| Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Edited by | Nick Fletcher |
| Music by | Hans Zimmer |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures[3] |
Release dates |
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Running time | 93 minutes[4] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $145 million[5][6] |
| Box office | $746.9 million[7] |
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted is a 2012 American animatedcomedy film produced byDreamWorks Animation SKG andPDI/DreamWorks and distributed byParamount Pictures. The third in theMadagascar film series and the first to be released in 3D, it was directed byEric Darnell,Conrad Vernon andTom McGrath from a screenplay by Darnell andNoah Baumbach. The film starsBen Stiller,Chris Rock,David Schwimmer,Jada Pinkett Smith,Sacha Baron Cohen,Cedric the Entertainer,Andy Richter, McGrath,Chris Miller,Christopher Knights,John DiMaggio and Vernon reprising theirvoice acting roles from the previous installments, alongside new cast membersJessica Chastain,Bryan Cranston,Martin Short andFrances McDormand. In the film, the main characters—a party of animals from theCentral Park Zoo whose adventures have already taken them to Madagascar and Africa—attempt to return to New York City and find themselves traveling across Europe with acircus while being pursued by the villainous head ofMonaco'sanimal control service.
DreamWorks Animation announced the third film in August 2008, three months before the release of the second film. As with the previous films in the franchise, the score was composed byHans Zimmer.
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted premiered out of competition at the2012 Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2012, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 8. It received generally positive reviews and was theeighth highest-grossing film of 2012 and the highest-grossing film in the franchise, with a worldwide gross of over $746 million on a production budget of $145 million.[7] A spin-off,Penguins of Madagascar, was released in November 2014.
After crash-landing inAfrica,penguins Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private, andchimpanzee duo Mason and Phil leave forMonte Carlo in their modified airplane.[a] Whilst waiting, Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria, andlemurs King Julien, Maurice and Mort decide to find them so they can all return to their home at theCentral Park Zoo inNew York City. They find the penguins and chimpanzees at theMonte Carlo Casino. Chaos ensues when the animals' cover is blown and escape from Captain Chantel DuBois, the head of Monaco's animal control service, who is determined to add Alex's head to hertaxidermy collection.
After their aircraft crash-lands and is beyond repair, the animals board a departingcircus train. As the circus animals, which includeNew Zealand sea lion Stefano,jaguar Gia, andSiberian tiger Vitaly, are suspicious of outsiders, Alex therefore lies about them being American circus animals. The circus is headed for a performance show inRome, followed by one inLondon, where they hope to impress a promoter to get their first American tour. To allay suspicion, the penguins purchase the circus from its humanringmaster with the fortune they gained in Monte Carlo. In Rome, Alex becomes enamored with Gia while Julien falls in love with performingEurasian brown bear Sonya. DuBois attempts to pursue the couple inVatican City, but fails to catch them and is falsely taken into custody.
After theColosseum performance proves to be a disaster, Stefano reveals to Alex that the circus was once famous and Vitaly was its star, skillfully jumping through ever-smaller hoops. However, an accident during one of his stunts resulted in him losing his passion, and the entire circus suffered as a result. When the train stops at theAlps, Alex convinces the circus animals to devise a new and exciting all-animal act that will restore their former glory. Marty and Stefano find a new passion inbeing shot out of a cannon, while Melman and Gloria become adept atdancing together on a tightrope. Gia persuades Alex to teach her "Trapeze Americano" and soon romance flourishes between the duo. Meanwhile, DuBois resumes her hunt after escaping from prison.
In London, Vitaly is afraid of failing again and considers ditching the show, but Alex helps him rediscover his passion by successfully assisting him in the opening act. The show succeeds, and the promoter signs a contract with the circus. DuBois then shows up, and although the penguins foil her, a printed document detailing Alex that she was carrying exposes his group's true intentions. Feeling deceived and betrayed, the circus animals eject the quartet.
After Sonya ends her relationship with Julien, the zoo and circus animals go their separate ways but arrive inCentral Park simultaneously. Looking at their old home, the zoo animals realize how much their worldwide adventure has changed them and decide their true place is with the circus. They are then ambushed by DuBois, but before she can behead Alex, the zoo staff arrive and incorrectly believe that she is returning the missing animals. Julien returns to the circus with the news as he reconciles with Sonya before the circus staff settles on rescuing their friends.
Alex's group awakens in their old enclosures, now surrounded by high fencing. DuBois is being honored by the zoo staff, but she rejects their offered reward money and secretly attempts to kill Alex with a poison-filled dart. Their circus staff soon saves them, and together, the heroes defeat DuBois as Alex's group permanently joins the circus while he and Gia become a couple. As retribution for all the trouble she caused them, the penguins ship DuBois toMadagascar, reminiscent of how Alex's group was shipped.[b]
DreamWorks Animation's CEOJeffrey Katzenberg confirmed in 2008 that there would be an additional sequel toMadagascar andMadagascar: Escape 2 Africa. Katzenberg stated, "There is at least one more chapter. We ultimately want to see the characters make it back to New York."[8] At theTelevision Critics Association press tour in January 2009, Katzenberg was asked if there would be a third film in the series. He replied, "Yes, we are making aMadagascar 3 now, and it will be out in the summer of 2012."[9] On August 9, 2010, Katzenberg revealed in an e-mail that writer-directorNoah Baumbach had done sixty pages of re-writes to the screenplay.[10]
A significant amount of the animation and visual effects for the film had been done at DreamWorks Dedicated Unit, an India-based unit atTechnicolor.[11]
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted debuted out of competition at theCannes Film Festival on May 18, 2012.[12] The American release followed on June 8, 2012.[13] The film was also converted to theIMAX format and shown in specific European territories, including Russia, Ukraine, and Poland.[14]
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted was released onDVD,Blu-ray, and Blu-ray 3D on October 16, 2012. It was the first DreamWorks Animation film to use theUltraViolet System and the Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D comes with a rainbow wig.[15] As of April 2014, 9.1 million home entertainment units were sold worldwide.[16]
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted earned $216,391,482 in North America and $530,529,792 in other countries for a worldwide total of $746,921,274.[7] Its worldwide opening weekend totaled $137.6 million.[17] Worldwide, it is the highest-grossing film in the series,[18] the fourth-highest-grossing DreamWorks Animation film,[19] the second-highest-grossing animated film of 2012, and the eighth-highest-grossing film of that year.[20] Overall, it is theeleventh-highest-grossing animated film and the 113th-highest-grossing film of all time. The film took between 66 and 94 days of release, respectively, to out-gross its two predecessors. It surpassedKung Fu Panda 2 to become DreamWorks' highest-grossing non-Shrek film, and the first non-Shrek film to reach over $700 million.
In North America, the film made $20.7 million on its opening day, which was higher than the opening-day grosses of the original film ($13.9 million) and its sequel ($17.6 million).[21] For its opening weekend, the film ranked at the no. 1 spot, beatingPrometheus, with $60.3 million, which was higher than the opening of the originalMadagascar ($47.2 million) but was behind the opening weekend ofEscape 2 Africa ($63.1 million).[22] It remained at the top spot for two consecutive weekends.[23] In North America, it is the highest-grossing film in the series,[18] the sixth-highest-grossing DreamWorks Animation film,[19] the second-highest-grossing 2012 animated film,[24] and the tenth-highest-grossing film of 2012.[25]
Outside North America,Europe's Most Wanted out-grossedShrek Forever After to become DreamWorks Animation's highest-grossing film. On its opening weekend, it topped the box office with $77.3 million from 28 countries.[26] It held that position for three consecutive weekends.[27][28] Its three highest-grossing openings occurred in Russia and the CIS ($15.7 million), China ($10.4 million), and Brazil ($10.1 million in 5 days).[29] It set an opening-day record for animated films in Russia with $3.7 million[30] (since surpassed byIce Age: Continental Drift)[31] and became the highest-grossing animated film (surpassed byIce Age: Continental Drift)[32] and the third-highest-grossing film ever (at the time), earning $49.4 million.[33] It also set an opening-weekend record for any film in Argentina with $3.80 million[34] (first surpassed byIce Age: Continental Drift)[35] and it set opening-weekend records for animated films in Brazil, Venezuela, Trinidad,[36] and the United Arab Emirates. Also, Madagascar 3 made $39 million in Germany, $34 million in United Kingdom and $28 million in Italy.[27]
Based on 132 reviews, the film holds an approval rating of 78% on review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes and an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Dazzlingly colorful and frenetic,Madagascar 3 is silly enough for young kids, but boasts enough surprising smarts to engage parents along the way."[37] This marks the best general review consensus of the film series that has showed improving critical favor; the original film has a score of 55%,[38] and the sequel scores 64%.[39] OnMetacritic, it holds a score of 60 out of 100 based on 26 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[40] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[41]
Lisa Kennedy ofThe Denver Post gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars and said, "From time to time the improbable occurs: A sequel outdoes its original."[42] Colin Covert ofStar Tribune said thatMadagascar 3 set a high standard for cartoon comedy and was almost too good for kids. He gave it 3.5 out of 4 stars.[43] Giving the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, Betsy Sharkey of theLos Angeles Times said, "A neon-saturated, high-flying trapeze act with enough frenetic funny business that it's a wonder the folks behind this zillion-dollar franchise about zoo critters on the lam didn't send the animals to the circus sooner."[44] Stephen Witty of theNewark Star-Ledger calls the movie "fun and fast family entertainment. […] the animals' jazzy circus performance, done inblack-light colors and set to aKaty Perry song—may be one of the trippiest scenes in a mainstream kiddie movie sinceDumbo saw those pink elephants."[45] Film scholar Timothy Laurie writes that the plot development ofMadagascar 3 is "met with large servings of personal growth and side dishes of overcooked romance".[46]
| Award | Category | Nominated | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASCAP Award[47] | Top Box Office Films | Hans Zimmer | Won |
| Teen Choice Awards[48] | Movie Voice | Chris Rock | Nominated |
| Summer Movie: Comedy/Music | Madagascar 3 | ||
| Annie Awards[49][50] | Animated Effects in an Animated Production | Jihyun Yoon | |
| Character Design in an Animated Feature Production | Craig Kellman | ||
| Production Design in an Animated Feature Production | Kendal Cronkhite-Shaindlin, Shannon Jeffries, Lindsey Olivares, Kenard Pak | ||
| Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production | Rob Koo | ||
| Satellite Award[51] | Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media | Madagascar 3 | |
| Best Original Song | "Love Always Comes as a Surprise" – Peter Asher & Dave Stewart | ||
| Critics' Choice Movie Awards[52] | Best Animated Feature | Eric Darnell,Tom McGrath andConrad Vernon | |
| Kids' Choice Awards[53] | Favorite Animated Movie | Madagascar 3 | |
| Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie | Ben Stiller | ||
| Chris Rock |
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted is thesoundtrack of the film scored byHans Zimmer and was released on June 5, 2012.[54] "Afro Circus/I Like to Move It" peaked at 7 on theARIA Hitseekers Singles chart on the week commencing October 15, 2012.[55]
In some variations of the soundtrack, "Cool Jerk" is featured in replacement of "We No Speak Americano" byYolanda Be Cool &DCUP. "Sexy and I Know It" byLMFAO was only used in the theatrical trailer, and not included on the soundtrack and was replaced by "Firework" byKaty Perry for the circus. "Any Way You Want It" byJourney and the instrumental "Watermark" from thealbum of the same name by Enya were also used, but are not included on the soundtrack. "Land of Hope and Glory" byEdward Elgar appears in the track "Fur Power". The "Afro Circus" tune is from "Entrance of the Gladiators", by the Czech composerJulius Fučík.
A video game based on the film,Madagascar 3: The Video Game, was released on June 5, 2012.[56] The game allows gamers to play as Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria as they travel across Europe promoting the circus by performing stunts, circus acts and completing missions.[56] It was released toPlayStation 3,Xbox 360,Wii,Nintendo 3DS, andNintendo DS.[56] Published byD3 Publisher, the Wii, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 versions were developed byMonkey Bar Games, and the 3DS and DS versions byTorus Games.[56] The game received negative reviews from critics withMetacritic giving the Xbox 360 version a 45/100.[57]
Amobile video game,Madagascar: Join the Circus!, also published by D3 Publisher, was released on June 4, 2012, foriPhone andiPad. The game allows players to build a circus and play mini-games.[58][59] The game was removed from App Stores on June 16, 2017.[60]
A comic book based on the film and titledMadagascar Digest Prequel: Long Live the King! was released on June 12, 2012, byApe Entertainment.[61][62]
A spin-off film titledPenguins of Madagascar, depicting the adventures of penguin characters following the events ofMadagascar 3, was released on November 26, 2014.[63][64]
In June 2014, it was announced thatMadagascar 4 would be released on May 18, 2018.[65] However, in January 2015, the film was removed from the release schedule following a corporate restructuring of DreamWorks Animation.[66][67] In April 2017,Tom McGrath stated "There are things in the works, nothing is announced yet, but I think they'll show their faces once more."[68]
Met with Mad3 team to review 60pgs of rewrite done by Noah Bombach that are exc!!!
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