Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted Information

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted 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 it is the first in the series to be released in 3D. The film is directed by Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath and Conrad Vernon. The film's world premiere was at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2012.

Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria 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 zoo animals purchase a failing traveling circus as they become close friends with the staff like Vitaly (Bryan Cranston), Gia (Jessica Chastain), 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 was released on June 8, 2012, to critical and commercial success; it is the best-reviewed film in the series, with a 79% "Certified Fresh" approval rating on the review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. It is also the highest-grossing Madagascar film with a worldwide gross of over $742 million.

Plot

After four years since bidding the penguins goodbye, Alex the lion has a nightmare about himself and his friends still stranded in Africa and finding they have all gotten old. He then wakes from his nightmare on his birthday, and the animals present him with a miniature model of New York City out of mud. Alex suggests to Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe, and Gloria the hippopotamus that they should go to Monte Carlo to get the penguins to fly them back to New York City, which they agree to.

In Monte Carlo, Alex and his gang's attempt to reach the penguins and King Julien blunders and sparks chaos in the Monte Carlo Casino. The casino security calls the captain of Monaco's animal control, Chantel Dubois, to deal with the animals. A high-speed chase around the streets of Monaco ensues between the relentless Dubois and the animals in a truck driven by the penguins to reach their aircraft and they depart on the plane, barely escaping Dubois.

In the skies of France, the plane's gear assembly fails and the plane crashes into a suburban rail yard as the authorities close in. They come across a circus train and knocked on it, desperately trying to get in. Seeing their only chance of escape is on the circus train, they desperately claim that they are circus animals themselves, which convinces Stefano the sea lion and Gia the jaguar to let them in despite the protests of Vitaly the tiger. The animals soon learn from Stefano that they are performing in Rome and London, where they plan to impress a promoter to get them on their first American tour. Before the zoo animals' claim is discredited, the penguins suddenly appear with a deal to purchase the circus themselves, resulting in the pleased departure of all the humans. Afterwards, Julien finds himself falling in love wth a tricycle-riding bear name Sonya. Meanwhile the others prepare for the performance at the Colosseum in Rome. Unfortunately, to the zoo animals' horror, the show proves to be a disaster. The angered audience demands refunds, right to going to the point of chasing the circus to the departing train to London.

En route to London, Stefano soon reveals to Alex that Vitaly was once their inspiration. Once a professional ring jumper who used to leap through incrementally smaller hoops to excite crowds and was always pushing himself to the limit, his attempt at an impossible jump through a flaming pinkie ring ended in disaster when he burned his fur, which he had coated in extra virgin olive oil in order to slip through the narrow opening, destroying his confidence in his talent and the whole circus suffered by his example. An inspired Alex then has the train make a stop in the Alps and convinces the performers to rework their act to become the opposite of the world-famous human-only Cirque du Soleil as an animal-only lights and acrobatic show. Heartened by Alex's vision, the zoo animals and the circus animals develop sophisticated acts together and become closer friends in the process, especially Alex and Gia who find themselves falling in love.

Meanwhile, Dubois is arrested in Rome after causing problems with the local police officers while chasing the animals out of her jurisdiction, but escapes and discovers that Alex was the missing lion from the zoo in New York. Once free, Dubois recruits her injured men and they head toward the Alps, forcing the animals to proceed to London despite incomplete rehearsals. In London, the troupe prepares for the promoter in the audience, but Vitaly is discovered packing to leave. Alex convinces Vitaly to stay by reminding him of how he enjoys performing the impossible and suggests that he uses hair conditioner as a safer lubricant to perform his flaming ring jump. As a result, Vitaly's stunt is performed perfectly, which proves to be the opening of a spectacularly successful show and Alex and Gia grew closer to each other. After the impressed promoter arranges for an American tour, Dubois shows up with a paper showing that Alex was missing. Though the penguins are able to foil Dubois' plan, Alex is forced to confess that the four of them are just zoo animals trying to get home, disappointing the others who feel used and lied from the four of them. Also, Julien breaks up with Sonya, telling her that he can't be a part of the circus.

Finally, both the zoo animals and the circus arrive in New York City. Likewise, the zoo group and Julien finally arrive at the gates of the closed Central Park Zoo, only to realize that their adventure has changed them too much to return to captivity and that they were "home" when they joined the circus. The zoo animals resolve to return to the circus and reconcile with their new friends, but they are then tranquilized and captured by Dubois. The zoo staff, delighted by Alex's reappearance, thank Dubois, incorrectly believing that she was returning the missing animals. Unnoticed, Julien manages to reach the circus (despite being darted by Dubois) and the penguins realize that the group had been ambushed. Upon learning about the zoo animals' plight, Gia and Vitaly convince the circus animals to rescue their friends and they set out for the zoo, performing aboard a flying circus.

Meanwhile at the zoo, Alex awakens to find that he along with Marty, Melman, and Gloria are in their enclosures, surrounded by tall chain-link fences. Dubois steps on stage to receive a million-dollar check of appreciation from the zoo, which she rejects, and secretly loads a poison-filled dart into a gun which she hides inside a foam finger in preparation to kill Alex. The circus animals arrive in time to stop her and a massive brawl occurs where the circus uses all of what they had developed as part of their revamped act. As the group tries to leave, DuBois attempts to kill Stefano, who is stranded at the zoo. However, Alex saves Stefano by performing a performance he describes as the "Trapeze Americano", proving that it is real, and all the animals then defeat the insane DuBois, and escape.

Heartened by this valiant demonstration of their new friends' love, Alex and his friends decide to join the circus permanently to start their American tours across the country. Meanwhile, DuBois and her men find themselves inside shipping crates on a cargo ship bound for Madagascar, thanks to Skipper.

Voice cast

• Ben Stiller as Alex, a lion, and Gia's love interest.
• Chris Rock as Marty, a zebra and Alex's best friend.
• David Schwimmer as Melman, a giraffe, another of Alex's friends and Gloria's love interest.
• Jada Pinkett Smith as Gloria, a hippo, another of Alex's friends and Melman's love interest.
• Sacha Baron Cohen as King Julien XIII
• Cedric the Entertainer as Maurice
• Andy Richter as Mort
• Tom McGrath as Skipper and First Policeman.
• Jessica Chastain as Gia, a jaguar, and Alex's love interest.
• Bryan Cranston as Vitaly the Russian tiger.
• Martin Short as Stefano the Italian sea lion.
• Chris Miller as Kowalski
• John DiMaggio as Rico
• Christopher Knights as Private
• Frances McDormand as Captain Chantel DuBois, the leader of the Animal Control.
• Frank Welker as Sonya the bear
• Paz Vega as the Andalusian Triplets (Esmeralda, Esperanza and Ernestina)
• Conrad Vernon as Mason and Second Policeman
• Vinnie Jones as Freddie the dog
• Steve Jones as Jonesy the dog
• Nick Fletcher as Frankie the dog
• Eric Darnell as Comandante, Zoo Official and Zoo Announcer
• Danny Jacobs as Croupier and Circus Master
• Daniel O'Connor as Casino Security and Mayor of New York City

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." 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."

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.

Release

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2012. The American release followed on June 8, 2012. The film was also converted to the IMAX format and shown in specific European territories, including Russia, Ukraine, and Poland. The latest national premiers were in the UK and Ireland. The date on which the movie premiered in these countries was 19 October 2012.

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.

Reception

Critical reception

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted received generally favorable reviews from critics. Based on 129 reviews, the film currently holds a "Certified Fresh" rating of 79% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 6.8/10. 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." This marks the best general review consensus of the film series that has showed improving critical favor with the original film having a score of 55%, and the sequel scoring 64%. On Metacritic, it currently holds a score of 60 out of 100, based on 26 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews."

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." 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. Giving the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, Betsy Sharkey of 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." 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."

Box office

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted earned $216,391,482 in North America, and $525,718,769 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $742,110,251. Its worldwide opening weekend totaled $137.6 million. Worldwide, it is the highest-grossing film in the series, the fourth highest-grossing DreamWorks Animation film, the second highest-grossing 2012 animated film, and the eighth highest-grossing film of 2012. Overall, it is the 9th highest-grossing animated film and the 50th highest-grossing film. The film took 66 and 94 days of release, respectively, to out-gross its two predecessors.

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). For its opening weekend, the film ranked at the #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). It remained at the #1 spot for two consecutive weekends. In North America, it is the highest-grossing film in the series, the sixth highest-grossing DreamWorks Animation film, the second highest-grossing 2012 animated film, and the tenth highest-grossing film of 2012.

Outside North America, on its opening weekend, Madagascar 3 topped the box office with $77.3 million from 28 countries. It was in first place for three consecutive weekends. 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). It set an opening-day record for animated films in Russia, with $3.7 million (since surpassed by Ice Age: Continental Drift) and became the highest-grossing animated film and the third highest-grossing film of all time, earning more than $48 million. It also set an opening weekend record for any film in Argentina with $3.80 million (surpassed by Ice Age: Continental Drift) and it set opening weekend records for animated films in Brazil, Venezuela, Trinidad, and the United Arab Emirates. Additionally, in the foreign box office, having made $525.7 million, it out-grossed Shrek Forever After to become DreamWorks Animation's highest-grossing film overseas.

Accolades

Award	Category	Nominated	Result
Teen Choice Awards	Favorite Voice From An Animated Movie	Chris Rock	rowspan=2
	Best Summer Film " (Comedy or Musical)	Madagascar 3
Kids' Choice Awards Argentina	Best Animated Film
Annie Awards	Animated Effects in an Animated Production	Jihyun Yoon	rowspan="8"
	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	Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media	Madagascar 3
	Best Original Song	"Love Always Comes as a Surprise" - Peter Asher & Dave Stewart
Critics Choice Awards	Best Animated Feature	Madagascar 3
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Feature
2013 Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Animated Movie		rowspan="3"
	Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie	Ben Stiller
		Chris Rock

Soundtrack

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted is the soundtrack of the film scored by Hans Zimmer and was released on June 5, 2012.

Note:

• In some variations of the soundtrack, "Cool Jerk" is featured in replacement of "We No Speak Americano".
• "Sexy and I Know It" by LMFAO was only used in the theatrical trailer, and not included on the soundtrack.
• "Any Way You Want It" by Journey was also used, but is not included on the soundtrack.
• Land of Hope and Glory by Edward Elgar appears in the track, 'Fur Power'.

Video games

A video game based on the film, Madagascar 3: The Video Game, was released on June 5, 2012. The game allows gamers to play as Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria in their attempt to escape Captain Chantel DuBois and return home to New York City. It was released to Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. Published by D3 Publisher, the Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions were developed by Monkey Bar Games, and the 3DS and DS versions by Torus Games.

A mobile video game, Madagascar: Join the Circus!, was released on June 4, 2012, for iPhone and iPad. The game allows players to build a circus and play mini-games.

Comic book

A comic book based on the film and titled Madagascar Digest Prequel: Long Live the King! was released on June 12, 2012, by Ape Entertainment.

Possible sequel and spin-off

In December 2010, DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg stated that there is likely to be a fourth installment to the series. However, in June 2012, DreamWorks Animation's head of worldwide marketing, Anne Globe, said, "It's too early to tell. There hasn't been a lot of discussion about that." Eric Darnell, who co-directed all three films, said of the possibility of the fourth film: "Two things have to happen. One is that the world has to want Madagascar 4, because if they don't want it, it doesn't matter what we do. And the other thing is even if the world wants Madagascar 4, we have to make sure that we have an idea that is incredible, that is great, that is unexpected. If the audience wants it and we have a great idea, we will see "? maybe."

A spin-off feature film, The Penguins of Madagascar, starring the penguins from the franchise, is scheduled to be released on March 27, 2015. It is being directed by Simon J. Smith, and it will not be related to the television series.

Other media

See Madagascar (franchise) for more information Besides the main films, the Madagascar franchise also consists of three short films: The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper, Merry Madagascar, and Madly Madagascar. A television series, The Penguins of Madagascar, has been airing on the Nickelodeon channel since 2009.