Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (also simply known as Madagascar 3) is a 2012 American 3D computer-animated comedy film, produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is the third installment of the Madagascar series and the triquel to Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008). It is also the first in the series to be released in 3D. The film is directed by Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, and Conrad Vernon, with a screenplay written by Darnell and Noah Baumbach. It is DreamWorks Animation's 24th feature film.
In this film, Alex (Ben Stiller), Marty (Chris Rock), Melman (David Schwimmer), and Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith) are still struggling to get home to New York. This time, their journey takes them to Europe, where they are relentlessly pursued by the murderous Monaco-based French Animal Control officer Captain Chantel Dubois (Frances McDormand). As a means of getting passage to North America, the animals join a circus, where they become close friends with the animal performers, including the new characters of Gia (Jessica Chastain), Vitaly (Bryan Cranston), and Stefano (Martin Short). Together, they spectacularly revitalize the business and along the way find themselves reconsidering where their true home really is.
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted made its world premiere at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2012. In the United States, it was released on June 8, 2012. It has a 79% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is the eighth highest-grossing film of 2012 and the highest-grossing Madagascar film with a worldwide gross of over $746 million. A spin-off titled Penguins of Madagascar was released on November 26, 2014. A sequel, Madagascar 4, was initially announced for 2018 but it was removed from its schedule due to the studio's restructuring in 2015.
Plot[]
After crash-landing in Africa, penguins Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private, and chimpanzee duo Mason and Phil leave for Monte Carlo in their modified airplane. Whilst waiting, Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria, and lemurs King Julien, Maurice and Mort decide to find them so they can all return to their home at the Central Park Zoo in New York City. They find the penguins and chimpanzees at the Monte 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 her taxidermy collection.
After their aircraft crash-lands and is beyond repair, the animals board a departing circus train. As the circus animals, which include New Zealand sea lion Stefano, jaguar Gia, and Siberian tiger Vitaly, are suspicious of outsiders, Alex therefore lies about them being American circus animals. The circus is headed for a show in Rome, followed by one in London, where they hope to impress a promoter to get their first American tour. To allay suspicion, the penguins purchase the circus from its human ringmaster with the fortune they gained in Monte Carlo.
In Rome, Alex becomes enamored with Gia while Julien falls in love with performing Eurasian brown bear Sonya. DuBois attempts to pursue the couple in Vatican City, but fails to catch them and is taken into custody. After the Colosseum show 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 the Alps, 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 in being shot out of a cannon, while Melman and Gloria become adept at dancing 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 in Central 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. The circus staff soon saves them, and together, the heroes defeat DuBois as Alex's group officially joins the circus, having finally found their one true home and calling. As retribution, the penguins ship DuBois along with her squad to Madagascar.
Cast[]
- Ben Stiller as Alex, a lion and the leader of the zoosters.
- Chris Rock as Marty, a plains zebra and Alex's best friend.
- David Schwimmer as Melman, a reticulated giraffe, another of Alex's friends.
- Jada Pinkett Smith as Gloria, a hippopotamus, another of Alex's friends and Melman's love interest.
- Sacha Baron Cohen as King Julien XIII, a ring-tailed lemur who is the king of Madagascar.
- Cedric the Entertainer as Maurice, an aye-aye who is the beleaguered assistant and royal adviser of King Julien XIII.
- Andy Richter as Mort, a Goodman's mouse lemur and King Julien XIII's biggest fan.
- Tom McGrath as Skipper, the leader of the penguins.
- McGrath also voices First Policeman.
- Frances McDormand as Captain Chantel DuBois, the head of Monaco's animal control service who plots to capture Alex so she can add his head to her taxidermy collection.
- Jessica Chastain as Gia, a jaguar and Alex's love interest.
- Bryan Cranston as Vitaly, a traumatized Russian Siberian tiger and an ex-superstar of Circus Zaragoza.
- Martin Short as Stefano, an Italian New Zealand sea lion.
- Chris Miller as Kowalski, one of the penguins who Skipper's second-in-command and its brains.
- Christopher Knights as Private, the English-accented mild-mannered and eager rookie of the penguins.
- John DiMaggio as Rico, the mute loose cannon explosives expert and weapons supplier of the penguins who only communicates through squeals and grunts.
- Conrad Vernon as Mason, a refined British-accented chimpanzee.
- Vernon also voices Second Policeman.
- Frank Welker as the vocal effects of Sonya, an Eurasian brown bear and King Julien's love interest.
- Paz Vega as Esmeralda, Esperanza and Ernestina, a trio of Andalusian horse triplets.
- Vinnie Jones as Freddie the Dog.
- Steve Jones as Jonesy the Dog.
- Nick Fletcher as Frankie the Dog.
- Eric Darnell as:
- Comandante.
- Zoo Official.
- Zoo Announcer.
- Dan O'Connor as:
- Casino Security.
- Mayor of New York City.
- Danny Jacobs as:
- Croupier.
- Circus Zaragoza's former ringmaster.
Production[]
DreamWorks Animation's CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg confirmed in 2008 that there would be an additional sequel to Madagascar and Madagascar: 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."[1] At the Television 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 a Madagascar 3 now, and it will be out in the summer of 2012."[2] On August 9, 2010, Katzenberg revealed in an e-mail that writer-director Noah Baumbach had done sixty pages of re-writes to the screenplay.[3]
A significant amount of the animation and visual effects for the film had been done at DreamWorks Dedicated Unit, an India-based unit at Technicolor.[4]
Release[]
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted debuted out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2012.[5] The American release followed on June 8, 2012.[6] The film was also converted to the IMAX format and shown in specific European territories, including Russia, Ukraine, and Poland.[7]
Home media[]
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and Blu-ray 3D on October 16, 2012. It was the first DreamWorks Animation film to use the UltraViolet System and the Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D comes with a rainbow wig.[8] As of April 2014, 9.1 million home entertainment units were sold worldwide.[9]
Reception[]
Box office[]
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.[10] Its worldwide opening weekend totaled $137.6 million.[11] Worldwide, it is the highest-grossing film in the series,[12] the fourth-highest-grossing DreamWorks Animation film,[13] the second-highest-grossing animated film of 2012, and the eighth-highest-grossing film of that year.[14] Overall, it is the eleventh-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 surpassed Kung 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).[15] For its opening weekend, the film ranked at the no. 1 spot, beating Prometheus, with $60.3 million, which was higher than the opening of the original Madagascar ($47.2 million) but was behind the opening weekend of Escape 2 Africa ($63.1 million).[16] It remained at the top spot for two consecutive weekends.[17] In North America, it is the highest-grossing film in the series,[12] the sixth-highest-grossing DreamWorks Animation film,[13] the second-highest-grossing 2012 animated film,[18] and the tenth-highest-grossing film of 2012.[19]
Outside North America, Europe's Most Wanted out-grossed Shrek 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.[20] It held that position for three consecutive weekends.[21][22] 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).[23] It set an opening-day record for animated films in Russia with $3.7 million[24] (since surpassed by Ice Age: Continental Drift)[25] and became the highest-grossing animated film (surpassed by Ice Age: Continental Drift)[26] and the third-highest-grossing film ever (at the time), earning $49.4 million.[27] It also set an opening-weekend record for any film in Argentina with $3.80 million[28] (first surpassed by Ice Age: Continental Drift)[29] and it set opening-weekend records for animated films in Brazil, Venezuela, Trinidad,[30] and the United Arab Emirates. Also, Madagascar 3 made $39 million in Germany, $34 million in United Kingdom and $28 million in Italy.[21]
Critical reception[]
Based on Template:RT data reviews, the film holds an approval rating of Template:RT data on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and an average rating of Template:RT data. 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."[31] 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%,[32] and the sequel scores 64%.[33] On Metacritic, it holds a score of 60 out of 100 based on 26 reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[34] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[35]
Lisa Kennedy of The 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."[36] Colin Covert of Star Tribune said that Madagascar 3 set a high standard for cartoon comedy and was almost too good for kids. He gave it 3.5 out of 4 stars.[37] Giving the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, Betsy Sharkey of the Los 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."[38] Stephen Witty of the Newark Star-Ledger calls the movie "fun and fast family entertainment. […] the animals' jazzy circus performance, done in black-light colors and set to a Katy Perry song—may be one of the trippiest scenes in a mainstream kiddie movie since Dumbo saw those pink elephants."[39] Film scholar Timothy Laurie writes that the plot development of Madagascar 3 is "met with large servings of personal growth and side dishes of overcooked romance".[40]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Originally, Zuba the Lion and Florrie the Lioness were supposed to be in the movie. Zuba would have been replaced by Samuel L. Jackson and Florrie would be played by the same actress from the last movie.
- This is the first Madagascar movie to be in 3D.
- Marty's "Afro Circus" song has become a popular fad on YouTube, being used in remixes and edited videos. It even has it's own mash-up song called Afro Circus/I Like To Move It
- Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted is the second DreamWorks Animation franchise has become a trilogy, after Shrek the Third.
- This is the first DreamWorks Animation film since Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa to be produced in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio.
- This is the penultimate DreamWorks Animation film to be distributed by Paramount Pictures.
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- ↑ "Katzenberg Planning 3rd Madagascar, 2nd Kung Fu Panda" (August 14, 2008).
- ↑ Goldman, Eric (January 9, 2009). "DreamWorks Confirms Madagascar 3 is Coming".
- ↑ "Underemployed Jeff Katzenberg: Blogger", Penske Business Media, LLC (August 9, 2010). "Met with Mad3 team to review 60pgs of rewrite done by Noah Bombach that are exc!!!"
- ↑ Tejaswi, Mini Joseph (June 10, 2012). "Indian animation on a high at French fest".
- ↑ Reynolds, Simon (May 15, 2012). "Exclusive: 'Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted' video sees animals squabbling".
- ↑ Template:Cite press release
- ↑ Vivarelli, Nick (April 7, 2012). "Imax aims to bank $1 billion".
- ↑ Shaffer, RL (August 21, 2012). "Madagascar 3 Finds Blu-ray and DVD".
- ↑ "DreamWorks Animation Reports First Quarter 2014 Financial Results". (Press release) PR Newswire (April 29, 2014).
- ↑ "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)".. Box Office Mojo.
- ↑ "WORLDWIDE OPENINGS".
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Franchises – Madagascar".. Box Office Mojo.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "DreamWorks Animation".. Box Office Mojo.
- ↑ "2012 WORLDWIDE GROSSES".. Box Office Mojo.
- ↑ Subers, Ray (June 9, 2012). "Friday Report: 'Prometheus,' 'Madagascar 3' in Close Race", Box Office Mojo.
- ↑ Subers, Ray (June 10, 2012). "Weekend Report: 'Madagascar' Breaks Out, 'Prometheus' Catches Fire", Box Office Mojo.
- ↑ Suber, Ray. "Weekend Report: Circus Afros Beat 80s Hairdos".. Box Office Mojo.
- ↑ "Animation 2012". Box Office Mojo.
- ↑ "2012 DOMESTIC GROSSES".. Box Office Mojo.
- ↑ Subers, Ray (June 10, 2012). "Around-the-World: 'Madagascar 3' Skips Europe, Wins Overseas Anyway", Box Office Mojo.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Subers, Ray (June 17, 2012). "Around-the-World Roundup: 'Madagascar 3' Hangs On to Foreign Lead", Box Office Mojo.
- ↑ Segers, Frank (June 24, 2012). "Foreign Box Office: 'Madagascar 3' Tops Weak Weekend".. The Hollywood Reporter.
- ↑ "MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE'S MOST WANTED – International Box Office Results".. Box Office Mojo.
- ↑ McClintock, Pamela (June 7, 2012). "Box Office Report: 'Madagascar 3' Breaks Records in Russia on Eve of U.S. Launch", The Hollywood Reporter.
- ↑ Subers, Ray (July 17, 2012). "Around-the-World Roundup: 'Ice Age' Back on Top Overseas", Box Office Mojo.
- ↑ Kozlov, Vladimir (January 18, 2013). "Russian Box Office Reaches a Record High of $1.33 Billion for 2012", The Hollywood Reporter.
- ↑ DreamWorks Animation (July 13, 2012). "DreamWorks Animation's Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted Becomes Russia's Highest-Grossing Animated Film in History and Third Highest-Grossing Film of All Time".
- ↑ "Argentina Box Office (June 7–10, 2012)".. Box Office Mojo.
- ↑ Finke, Nikki (July 1, 2012). "'Ice Age 4′ Foreign Debut $78M And No. 1 in All 34 Markets: Already Breaking Records".
- ↑ "UPDATED: International Box Office: 'Madagascar 3' Sets Records", BoxOffice (June 11, 2012).
- ↑ "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Template:RT data
- ↑ "Madagascar"..
- ↑ "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa"..
- ↑ "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted"..
- ↑ Finke, Nikki (June 10, 2012). "HOT WEEKEND! Both 'Madagascar 3' And 'Prometheus' On Fire For $59.6M/$49.5M". Deadline Hollywood.
- ↑ Kennedy, Lisa (June 4, 2012). "Movie review: "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" delights as furry friends and a frenzied foes return Read more: Movie review: "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" delights as furry friends and a frenzied foes return".
- ↑ Covert, Colin (June 7, 2012). "'Madagascar 3' is a class menagerie".
- ↑ Sharkey, Betsy (June 7, 2012). "Movie review: 'Madagascar 3' runs away to the circus".
- ↑ Whitty, Stephen (June 8, 2012). "What a trip: 'Madagascar 3' has most fun since pink elephants were on parade"..
- ↑ eds. Hannah Stark and Jon Roffe.