New Madagascar 3 Characters Unveiled

It's a new year, and with it, the major film and animation outlets set their sites on promoting their 2012 releases. As such, we are progressively getting more and more details on DreamWorks' first release of the year, Madagscar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.

A few weeks ago we saw the trailer for the third instalment in the Madagscar franchise, and now, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly, we get to meet 3 new characters. Joining the all-star voiced animal cast for the threequel are: Vitaly the Siberian tiger (Bryan Cranston), Gia the jaguar (Jessica Chastain), and Stefano the sea lion (Martin Short).

EW also catches a few words on the interesting new characters from the film's directors:

“The characters are like the three components of the circus’ attitude,” explains Eric Darnell (Madagascar), who directed the movie with Conrad Vernon (Monsters vs. Aliens). “Vitaly is this very conservative tough guy who doesn’t like any change or any outsiders coming into his world. Stefano is this hilarious comic character — he’s always bubbling with excitement and enthusiasm and is up for anything. And Gia is a little more thoughtful, and she’s beautiful. Alex can’t help but be swayed by her.” Adds Vernon: “Gia acts as a moral compass for the circus. She protects [her friends] but also opens them up to new experiences.”

For the full article - including an interesting snippet about the casting of the characters - head on over to EW.com.