So It Has Begun: First Round of For Your Consideration Ads

Yes, it is that time of year again. It has its detractors, but I happen to think Awards season is pretty exciting! So, in a bid to get their films nominates for as many awards (well, mainly Oscars) as possible, studios have begun rolling out For Your Consideration ads - and we've got some cool animation ones so far.

Review Report: Brave and Madagascar 3

Rotten Tomatoes is often the authority on whether a film is good or bad, sure it's not always exactly right, but it gives a good indication as to the general consensus about a film. That said, after a startlingly weak Rotten Tomatoes performance last year (whether deserved or not) with Cars 2, Pixar are back up into a Fresh rating again so far this year, with Brave currently holding a 68% rating. Admittedly though, that's nowhere near the norm for Pixar, the Toy Story studio usually have a rating of over 90%. Although there are few reviews now (even less from reputable, well known reviewers) and we can only hope and trust that the rating will rise when we arrive at the film's opening day on Friday.

Surprisingly, beating it so far is DreamWorks' Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. Madagascar 3, which is raking in cash at the box office at the moment, currently having amassed an impressive $280,386,851 worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo, currently sits at a very respectable 75% Fresh rating. Rotten Tomatoes' 'Top Critics' seem to just about agree, as the site aggregates 71% from 'Top Critics' for Mad 3. The 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."

It's a testament to how much DreamWorks have improved over the last few years (after outputting the phenomenal How to Train Your Dragon and Kung Fu Panda 2) that they: a) have produced a film whose Rotten Tomatoes score is significantly higher than the its predecessor, which, itself, was significantly higher than the original, and b) are currently beating Pixar's offering this year.

I guess only time and Brave's 22nd June opening date (US) will tell how this plays out in the coming weeks.

Madagascar 3 Now In US Cinemas - New Clips and Featurettes

DreamWorks' latest instalment in the Madagascar series, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, is now out in the US, and things seem pretty promising so far. The first two films weren't particularly well received by critics (although the second was a definite improvement), but were commercial hits, garnering $532 million and $602 million respectively. This third entry looks promising so far, early projections expect Europe's Most Wanted to make in excess of $50 million this weekend, with many spectators saying it could beat Ridley Scott's Alien prequel, Prometheus, to take the weekend box-office crown. The critical report so far is also quite positive, with the film currently holding a 76% Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score, with the consensus reading:

"Dazzlingly colorful and frenetic, Madagascar 3 is silly enough for young kids, but boasts enough surprising smarts to engage parents along the way."

TIME's Richard Corliss praises the film, saying "In circus terms, it’s like a guy who’s shot out of a cannon and lands on a high wire in a perfect pirouette." in his review, and calling it a "Cirque de Berserk".

Also, seemingly as one last push to try and convince you to part with your cash, DreamWorks have uploaded several new clips and featurettes from the film onto their official YouTube account. Check them out after the jump break:

Madagascar 3 - In Theatres Friday

With their latest film, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, released on Friday (in the US that is, as per, UK fans will have to wait - until 19th October to be precise) DreamWorks are layering on the promotion and rolling out the clips and promos inexorably.

Today they released four new videos hyping the film's release and touting some of the early buzz - although "movie event of the summer" may be a little hyperbolic, and playing Journey over the top of this promo is a little cheesy - and the above clip is pretty funny.

The report of early positive reviews does seem to be justified though, as Madagascar 3 currently holds 80% on Rotten Tomatoes; it certainly looks set to be the best Madagascar yet.

To watch the rest of the "In Theatres Friday" clips, head on over to the official DreamWorks Animation YouTube channel, and be sure to share your thoughts about the film with us, on Twitter (@A113Animation) or via contact@a113animation.com, when you've seen the film!

New Madagascar 3 Clips

DreamWorks have been layering on the promotion for the release of their latest feature film, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, over the past few weeks, and today I stumbled upon 3 new videos that were released three or so weeks ago.

Firstly, above you'll see one of two new clips from the film, titled "Human Cannonball", or more accurately: Sealion Cannonball, featuring Stefano the Sealion, a new addition to the Madagascar crew, and Marty. The clip (above) is pretty funny, and showcases the luscious, bright animation of the film - that is mixed with the very stylised look of the franchise. We also have another new clip, titled "I'm The Leader" (below), featuring a bit of a conflict between best-friends Alex and Marty - that storyline's starting to feel a bit overused now. The clip then segues into the shot of the zoosters sprawled over a poker table in a Monte Carlo casino that we've seen in previous trailers.

And finally we've got a mini-featurette (below) which gives us some words from the voice cast of the main 4 characters, on this latest instalment in the Madagascar franchise.



Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted is released on 8th June 2012 in the US and 19th October here in the UK.

The Art of Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted Review - A Wild, Exciting and Fun Art Book

The kind folks at Insight Editions were generous enough to send me a free review copy of their latest book The Art of Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, which is available now. Since last year when I reviewed another DreamWorks 'Art of' book, The Art of Kung Fu Panda 2, I have purchased several more and varying 'Art of' books and acquired a greater understanding and respect for the process undergone in the production of an animated film and a keener eye for reviewing such books. That said, The Art of Madagascar 3 is fantastic.

Now, I've never been that great a fan of the Madagascar films; the first one was decent and pretty fun, the second was a marked improvement - funnier and more emotionally considerate - and this latest instalment is getting pretty good reviews so far. Moreover, I wasn't that keen on its artistic style either, it always looked a bit shoddy and rough to me. However, this book has done three things for me: once again, as with The Art of Kung Fu Panda 2, impressed me with the depth of production that goes into films at DreamWorks; given me a newfound admiration for, what I now recognise as, a very stylised artistic look, and got me more excited for Madagascar 3.

Madagascar 3 Interactive Promo and First Reviews

You can say what you like about DreamWorks, but they sure as hell know how to promote a movie. The above video will start for you an extended interactive look at DreamWorks' latest feature film, Madagascar 3.

The third film in the Madagascar franchise, subtitled Europe's Most Wanted, has been advertised pretty heavily as of late, and the above video comes via DreamWorks' official Facebook page. The video shows Skipper and his crack team of penguins inviting you to join in on the interactive experience, titled 'Furry vs. The Fuzz'. Once you've clicked on the link, you'll be taken to an interactive clip from Madagascar 3, which allows you to click and make choices to direct the popular animal group through the early stages of the film.

It's a brilliant idea for an advertising strategy which is very fun to play through and got me much more excited about the film than I was recently. However, be wary, it does contain a lot of footage that can easily be considered spoiler worthy.

It also features the newly released, and guiltily hilarious, 'Afro Circus' clip. The first reviews are also surfacing from the film's 18th May Cannes Film Festival premiere, and they seem rather promising, with (from an admittedly small number of reviews) a Rotten Tomatoes score of 80%. Consensus seems somewhat devided though, with Variety's Justin Chang saying "This is the rare animated property that has consistently improved on its ho-hum origins,", whereas THR's Todd McCarthy takes a markedly different stance, saying that "it’s dominated by the characters shouting over one another, repetitively reacting with alarm to anything that happens and overcompensating for largely unfunny material by overacting by about 300 percent.". Wait until more reviews surface I guess.

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted is released in the US on 8th June, and here in the UK on 19th October.

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.

Madagascar 3 Trailer

DreamWorks have revealed the first trailer for the third instalment in the Madagscar franchise, Europe's Most Wanted, via Yahoo! Movies.

The previous two entries into the franchise weren't brilliant, although 2, for me, marked a definitive improvement on the very clunky first one, and, from this trailer, Madagascar 3 looks very witty and fun. Obviously, it doesn't look entirely heartfelt or deep like The Lorax trailer Yahoo! also brought us earlier in the week, but DreamWorks have been amazing the last couple of years, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

From the look of the trailer as well, it doesn't look entirely like the first two films, it looks rather like Blue Sky Studios' Rio to me. Also, it seems to have a slightly higher focus on the penguins, presumably to help segway into their upcoming spin-off feature film.

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted hits cinemas on June 8 next year.