Publicity for Madagascar (2005). Caption: From the creators of Shrek and Shark Tale. Visit Madagascar, Lose yourself in the wild, Get back to nature! Departing June.
Dutch postcard by Boomerang Schoolcards, Amsterdam. Image: UIP / Dreamworks. Publicity for Madagascar (2005). Caption: From the creators of Shrek and Shark Tale. Visit Madagascar, Lose yourself in the wild, This trip is for the birds! Departing June.
Sources: Roger Ebert (RogerEbertCom), Wikipedia (Dutch and English) and IMDb.
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