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Ben Stiller and Chris Rock lend their ragged tones to DreamWorks' animated escapade Madagascar. With its careful blend of "wit, slapstick and self-awareness" this story of New York zoo animals lost in the African wilderness was a sure-fire hit. Although some critics found it too formulaic, it bagged an impressive $193m in ticket sales. On the other hand, that's almost £250m less than Shrek 2...
It's A Jungle Out There!
According to director Tom McGrath, it all began with a simple question: "What would happen if you took the cast of Seinfeld and dropped them in the jungle?" Behind The Crates looks beyond this premise to explain what the filmmakers wanted to achieve visually. Basically they wanted to get away from the naturalistic effect that most CG films aspire to in favour of a Tex Avery-style cartoon chaos. The most challenging aspect of this was "squash and stretching" characters for slapstick action scenes. A process of trial and error is revealed in the blooper reel Mad Mishaps, although small children may find the sight of eyeballs moving independently of their host bodies slightly terrifying.
Naturally the lead actors were a key inspiration for the animators. In Meet The Wild Cast, producer Mireille Soria makes special mention of Ben Stiller who's made an art out of getting really, really upset - perfect for Alex the lion. We also get to see the star throwing himself around the sound booth as he records his dialogue before explaining the character's motivations in snippets of interview footage. Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith contribute as well, but Sacha Baron Cohen (best known as Ali G) is a disappointing no-show.
Mad In Madagascar
The Tech Of Madagascar picks up on issues raised in the main behind-the-scenes featurette, eg the much-hyped "squash and stretch" method. DreamWorks honcho Jeffrey Katzenberg talks up his "200 mad scientists" who made it happen and we're afforded a brief inside look at the fascinating world of, um, sitting at a computer and dragging a mouse... There's more technical trivia and notes on story development in a commentary by directors Tom McGrath and Eric Darnell.
In case you feel a teensy bit guilty about using this DVD as a babysitter, Enchanted Island is an educational trip through the real-life Madagascar. Of course the kids will probably be more interested in five set-top games. The best of the bunch are Fossa Whack - where you get to chuck coconuts at helpless furry animals - and Madagascar Symphony, which tests your memory with music.
As well as Coen's bizarre rendition of I Like To Move It, Move It, galleries of concept art fill out the bonus menu. Altogether these extras provide a superficial look at production, especially when compared to previous releases by DreamWorks Animation. Even so, kids will surely enjoy this DVD and it's probably cheaper than a trip to the zoo.
EXTRA FEATURES
