Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Screenplay by
Produced by
Starring
Edited byNick Fletcher
Music byHans Zimmer
Production
companies
Distributed byParamount Pictures[3]
Release dates
  • May 18, 2012 (2012-05-18) (Cannes)
  • June 8, 2012 (2012-06-08) (United States)
Running time
93 minutes[4]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$145 million[5][6]
Box office$746.9 million[7]

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted is a 2012 American animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and PDI/DreamWorks and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The third installment in the Madagascar franchise, it is the sequel to Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008), and was the first film in the series to be released in 3D. It was directed by Eric Darnell, Conrad Vernon and Tom McGrath from a screenplay by Darnell and Noah Baumbach. The film stars Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights, John DiMaggio, and Vernon reprising their voice acting roles from the previous installments, alongside new cast members Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, Martin Short and Frances McDormand. In the film, the main characters—a party of animals from the Central Park Zoo whose adventures have already taken them to Madagascar and Africa—attempt to return to New York City, and find themselves traveling across Europe with a circus while avoid being chased by a villainous French Animal Control officer.

DreamWorks Animation announced the third film in August 2008, three months before the release of the second film. The amount of animation and visual effects were done at DreamWorks Dedicated Unit, an India-based unit at Technicolor. Like other films in the franchise, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted features several songs from various artists, with original music score composed by Hans Zimmer, returning from its predecessors.

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted premiered out of competition at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2012, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 8. It received generally positive reviews and was the eighth highest-grossing film of 2012 and the highest-grossing film in the franchise, with a worldwide gross of over $746 million on a production budget of $145 million.[7] A spin-off, Penguins of Madagascar, was released in November 2014, following the events of Madagascar 3. A sequel, Madagascar 4, was initially planned for a May 2018 theatrical release, but was removed from the release schedule following a restructuring of DreamWorks Animation in January 2015.[8][9]

  1. ^ Wloszczyna, Susan (December 8, 2011). "'Madagascar' gang reunites for caper in Monte Carlo". USA Today. Archived from the original on February 26, 2012. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
  2. ^ White, James (March 15, 2012). "DreamWorks Touts New 'Toon Footage". Empire Online. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  3. ^ a b "search for MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE'S MOST WANTED". Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  4. ^ "Madagascar 3 - Europe's Most Wanted". bbfc.co.uk. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  5. ^ Lieberman, David (May 2, 2012). "UPDATE: DreamWorks Animation Will Have Distribution Plan By Labor Day". Deadline. Archived from the original on May 4, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
  6. ^ "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Archived from the original on December 10, 2018. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference BOM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference BOMNewDates2017-01-27 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference DeadlineCut500 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).