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This article is about the first film. For the franchise, see Madagascar (franchise). For the video game based on the film, see Madagascar (video game).

Madagascar
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Written by
Produced byMireille Soria
Starring
Edited byH. Lee Peterson
Music byHans Zimmer
Production
companies
Distributed byDreamWorks Pictures[2]
Release date
  • May 27, 2005 (2005-05-27) (United States)
Running time
86 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$75 million[2]
Box office$556.6 million[2]

Madagascar is a 2005 American computer-animated survival comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and PDI/DreamWorks and distributed by DreamWorks Pictures. The film was directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath (in McGrath's feature directorial debut) and written by Darnell, McGrath, Mark Burton, and Billy Frolick. The film stars the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, and Andy Richter. It centers around a group of animals from the Central Park Zoo who find themselves stranded on the island of Madagascar.

Released on May 27, 2005, Madagascar received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the visuals and charm, but criticized its story and humor. Despite the mixed reviews, it was a success at the box office, grossing $556 million on a production budget of $75 million, becoming the sixth highest-grossing film of 2005. The success of Madagascar launched a multimedia franchise, which includes two sequels as well as the spin-off film Penguins of Madagascar (2014); several short films, television series, and specials; and a number of video games, theme park attractions, and live stage shows, starting with Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008).

Plot

In New York City, Alex the lion is the star attraction of the Central Park Zoo, and spends time with his friends, Melman the giraffe, Gloria the hippopotamus, and his best friend Marty the zebra, who has grown bored with his daily routine and longs to experience the wild. On Marty's tenth birthday, Alex, Melman, and Gloria attempt to cheer him up, but Marty, still unsatisfied, learns that the zoo's penguins—Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private—are trying to escape to Antarctica, and follows them out. Alex, Melman, and Gloria 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 New York City police sedate them using tranquillizer guns. Under pressure from anti-captivity activists, the zoo is forced to ship the escaped animals by sea to a wildlife preserve in Kenya. 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 the island of Madagascar.

Arriving at Madagascar, 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, hunger sets in and his prey drive begins to show. 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 loses control and attacks Marty by biting him, he goes wild again and begins to chase Marty until Maurice throws a coconut at Alex to stop him. After realizing what he did and seeing himself as a monster, Alex runs off to the predator side of the island, where the fossa live and builds a cage resembling the one back at the zoo, feeling sad and guilty for attacking his friends. Seeing what Alex has become, and how dangerous the wild can be, Marty begins to regret his decision to leave the zoo.

The penguins, having found Antarctica to be 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 scared, 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; thereafter, however, the lemurs regain their respect for Alex, and the penguins satisfy his hunger by feeding him sushi, which he finds better than steak. 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, thus leaving them stranded on the island forever.

Voice cast

See also: List of Madagascar (franchise) characters
David Schwimmer at the film's British premiere in London
  • 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."[3]
  • 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."[3]
  • David Schwimmer as Melman, a hypochondriac reticulated giraffe who is afraid of germs.[3] 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".[3] During development, Melman the Giraffe was originally supposed to be an okapi but was changed to a giraffe.[4]
  • Jada Pinkett Smith as Gloria, a strong, confident, sweet hippopotamus.[3] McGrath said that they found all these traits in Pinkett Smith's voice when they listened to her.[3]
  • 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.[5]
  • Cedric the Entertainer as Maurice, an aye-aye and King Julien's royal advisor and best friend (to whom Julien never listens).
  • Andy Richter as Mort, a Goodman's mouse lemur who is King Julien and Maurice's best friend.
  • 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.[6][7] Growing up with films starring tough actors like John Wayne, Charlton Heston, and Robert Stack, it was the latter of whom McGrath wanted for the voice of Skipper.[8] Stack was approached about voicing the character, but died two weeks before production on the animation began.[8][9][10] 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."[8] Many of the character's traits were based on Stack's work.[10] McGrath especially emphasized The Untouchables, a 1959 television crime drama series starring Stack.[10]
  • Chris Miller as Kowalski, a penguin and Skipper's right hand.[6]
    • 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.[6] 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?"[6]
    • Katzenberg also voices Abner, a blue-eyed lemur who is only seen at the paradise scene.
  • Christopher Knights as Private, an eager, lowly penguin.[6] Knights was also an assistant editor on the film.[6]
  • Conrad Vernon as Mason, a chimpanzee (Phil, the other chimpanzee, is unvoiced, communicating to Mason via Sign Language. Despite this, Phil is the one who can read whereas Mason cannot.)
  • Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath as the fossa.
    • Darnell also voices Hector and Horst, two lemurs.
  • David P. Smith as Pancho, a crowned lemur.
  • Cody Cameron as Willie, a red lemur who is only seen attending Julien's meeting.
  • Elisa Gabrielli as Nana, an elderly German-accented New Yorker. Gabrielli provided some background voices until the directors and producer asked her and her fellow actors if they wanted to try their voices for the role. Upon seeing a black and white sketch of Nana, Gabrielli knew that she wanted to voice her. She modeled Nana's voice after her Russian and Hungarian grandmothers and her stepfather, though she didn't think that her voice would be kept in the finished film at first.[11]
  • Bob Saget as an unspecified off-screen zoo animal.
  • David Cowgill as a police horse.
  • Stephen Apostolina as a police officer.

Production

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 finalized.[12] In 1998, DreamWorks and PDI had started development on an animated film titled Rockumentary, which featured a Beatles-esque penguin rock band. The idea was scrapped, but after production on Madagascar started, director Eric Darnell decided to revive the penguins as a commando unit rather than a rock band.[12]

In the original script, Gloria was pregnant due to the zoo's breeding program and the baby was born on the island. Melman, who had a crush on Gloria, would help raise the child like it was his own. The idea was cut from the final version because test audiences thought the pregnancy plotline was too mature for a family film and felt uncomfortable with the pairing of Melman and Gloria. However, the idea of Melman having a crush on Gloria was reused for the sequels. Melman was originally planned to be an okapi but was changed to a giraffe because that was a more familiar animal.

Originally, Julien was intended to be a minor character with only two lines. However, when Sacha Baron Cohen auditioned for the role, he improvised not only an Indian accent, but eight minutes of dialogue for his recording. The filmmakers found Cohen's performance so funny that they rewrote the script and made Julien a much more prominent character in the story as "King of the Lemurs". Dana Carvey was originally offered a role but he turned it down as he was busy raising kids at the time.[13]

Home media

Madagascar was released on DVD and VHS on November 15, 2005, by DreamWorks Pictures, DreamWorks Home Entertainment & ARC Entertainment.[14][15] 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.[16][17] A Blu-ray version of the film was released on September 23, 2008 - May 6, 2012.

The Madagascar - Movie Storybook was written by Billy Frolick and illustrated by Michael Koelsch, and was published by Scholastic in 2005.[18][19] Koelsch also illustrated the Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa - Movie Storybook in 2008.[20]

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 Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and The Longest Yard.[21] 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.[22] In the United States, the film eventually grossed $193,595,521, and in foreign areas grossed $362,964,045 with a summative worldwide gross of $556,559,566.[2]

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a 55% approval rating based on 193 reviews, with an average rating of 6.1/10. 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."[23] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 57 out of 100, based on 36 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[24] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale.[25]

Paul Arendt of BBC gave the film 4/5 stars, writing: "It's also a pleasure to see a cartoon so determinedly devoid of sentiment, a stance confirmed by the hilarious demise of an angelic little duckling. Highly recommended for kids and adults."[26] Jeff Strickler of the Star Tribune gave the film 3/4 stars, describing it as a "good-natured kid flick" and writing: "This computer-animated comedy makes enough kowtows to adult humor that parents won't be bored, but it is clearly aimed at the peewee set."[27] Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post described the film as "wildly fun" and wrote: "along with such recent classics as Shrek, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles, Madagascar will surely go on to take a deserved place on millions of families' video shelves as a reliable Saturday night staple."[28] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times described the film as "a good-humored, pleasant confection that has all kinds of relaxed fun bringing computer-animated savvy to the old-fashioned world of Looney Tunes cartoons."[29] Paul Clinton of CNN wrote that the film was "a delight", and added: "Co-writers and -directors McGrath and Eric Darnell, along with their entire team, have done a terrific job with their sweet and whimsical story."[30]

Roger Ebert gave the film 2.5/4 stars, writing that it "is funny, especially at the beginning, and good-looking in a retro cartoon way", but added: "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."[31] Philippa Hawker of The Sydney Morning Herald also gave the film 2.5/4 stars, writing: "Madagascar, despite some break-out moments of silliness, seems defined by a formula that can't fail to please, at a basic level, but never feels imaginatively inspired."[32] Rick Groen of The Globe and Mail gave the film 2/4 stars, describing the film's script as "a wafer-thin yarn that might have done Sylvester and Tweety proud, but goes missing-in-action when stretched over 80-plus minutes."[33] A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote that the film "arouses no sense of wonder, except insofar as you wonder, as you watch it, how so much talent, technical skill and money could add up to so little."[34]

Awards

The film has won three awards and several nominations.[35]

Award Category Recipient Result
AFI's 10 Top 10 Animated Film Madagascar Nominated
Annie Award[35] Best Animated Feature Mireille Soria Nominated
Animated Effects Matt Baer Nominated
Rick Glumac Nominated
Martin Usiak Nominated
Character Design in an Animated Feature Production Craig Kellman Nominated
Music in an Animated Feature Production Hans Zimmer Nominated
Production Design in an Animated Feature Production Yoriko Ito Nominated
Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production Tom McGrath Nominated
Catherine Yuh Rader Nominated
Golden Eagle Award[36] Best Foreign Language Film Madagascar Nominated
Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Animated Movie Madagascar Won

In 2008, the American Film Institute nominated the film for its Top 10 Animation Films list.[37]

Music

Madagascar: Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by
Hans Zimmer
ReleasedMay 24, 2005
GenreSoundtrack, disco, new-age
Length31:27
Label
ProducerHans Zimmer
Hans Zimmer chronology
The Little Polar Bear 2: The Mysterious Island
(2005) 		Madagascar: Motion Picture Soundtrack
(2005) 		Batman Begins
(2005)

Madagascar is the soundtrack to the 2005 DreamWorks film of the same name. It was released by Geffen Records and UMG Soundtracks on May 24, 2005. Of particular critical note was the cover of "I Like to Move It" by Sacha Baron Cohen, which has since become a recurring theme song throughout the Madagascar franchise.

The score was composed by frequent DreamWorks collaborator Hans Zimmer, with additional music by James Dooley, Heitor Pereira, James S. Levine, and Ryeland Allison. Zimmer also adapted John Barry's instrumental from "Born Free" into the score track of the same name; the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's cover of the song was used in the opening title sequence. Originally, Harry Gregson-Williams, another frequent DreamWorks collaborator, was supposed to compose the film's score. Louis Armstrong's song "What a Wonderful World" is used in the film.

Madagascar: Motion Picture Soundtrack[38]
No.TitleArtistLength
1."Best Friends"Hans Zimmer, Heitor Pereira, James S. Levine & Ryeland Allison2:24
2."I Like to Move It"Sacha Baron Cohen3:51
3."Hawaii Five-O"The Ventures1:49
4."Boogie Wonderland"Earth, Wind & Fire with the Emotions4:49
5."Whacked Out Conspiracy"James Dooley2:16
6."Chariots of Fire"Vangelis3:29
7."Stayin' Alive"Bee Gees4:44
8."Zoosters Breakout"Hans Zimmer1:39
9."Born Free"John Barry & Don Black1:24
10."The Foosa Attack"Heitor Pereira0:37
11."Beacon of Liberty"Hans Zimmer & James S. Levine2:09
12."What a Wonderful World"Louis Armstrong2:16
13."Callin' Out (Madagascar Version)"Lyrics Born3:14
Total length:31:27

Sequels, spin-offs, and television series

Main article: Madagascar (franchise)

A sequel, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, was released in 2008, followed by Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted in 2012.

A spin-off series entitled The Penguins of Madagascar premiered on Nickelodeon in 2008. The spin-off was made into the film Penguins of Madagascar in 2014.

Another spin-off series entitled All Hail King Julien premiered on Netflix in 2014.

The animated television series entitled Madagascar: A Little Wild was aired, streaming on Peacock in 2020.

Madagascar has also spawned a number of short films, video games, and other media, as well as theme park attractions and live stage shows.

References

  1. ^ a b "Madagascar (2005)". catalog.afi.com. American Film Institute. Archived from the original on July 12, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Madagascar (2005) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on November 5, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Keogh, Tom (May 21, 2005). "Animator talks to group of young enthusiasts about his new film, "Madagascar"". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on September 20, 2014. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  4. ^ @jpandrew2000 (August 19, 2017). "INTERSTING [sic] FACT! When Madagascar was in development, Melman was originally going to be an okapi" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. ^ Lloyd, Robert (December 19, 2014). "Review: 'All Hail King Julien' lets the 'Madagascar' rave begin". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 19, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Rosen, Lisa (June 5, 2005). "A colorful quartet of black-and-whites". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 20, 2014. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  7. ^ Fetters, Sara Michelle (2005). "Keeping Control of the Zoo". MovieFreak.com. Archived from the original on March 28, 2006. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  8. ^ a b c King, Susan (October 31, 2014). "Little guys take over in 'Penguins of Madagascar'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 31, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  9. ^ Vice, Jeff (November 7, 2008). "'Madagascar' co-director steals show as penguin leader". Deseret News. Archived from the original on December 17, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  10. ^ a b c Molina, Melissa (August 13, 2014). "SDCC Directors & Actors Talk Espionage and Hilarity in 'Penguins of Madagascar'". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  11. ^ Noyer, Jérémie (February 27, 2009). "Nana's back! Elisa Gabrielli on Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa". Animated Views. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  12. ^ a b Phillips, Julian (November 25, 2005). "Escape from Zoo-York: Behind The Scenes of Madagascar". Skwigly. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  13. ^ "Why Dana Carvey Says He Left Hollywood in the Late '90s — and What He's Doing Now". Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
  14. ^ "DreamWorks Launches Multi-Million Campaign For Madagascar DVD". Chief Marketer. August 25, 2005. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
  15. ^ Arnold, Thomas (August 18, 2005). "DreamWorks Puts Big Money Behind 'Madagascar'". hive4media.com. Archived from the original on November 23, 2005. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  16. ^ Ziebarth, Christian (November 14, 2005). "Madagascar DVD bonus features review". Animated Views. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
  17. ^ McCutcheon, David (December 8, 2005). "Madagascar". IGN. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
  18. ^ Frolick, Billy (2005). Madagascar: Movie Storybook. Scholastic. ISBN 978-0-439-69627-2.
  19. ^ Frolick, Billy; Frolick, Billy; Koelsch Studios (2005). Madagascar : movie storybook. Internet Archive. New York : Scholastic Inc. ISBN 978-0-439-69627-2.
  20. ^ Flexer, Michael J.; Hamashima, Lawrence (2008). Madagascar: the Crate Escape - Movie Storybook. HarperCollins Children's Books. ISBN 978-0-00-728436-8.
  21. ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for May 27–29, 2005". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
  22. ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for June 3–5, 2005". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
  23. ^ "Madagascar". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved June 4, 2022. Edit this at Wikidata
  24. ^ "Madagascar". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  25. ^ "Cinemascore :: Movie Title Search". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  26. ^ Arendt, Paul (July 14, 2005). "Madagascar (2005)". BBC. Archived from the original on November 1, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  27. ^ Strickler, Jeff (May 27, 2005). "Movie review: 'Madagascar' runs wild". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on May 30, 2005. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  28. ^ Hornaday, Ann (May 27, 2005). "A Roar of Approval". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  29. ^ Turan, Kenneth (May 27, 2005). "Madagascar". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 24, 2005. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  30. ^ Clinton, Paul (May 27, 2005). "Review: Enjoyable trip to 'Madagascar'". CNN. Archived from the original on November 1, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  31. ^ Ebert, Roger (May 26, 2005). "Madagascar movie review & film summary (2005)". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on November 1, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  32. ^ Hawker, Philippa (October 4, 2005). "Madagascar". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on August 25, 2006. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  33. ^ Groen, Rick (May 27, 2005). "Madagascar". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on May 29, 2005. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  34. ^ Scott, A. O. (May 27, 2005). "Escaping New York for a Real Jungle". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 9, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  35. ^ a b Soares, Andre (February 4, 2006). "Annie Awards 2006". Annie Awards via Alt Film Guide. Archived from the original on March 28, 2008. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
  36. ^ Золотой Орел 2005 [Golden Eagle 2005] (in Russian). Ruskino.ru. Archived from the original on May 14, 2022. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  37. ^ "AFI's 10 Top 10 Nominees" (PDF). Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  38. ^ "Madagascar: Motion Picture Soundtrack". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 22, 2022. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
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