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A first look at the creatures of Dreamworks/PDI's cgi MADAGASCAR, coming 2005!

Published at:  Jun 14, 2003 4:37:31 AM CDT

Hey folks, Harry here... I've recently been hearing fairly lame story elements about SHREK 2, apparently Shrek and his wife head to meet her parents which basically live in a "Fairy Tale" version of Hollywood/Beverly Hills... Apparently the schtick is as thick as me.... i.e. NEVERENDING... I loved the original SHREK, but personally would prefer to have that be a special stand alone film, rather than just another dive into the money pit. That's why I'm excited about the Dreamworks projects like MADAGASCAR in 2005 and SHARKSLAYER in 2004.



The Licensing Show up in New York provides us with our first look at both projects, so... Grrrrr... OOOOOOVEY!



MADAGASCAR's goofy concept is about a group of divergent ZOO animals that are freed by a do-gooding Animal Rights Group and released back into the wild. However, things go terribly wrong when their ship capsizes leaving them stranded on the Island of MADAGASCAR off the coast of Africa. I'm sure the neurosis will be fun as it'll most likely be a satire for East Coast elites in the realm of do it yourself reality. It has a terrific cast of voices: Ben Stiller as The Lion, Chris Rock as The Zebra, Madonna as The Hippo and David Schwimmer as The Giraffe. Jason Alexander and Adam Del Rio and Gwen Stefani are also voices.



Here are some sculptures of the lion and the giraffe! Enjoy and give thanks to Pitdoc again!


























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    Readers Talkback

  • Jun 14, 2003 4:44:06 AM CDT

    FIRST!

    by sithlord_999

  • About time that hollywood dared to make a CG movie that had actual style. Antz has been the only film so far to dare have a complete style of its own - unfortunately a disgusting one. Pixar are getting close, but is infuriating to look at their design concepts which have been abandoned and see some wonderfully creative designs replaced by their house style time and time again. How amazing is the Monsters Inc titles? Pixar daren't make a whole movie like that though, not cuddly enough I imagine. Aardman suffer from the same thing.
    Ok, this Madagascar doesn't look like a far cry from a Disney film in its design, but this is a radical step in terms of embracing a style within CG rather than letting the computer dictate.
    Madonna though. Why bother.

    Reply to Talkback

  • ...oh, that's Harry's caricature? Sorry. :-)

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 14, 2003 8:26:01 AM CDT

    Hey, Kennywenny!

    by lujho

    Didn't you ever see Ice Age? That was a CG movie with a remarkably unique CG style, nothing like Pixar's at all.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 14, 2003 8:29:02 AM CDT

    Did you hear they're making TOY STORY 2.... It's going to have W

    by theginger twit

    Don't start the smeer campaign on Shrek 2 just because you think the first one was nicely rounded off. Who are these *people* with the insider information? Is it the director? The Writer? The actors? The animators? Or just people who heard from someone who heard?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 14, 2003 10:03:07 AM CDT

    CGI LION KING?

    by regicidal_maniac

    coz that's what it looks like. I'll still go see it.

    Reply to Talkback

  • awful, awful film. Dreamworks has a knack for churning out horrendous animated features.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 14, 2003 12:01:43 PM CDT

    oh my god, Schwimmer's getting movie roles again?!?

    by beamish13

    all of the castmembers of "Friends" will see their careers crash and burn after the show ends, and Schwimmer's outlook looks the most bleak out o' the lot.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 14, 2003 12:37:22 PM CDT

    Ah, stuff it!

    by devil'sown

    Quit frontin'. Ya know it'll make blasphemous amounts of money an' you'll go see it, just like you've went to every animated feature since mummy dragged yer spotty arse to see The Little Mermaid, ya big puddins!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 14, 2003 2:14:16 PM CDT

    I really like that concept for Madagascar!

    by drath

    That sounds hilarious. Spoiled Zoo animals in the wild. Actually, that's got to have been done before...I just can't think of where. The giraffe's expression is priceless though. I'm with you, Harry, I am not wild about the Shrek sequel, haven't been since I heard the filmmakers wishing they hadn't married Shrek and Fiona at the end of the first one. It just doesn't fill you with confidence knowing that they're going back for the money, not because there was more story to tell. That and I hated all the crude humor in the first one, and I heard we're getting more of it this time. I preferred Dreamworks' Chicken Run. And I still think Road to El Dorado is the most underrated animated movie of the 90's, even more than the Iron Giant, which at least got a cult following. But, accepting that Dreamworks will not be pursuing the more adult flavor of Prince of Egypt and El Dorado, with their animated efforts(and I worry Sinbad will fail and become the last straw), I'm starting to think I might just like Madagascar despite the abundance of CG animated comedies about talking animals on the horizon.

    Reply to Talkback

  • But this looks very promising. Cooler than Sharkslayer anyway. And Ice Age was fantastic. Great film.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 14, 2003 3:57:21 PM CDT

    "FEELIN' HELLA GOOD SO LETS JUST KEEP ON DANCIN".......

    by red raider

    Gwen Stefani?! Ok, she's definitely soft on the eyes, but is she moving into acting? Is this the first step?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 14, 2003 4:58:56 PM CDT

    Shrek sure has lost its appeal with repeated viewings.

    by t-mack 1.01

    But on the other hand, Ice Age gets funnier with repeated viewings. So in the next two years we'll have Shrek 2, Sharkslayer, The Invincibles, Robots, and now Madagascar, not to mention Pixar's Cars. If you ask me, I'm hoping Wallace & Gromit make a comeback onto the bigscreen.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nobody messes with the king, brother!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 14, 2003 9:16:00 PM CDT

    Why I prefer Disney's non-Pixar animated films to Dreamworks' no

    by frankdrebin

    1) Dreamworks uses name actors, as if that's going to bring in the crowds. It might work for Sharkslayer, because it seems like they're going for a Godfather vibe. But Brad Pitt and Catherine Zeta-Jones are just too drab for Sinbad. And Ben Stiller voiced a Simpsons episode once and didn't make an impression. Meanwhile, Disney uses voice actors who are distincive and appropriate to each character (and the fact that they're cheaper to hire is probably a factor)...... 2) Dreamworks hand-drawn animation is bland. Disney makes a real effort to incorporate the culture of the setting of each film into it's style (i.e., the characters in Hercules looked like the figures on Greek pottery; the backgrounds in Mulan looked like watercolored ricepaper; etc.). What do you think the chances are that Sinbad will incorporate Arabic culture?......3) Dreamworks films are never as funny or touching as they should be. I know we don't believe in sentiment at AICN, but sometimes even a big lug like me likes to exercise the ol' emotions.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 14, 2003 11:02:50 PM CDT

    amen, Shon

    by beamish13

    some idiots here actually managed to come up with 2 posts more annoying than "first!"

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 14, 2003 11:14:18 PM CDT

    Madagascar

    by scrat-a-tat-tat

    The designs kind of remind me of the old Golden Books. I hope the animation style is snappy and full of slapstick action, not sappy crap. In Nemo, there was a ton of "Oh no, this character's dead. Just kidding, he's not". It happened with almost every character at least once (twice with Nemo himself).

    Bring back the days of the Acme rocket skates and Goofy learning how to ski!!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 15, 2003 3:31:22 AM CDT

    'Madonna as The Hippo'.

    by cash bailey

    Bwahahahahaha!!!! That's classic.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 15, 2003 3:33:52 AM CDT

    MADAGASCAR and PENGUINS

    by gnoggle

    I am wondering why there hasn't been any mention that this originally was a project for the cast of Seinfeld. Seinfeld passed, however, thinking that a "reunion" project would be too soon for '04. And does anyone know if Dreamwork's PENGIUNS is now dead? I'm hoping it is still a go, even tho Harrison is dead and Yoko is asking for too much $$. And the tie between PENGUINS and MADAGASCAR (penguins attempting to take over the ship) sounded cute. I hope it stays in the script!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 15, 2003 1:23:52 PM CDT

    INterestin...

    by medadevilz

    seems like a fun film....! am guessin tht the giraffe voiced by david scwimmer is gonna b the funniest character in the movie......

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 16, 2003 1:15:35 PM CDT

    Re-Ogre-ize Yourselves

    by evil chicken

    You people must not have kids. "Shrek" is one of the few films that can stand up to, it seems, hundreds of repeated viewings. "Shrek" was a clever, engaging and entertaining film.

    Reply to Talkback

  • If it wasn't for the fucking movie stars, I would have seen this one.

    Reply to Talkback

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