Madagascar

Madagascar (2005)

Timing: 1:26 (86 min)

6.921/10
11634

7.996/10
541206

6.9/10
477000

All about film

Video 12

Photo 102

Actors and characters

Release date

2005-05-25

Country

United States, Sweden

Production

DreamWorks Animation, DreamWorks Pictures, Pacific Data Images

Genre

Family, Animation, Adventure, Comedy

Budget

$75 000 000

Revenue

$542 064 525

Website

https://www.dreamworks.com/movies/madagascar

Director

Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath

Actors

Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Tom McGrath, Christopher Knights, Chris Miller
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Mark Burton, Eric Darnell

Producer

Mireille Soria, Jeffrey Katzenberg

Operator

Composer

Hans Zimmer

Artist

Audition

Leslee Feldman

Editing

Mark A. Hester, H. Lee Peterson, Clare Knight
All team (255)

• The penguins, who became so beloved by many viewers, ended up in the project quite by accident. The fact is that the film's second director, Eric Darnell, came up with them much earlier – when creating the animated film "Rockumentary," which never saw the light of day, about the fate of a rock band made up of penguins. When he joined work on "Madagascar," Eric pushed his idea into the film's storyline. Thus, the penguins were retrained from rock musicians into eager commandos.
• Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, and Gwen Stefani all vied for the role of Gloria. Ultimately, the role went to Jada Pinkett Smith.
• There was a change of composer during the project selection process: Hans Zimmer joined the project instead of Harry Gregson-Williams. Interestingly, during work on "Kingdom of Heaven" (2005), the replacement was reversed: Harry became the composer instead of Hans.
• One of the working titles of the animated film was "Wild Life."
• The initial script described the fate of humanists freeing animals from cages.
• Director Tom McGrath voiced one of the penguins nicknamed "Skipper". When creating this character, Tom based his voice on that of his old friend, composer Sean Patterson.
• During a scene taking place in Times Square, in which the zebra Marty addresses a question to a police horse, the logo of Hewlett-Packard briefly appears on screen. HP is the official supplier of computer equipment for the animation division of DreamWorks studio.
• In the episode where Alex builds the Statue of Liberty in Madagascar, it features a Wilson volleyball, exactly like the one in the film "Cast Away" (2000).
• In Madagascar itself, the cartoon was long banned due to the resemblance of "self-proclaimed King of the Lemurs" Julian to a number of state officials who came to power on the island as a result of coups.
• The scene depicting Alex's dreams of meat is a reference to the film "American Beauty" (1999), in which the main character dreams of floating rose petals.
• The episode with the destruction of the Statue of Liberty in Madagascar is a reference to the film "Planet of the Apes" (2001). The statue is also half-buried in the ground.
• A Lockheed Electra airplane serves as a dwelling for the lemurs. It was on an aircraft of this model that Amelia Earhart attempted a round-the-world flight and disappeared in the central Pacific Ocean.
• In the original version, when Alex and Marty run towards each other for a joyful embrace in Madagascar, but then Alex becomes angry, remembering that they all ended up on the island because of Marty, Marty says “Oh, Sugar Honey Ice Tea” while running away, seemingly innocuous, but it actually contains a hidden obscenity. If you combine the first letters starting with the word “Sugar”, you get the word “Shit”. In the Russian version, Marty says “ЁКЛМН” here.
• When Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman are sitting in the crates they are being transported in, light enters the crates through the top openings. The error is that light also enters Gloria's crate through the top openings, which is impossible since the crates of Alex and Marty are above hers.
• Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, and Gwen Stefani all auditioned to voice Gloria.
• The penguins, who became so beloved by many viewers, ended up in the project quite by chance. The fact is that the film's second director, Eric Darnell, came up with them much earlier – while creating the never-released cartoon “Rockumentary,” which told the story of a rock band made up of penguins. When he joined work on “Madagascar,” Eric pushed his idea into the film's plot. Thus, the penguins retrained from rock musicians to eager commandos.
• During the selection of the project's composer, a change occurred: Hans Zimmer replaced Harry Gregson-Williams. Interestingly, during work on the film “Kingdom of Heaven” (2005), the reverse substitution took place: Harry became the composer instead of Hans.
• One of the working titles of the cartoon was “Wild Life.”
• Director Tom McGrath voiced one of the penguins nicknamed “Skipper.” When creating this image, Tom based it on the voice of his old friend, composer Sean Patterson.
• In the episode where Alex builds the Statue of Liberty in Madagascar, a Wilson volleyball is on it, exactly like the one in the film “Cast Away” (2000).
• The scene depicting Alex's dreams of meat is a reference to the film "American Beauty" (1999), in which the protagonist dreams of floating rose petals.
• The episode with the destruction of the Statue of Liberty in Madagascar is a reference to the film "Planet of the Apes" (2001). The statue also protrudes halfway out of the ground.