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.

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.

DreamWorks Sequel Plan

In a press release on December 3rd, DreamWorks CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg laid down DreamWorks' plan for sequels in the near future. DreamWorks, who in the past have never shied away from sequels, in the past making 4 Shreks - with a Puss in Boots spin-off out next year - and 2 Madagascar films, announced, that in the upcoming years, they will release far more.

The following have recently been announced:

• Another 4 Kung Fu Panda films, in addition to next years Kung Fu Panda 2, bringing the total to 6

• 2 more Madagascars, including the already announced Madagascar 3, bringing the total to 4

•  Anywhere between 3 and 8 How to Train Your Dragon films