Madagascar (2005 film)
Madagascar is a 2005 American computer-animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by DreamWorks Pictures. It was directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath from a screenplay by Mark Burton, Billy Frolick, Darnell, and McGrath, and features an ensemble cast, consisting of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Christopher Knights, Conrad Vernon, Eric Darnell, David P. Smith, Elisa Gabrielli, Bob Saget, David Cowgill, and Stephen Apostolina.
Released on May 27, 2005, it received mixed reviews from critics, but was a success at the box office, and was one of the highest-grossing films of 2005. The film launched a franchise including the direct sequels ' and ' ; the spin-off film Penguins of Madagascar ; several short films, television series, and specials; and a number of video games, theme park attractions, and live stage shows.
Plot
At the Central Park Zoo, Marty the zebra celebrates his tenth birthday but has grown bored with his daily routine and longs to experience the wild. Marty's best friend is Alex the lion, who enjoys showing off for the public and his celebrity status as "the king of New York". Alex attempts to cheer Marty up, but Marty, still unsatisfied, learns that the zoo's penguins—Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private—are trying to escape, and follows them out. Alex, Melman the giraffe, and Gloria the hippopotamus pursue Marty and attempt to convince him to return. The four, along with the penguins and two chimpanzees named Mason and Phil, converge at Grand Central Station where the authorities sedate them using tranquilizer guns. Under pressure from anti-captivity activists, the zoo is forced to ship the escaped animals by sea to a Kenyan wildlife preserve. During their travels, the penguins escape and take over the ship, intent on taking it to Antarctica. Their antics on the bridge cause the crates containing Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria to fall overboard and wash ashore on Madagascar.Initially believing themselves to be at the San Diego Zoo, the animals come across a pack of lemurs led by King Julien XIII. The predatory fossa attack the lemurs, but are scared off by Alex's fearsome appearance. Alex blames Marty for the group's predicament and attempts to signal for help to get back to civilization. Marty finds the wild to be exactly what he was looking for, and Gloria and Melman soon join him in enjoying the island. Alex eventually comes around, but without the raw steaks he was provided at the zoo, his prey drive begins to set in. King Julien has the lemurs befriend the zoo animals in the hope that Alex's presence will keep the fossa at bay, despite his adviser Maurice's warnings about Alex's predatory nature. When Alex starts hallucinating everyone as steaks and tries to eat Marty, Julien realizes that he is a threat and banishes him to the predator side of the island, where the fossa live. Seeing what has happened to Alex, and how dangerous the wild can be, Marty begins to regret his decision to leave the zoo.
The penguins, having been to Antarctica and found it inhospitable, land the ship at Madagascar. Seeing the chance to return Alex to New York, Marty crosses over to the predator side and attempts to convince the grizzled, starving Alex to return, but Alex refuses out of fear that he will attack Marty again. The fossa attack Marty, and though Gloria, Melman, and the penguins come to the rescue, they are outnumbered. Alex overcomes his predatory instincts, rescues his friends, and scares the fossa away from the lemur territory forever. The lemurs regain their respect for Alex, and the penguins satisfy his hunger by feeding him sushi. As the lemurs throw a farewell celebration for the foursome, the penguins decide not to break the news that the ship has run out of fuel.
Voice cast
- Ben Stiller as Alex, a lion. Tom McGrath explained that "Ben Stiller was the first actor we asked to perform, and we knew we wanted his character, Alex, to be a big performing lion with a vulnerable side."
- Chris Rock as Marty, a plains zebra. McGrath explained the character: "Marty is a guy who thinks there might be more to life than what's in the zoo. We wanted his character to be energetic, so we listened to Chris Rock."
- David Schwimmer as Melman, a hypochondriac reticulated giraffe who is afraid of germs. When they were looking for a voice actor for Melman, they listened to Schwimmer's voice on Friends and, according to McGrath, thought that it "sounded really neat."
- Jada Pinkett Smith as Gloria, a strong, confident, but sweet hippopotamus. McGrath said that they found all these traits in Pinkett Smith's voice, when they listened to her.
- Sacha Baron Cohen as King Julien XIII, a ring-tailed lemur and the king of the lemurs. King Julien was initially only meant to be a "two-line" character until auditioning Baron Cohen improvised eight minutes of dialogue in an Indian accent.
- Cedric the Entertainer as Maurice, an aye-aye and King Julien's royal advisor.
- Andy Richter as Mort, a Goodman's mouse lemur.
- Tom McGrath as Skipper, the leader of the penguins. McGrath, who was also the film's co-director and co-writer, initially only lent his voice to the temporary tracks. Growing up with films starring tough actors like John Wayne, Charlton Heston, and Robert Stack, McGrath wanted Stack for the voice of Skipper. Stack was approached about voicing the character, but died two weeks before production on the animation began. After that, DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg decided to keep the temporary voice, with McGrath explaining: "People were used to me doing that voice. We knew it worked when we screened it." Many character's traits were based on Stack's work. McGrath especially emphasized The Untouchables, a 1959 television crime drama series starring Stack.
- Chris Miller as Kowalski, a penguin and Skipper's right hand.
- * Miller also voices Timo, a tenrec who is only seen attending Julien's meeting.
- Jeffrey Katzenberg as Rico, a smart and silent penguin who is only expressed through grunts and squeals. Mireille Soria, the film's producer, commented on Katzenberg's uncredited role: "The irony for us is that he's the one who doesn't talk. There's something very Dadaistic about that, isn't there?"
- * Katzenberg also voices Abner, a blue-eyed lemur who is only seen at the paradise scene.
- Christopher Knights as Private, an eager, lowly penguin. Knights was also an assistant editor on the film.
- Conrad Vernon as Mason, a chimpanzee.
- Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath as the fossa
- * Darnell also voices Hector and Horst, two lemurs.
- David P. Smith as Pancho, a crowned lemur.
- * Smith also voices Becca, a black lemur.
- Elisa Gabrielli as Nana, an elderly New Yorker
- Bob Saget as an unspecified off-screen zoo animal
- David Cowgill as a police horse
- Stephen Apostolina as a police officer
Production
Home media
Madagascar was released on DVD and VHS on November 15, 2005 by DreamWorks Home Entertainment. The DVD included a short animated film The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper, and a music video "I Like to Move It," featuring characters from the film dancing to the song. A Blu-ray version of the film was released on September 23, 2008.Reception
Box office
The film was a commercial success. On its opening weekend, the film grossed $47,224,594 with a $11,431 average from 4,131 theaters making it the number 3 movie of that weekend behind ' and The Longest Yard. However, the film managed to claim the top position in the U.S. box office the following week with a gross of $28,110,235. In the United States, the film eventually grossed $193,595,521, and in foreign areas grossed $339,085,150 with a summative worldwide gross of $532,680,671. As of April 2019, the film is DreamWorks Animation's ninth highest-grossing film in the United States behind Shrek 2, Shrek the Third, Shrek, Shrek Forever After, How to Train Your Dragon, ', Kung Fu Panda, and Monsters vs. Aliens.Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a 54% approval rating based on 191 reviews, with an average rating of 6.07/10. The consensus reads: "Though its story is problematic in spots and its humor is hit-or-miss for the adult crowd, Madagascar boasts impressive visuals and enough spunky charm to keep children entertained." On Metacritic, the film has a 57% approval rating based on 36 reviews falling under the "Mixed or Average" category.Awards
The film has won three awards and several nominations.| Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
| AFI's 10 Top 10 | Animated Film | ||
| Annie Award | Best Animated Feature | Mireille Soria | |
| Annie Award | Animated Effects | Matt Baer | |
| Annie Award | Animated Effects | Rick Glumac | |
| Annie Award | Animated Effects | Martin Usiak | |
| Annie Award | Character Design in an Animated Feature Production | Craig Kellman | |
| Annie Award | Music in an Animated Feature Production | Hans Zimmer | |
| Annie Award | Production Design in an Animated Feature Production | Yoriko Ito | |
| Annie Award | Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production | Tom McGrath | |
| Annie Award | Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production | Catherine Yuh Rader | |
| Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Animated Movie |
In 2008, the American Film Institute nominated this film for its Top 10 Animation Films list.