Cast * Story * Interesting Facts

Directed by: Eric Darnell (director of Antz)
Written by: Billy Frolick, Mark Burton and Peter Mehlman

Production Start Date: 2002
Released on: May 27, 2005
 
 

CAST
 

Alex the lion... Ben Stiller
Gloria the hippo... Jada Pinkett Smith (Madonna then Jennifer Lopez turned down the role; Gwen Stefani auditioned but lost the part)
Marty the zebra... Chris Rock
Melman the giraffe... David Schwimmer (who replaces Jason Alexander)
Adam del Rio (rumored)
 
 

STORY

Official

This computer-animated comedy stars four civilized Central Park Zoo animals who have spent their entire lives in blissful captivity. But when they are unexpectedly shipped to Africa and get shipwrecked on the exotic island of Madagascar, these native New Yorkers must try to survive and come to terms with what it truly means to be 'wild'.
 

Additional Tidbits

Jeffrey Katzenberg revealed to USA Today on June 9, 2001 that "it's about a lion, a zebra, a giraffe and a hippo who are born and raised and have spent their entire lives as New Yorkers in the Central Park Zoo. They have been best friends their entire lives."

An unexpected thing sets the story in motion. "A bunch of do-gooders decide animals don't belong in the zoo," he says. "They belong in the wild." En route to the jungle, however, the menagerie is washed overboard.

"They end up on the island of Madagascar (off the coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean), where this perfect life of New York civility is turned upside down and inside out, and they suddenly come face to face with savagery," Katzenberg says, quickly adding: "It's a comedy."
 

INTERESTING FACTS

  Madagascar was first heard of in March 2001, when Ricky Martin revealed in several interviews that he was about to lend his voice to a Dreamworks animated project that would co-star Madonna and Mel Gibson.  In May, a Dreamworks insider confirmed the existence of this project and Madonna's attachment, to provide its main character's voice.

  Jeffrey Katzenberg mentioned at a party held by Dreamworks at Siggraph in 2001 that Chris Rock's zebra character will reportedly have comical issues about whether he's black with white stripes, or vice versa.

  This project first received the code name Wild Life, not to be confused with Disney's cancelled project.  It was renamed Madagascar by the time it was officially greenlit and announced by Jeffrey Katzenbery, on June 9, 2001.

  The "final" cast was confirmed on August 9, 2001: though neither Ricky Martin nor Mel Gibson apparently signed on to the project, Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, and Jason Alexander joined Madonna on this project.  All four would be lending their voices to this PDI/DreamWorks Pictures' animated feature. By then, Madonna had reportedly already recorded part of the voice for her part as a New York Hippo--and inded, a source close to production confirmed two years later that Madonna had actually recorded lines for the role, before deciding to leave the project.

  Rumours have been flying that with Tusker allegedly being abandoned (which is inaccurate) and the Bromeliad trilogy in the script development stage, Madagascar would be Dreamworks's next project with PDI -that is highly unlikely.

  An October 2001 report indicates that Madonna will be performing the theme song, which will run during the end credits. There should be no other songs. PDI denied the rumour in February 2002: "We don't yet know about music--it may be a year or so before songs are written or chosen for the soundtrack."

  Nevertheless, a source for Dreamworks/PDI confirmed in late November 2001 that Madonna "is under consideration for the voice of Gloria (a hippo) in Madagascar but casting has not yet been confirmed." Jennifer Lopez was also in talks to join the project.

  PDI confirmed to Animated Movies in February 2002 that "the stories for both Shrek 2 and Madagascar are ready for production (we're doing both movies right now). You'll see Shrek 2 in theatres around Memorial Day 2004 and Madagascar about six months later. " In what is very surprising news -and hopefully not a hoax to spread fake online rumours-, the studio added that "Gwen Stefani, [the lead singer of the group No Doubt] has been cast as Gloria. Test recordings were done with several artists, including Madonna and Jennifer Lopez, before the decision was made to cast Gwen."  But the singer revealed to a Dutch radio in May 2002 that she was very disappointed that she did not get the role of Gloria the Hippo in the end. "The hippo looked really cool. She looked feisty and not to be messed with."

  The movie was reportedly pushed back in April 2002 from late 2004 to make room for The Great Vegetable Plot, to either late 2003 or more likely 2005.

  A PDI spokesperson confirmed in June 2002 that "the voice of Gloria is no longer Gwen Stefani--haven't heard anyhing about [who will replace her]--," and that there is "no musical numbers that we know of at this point. We won't be starting the computer part of the movie until later this year, as we are currently busy with Shrek 2." As of November 2002, PDI's official word was still that "Madonna, Jennifer Lopez and Gwen Stefani have all been considered, but a final female lead for the voice of Gloria the hippo has not yet been made."

  PDI/DreamWorks revealed at the Annecy Festival that Madagascar "was not going to look like the 3D movies that we know like Shrek and Monsters, Inc. It will have a much more cartoony design."

  Art from Madagascar premiered on the official DreamWorks site in May 2003.

  A source close to DreamWorks reported in June 2003 that the film is very stylized, with "beautiful character and background design." The animation tests on Alex the lion are reportedly "spectacular."

  Yahoo! Movies got a sneak peak at DreamWorks' upcoming projects in July 2003, and commented that the background art for Madagascar "is loosely based upon the way French Impressionist painter Henri Rousseau imagined jungles, with bright colors and thick sepia-black outlines. DreamWorks is really trying something different with this movie, which is striving, in a way to depart from the goal of realism through CGI in deference for something more imaginative and playful. The character designs match the same basic art style." Based on concept art only, and in comparison to DreamWorks' other three projects currently in development, "this is definitely the movie most obviously targeted at the kids/family audience first and utmost. Of the four, this movie's story was the most like a traditional Disney story. What is ultimately really going to matter here is whether people are entranced by the extravagant, Rousseau-influenced art, all done in beautiful computer animation enough to make it a hit. Whereas other upcoming DreamWorks CGI movies are focusing on visual details, this movie appears happier to soften the details and bend things to fit into an overall painterly diorama. Something like this has never been done before on a large scale, so this feels like an all-or-nothing proposition. So, will DreamWorks' big experiment pay off? People will either let themselves get wrapped up in this luscious version of nature, or they'll be turned off by how 'unrealistic' it looks. My hunch is that more people will feel the former, but the latter will be a nagging problem."

  Animation Magazine specifies that "the story has a set of pampered New York City zoo animals shipwrecked on a wild island off the coast of Africa. Ben Stiller provides the voice of a lion who learns that he is a predator and that the juicy steaks he's accustomed to come from animals like his pals. Chris Rock plays his best friend, a zebra who doesn't know if he's black with white stripes or white with black stripes. The movie's success will depend greatly on the chemistry between the two leads."