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Making Of...(Page 2) |
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ANIMAL INSTINCTS  Anyone who has seen "Wild Kingdom" or tuned into Animal Planet knows that lions and zebras don't run in the same circles...unless one of them is running for his life. But in "Madagascar," predator and prey have become an unlikely band of friends and neighbors.
"Everybody knows that lions eat zebras; it's just that classic yin and yang," Darnell states. "But in the Central Park Zoo, these two animals can become best friends in conflict with their natural behavior." McGrath offers, "The heart of the story is the relationship between Alex and Marty, who have no idea what their true natures are because they grew up in a civilized environment. Once they are taken from that environment and put back in the wild, their natural instincts start to emerge. That's when their friendship is put to the test." The king of the urban jungle, Alex the Lion may not know that he is on top of the food chain, but he takes great pride in being the zoo's "mane" attraction. "Alex loves being the star of the show," Darnell affirms. "He loves getting out on his 'stage' and hearing the cheers of the crowds. He can't imagine wanting to be anywhere else. As far as Alex is concerned, New York is the top of the heap." Ben Stiller, who is the voice of Alex, can relate to his fellow native New Yorker. "Growing up in New York, I know there is a certain sense of pride that New Yorkers have. Alex is very happy in his world at the Central Park Zoo. He lives a very pampered life and he loves the adulation of the crowd. As Alex would say, 'There's fans, there's food, there's pampering...what more could you want?' He gets his steaks served up to him, but he thinks steak is just steak; it just exists--cut, prepared and seasoned just right. He never in a million years would think that his friends could be the food he eats. But once he gets out in the real world, his instincts start to take over, which is scary because it happens to be his best friend that he's suddenly dreaming about eating."  "Ben Stiller is a great Alex," Darnell says. "Alex is this guy who feels confident as long as he's got all his ducks in a row, but when things start to fall apart, Alex does, too. Ben has this ability to sound all up in arms about things, but if you look at him, you know he's more upset at himself than the other guy. His brow gets all knitted up, and the way he performs it is very endearing because he makes you aware of Alex's vulnerabilities. It was great for Ben to be able to bring that to the character, and it gave a lot of inspiration to the animators."
Stiller relates, "Alex is set in his ways. He's afraid to take a chance and go outside his comfort zone. His best friend Marty is more adventurous and wants to go out and see the world, which drives Alex crazy because Marty is upsetting the status quo--he 'bit the hand.' Even though Alex and Marty are friends, they can still get upset with each other as all friends do. They go through a little bit of adversity, but you find out who your true friends are when you face tough situations in life." Co-producer Teresa Cheng remarks, "Marty and Alex are the closest of friends, although they are almost exact opposites. Alex is comfortable with his life at the zoo and doesn't like change, while Marty is always looking for something fresh and exciting in his life." "Alex and Marty have lived next door to each other their entire lives, and they are very supportive of each other," McGrath states. "But Marty just turned 10 years old. He realizes his life is half over, and he starts to wonder what else is out there in the world. I suppose it's kind of a midlife crisis for Marty."  Chris Rock gives voice to Marty the Zebra, whose adventurous streak is about to give his friends and himself a real walk on the wild side. "Marty is bored with the routine of zoo life, so he wants to get out and experience the wild, even though he doesn't really know what that means," Rock admits. "When they get to Madagascar, they all experience a culture shock. They encounter a lot of obstacles they couldn't have anticipated...like finding out that that hunting thing is not for them. But you never know who your friends are until things go wrong. It's easy to be friends when things are going great, but when it all falls down, that's when you're gonna see who's really there for you."
Rock notes that his off-screen friendship with Stiller added to Alex and Marty's onscreen relationship. "It helped that Ben and I are already friends. There's a kind of rhythm to the way friends talk, so even though we weren't in the room together, the animators did really well picking it up. They made it work." Mireille Soria observes, "Chris Rock is just hysterical in everything he says and does. He brought this amazing energy and enthusiasm to Marty, and he's so naturally funny, which also contributed to the script. There are little things he came up with, like 'crack-a-lacking,' that are pure Chris." "Marty is a character who just loves life," Darnell adds. "He is exuberant, smart, funny and interested in the world around him. Chris Rock was just perfect for that. Chris is known for his very edgy, biting comedy, but it's never mean-spirited. There's always a wry grin on his face and that is exactly what we wanted and needed for Marty." While Marty is curious about what the outside world has to offer, his friend Melman the Giraffe prefers the controlled environment of the zoo, where he has access to all the wonders of modern medicine. McGrath confirms, "Melman is a complete hypochondriac; he loves that he has doctors' appointments booked throughout the week. He's grown accustomed to what civilization has to offer, which in his case is medicine, and he has no idea how he is going to survive without even nasal spray."  David Schwimmer provides the voice of Melman, who may have to get used to a more holistic approach to his medical problems in the wilds of Madagascar. "Melman has many fears and phobias, but at least in the zoo, he has his routine and regular visits from different doctors," Schwimmer comments. "Melman needs his routine for stability and security, so when he's cast into the wild--or even leaves the premises--he's completely thrown and terrified. His journey is one of coming to terms with the fact that he can survive...with a little help from his friends."McGrath says the filmmakers knew Schwimmer was the perfect choice for the role of Melman right from the start. "Some actors' voices just lend themselves to an animated character, and David's was one of those. You can just hear his voice and know he'd be a perfect Melman. We wanted Melman to be comic relief as well as really lovable, and David has the kind of charm and sincerity that comes through in every line he says. He's also a very conscientious actor and really got into his character." "I am a huge fan of animated films, so I was completely thrilled when they called me," Schwimmer asserts. "When I heard they wanted me to play a giraffe, I was even more excited. I've always loved giraffes. There's something so comical about them because of their height, and they look so gentle and sweet...maybe it's the eyelashes. Of the four animals in the group, the giraffe was the most appropriate for me to play. He's the tallest and coolest of all the animals in the movie. Okay, not really...but he is the tallest." The title of the hippest animal in the group would naturally go to Gloria the Hippo. "Gloria is the foundation of this foursome and is the most level-headed," McGrath states. "When the others are acting like adolescents, she is the glue that holds them together."  Jada Pinkett Smith, who plays the role of Gloria, remarks, "I really like Gloria. She is the only female in this group, so she's very maternal and also has a take-charge attitude. She feels it's her responsibility to look after the guys and make sure they don't hurt themselves...and playing a character in charge of all the boys is not very far from what I do in life anyway. Gloria does throw her weight around quite a bit," Pinkett Smith teases, "but she is very loyal to her friends, which I found very endearing. I think it makes her beautiful inside and out."
At first glance, the petite Pinkett Smith might not seem the most obvious choice to play a hippopotamus, but Darnell reveals it was all in the delivery. "Gloria is a big hippo who is strong and tough, so you might think we would need to get somebody big and strong for the role, but Jada is one of the strongest, toughest women I've ever met. She will not be pushed around and knows what she wants in life, and that's exactly who Gloria is. Gloria may be big--you might even say she's fat--but hippos are naturally big and fat, so she's not self-conscious about her size. She is big and beautiful and Jada is small and beautiful, and it all worked perfectly for this film." "I thought Gloria was absolutely adorable, although it is funny hearing my voice coming out of this full-figured hippo," Pinkett Smith acknowledges. "The filmmakers told me they like my attitude and the way I carry myself and to bring that aspect of my personality to Gloria, and I said, 'Be careful what you ask for,'" she laughs. "But I think that's an interesting part of doing animation: Usually, we're asked to strip ourselves of our own personalities when we take on certain roles, so it takes a minute to get comfortable with being yourself and to play the character that way."  The "zoosters" may all be different shapes and sizes, but when they arrive on the island of Madagascar they discover animals unlike anything they have ever seen at the Central Park Zoo. The first animals they encounter are a tribe of lemurs, led by the self-proclaimed King Julien the 13th, a ring-tailed lemur who is a true party animal.King Julien is voiced by Sacha Baron Cohen of "Da Ali G Show" fame, and McGrath says that Baron Cohen's remarkable talent for doing accents was the key to finding the character. "He plays a lot of characters with different accents, so we brought him in and he developed this voice that was part Indian, part French, and I don't know what else. King Julien was such a fun character and Sacha was incredible to work with. We'd get him into a recording session where he'd have one line, and he would turn it into eight minutes of comedy. He gave us so much material that was just hilarious." Mireille Soria adds, "Sacha is amazing at creating characters and when he goes into a character, he actually becomes him. When he did King Julien, we were all on the floor laughing hysterically because he would go on and on as the character." King Julien's right-hand man is Maurice, who is another type of lemur known as an "aye aye," which fit right in with his job. Cedric The Entertainer provided the voice of Maurice, and Eric Darnell notes it was another example of casting against type that worked for the role. "Cedric has this great, booming, powerful voice and the contrast of the spindly King Julien, who is a complete goofball, and Maurice--the shorter, stouter, obviously more intelligent second-in-command--is really funny. Everybody knows that Maurice should really be in charge here, but Julien happens to be the king and Maurice accepts that and is happy to support him." Cedric agrees. "Maurice respects his job and wants everyone to understand how important it is to be the number two man. Maurice has to look out for King Julien and protect him from himself, and it's a good thing Maurice is around, because the king would find himself in some crazy predicaments without him." The littlest and decidedly cutest of the lemurs is Mort, an aptly named mouse lemur, who uses his appeal to his advantage. Mort is played by Andy Richter, who says, "Mort is a pretty happy-go-lucky little lemur as long as he gets his way because, as most impossibly cute things are, he is pretty manipulative. I think it's something to do with the roundness of the head, the tinyness of the nose, the giant eyes and also the voice. Mort has the cutest voice in Hollywood right now." Darnell attests, "I don't know how he did it, but Andy managed to pull off this great little kid voice that didn't seem forced, and it was just hilarious. Because of what Andy brought to the part of Mort, we ended up expanding the role and gave the character more screen time. We wanted Mort to be the cutest darn lemur you've ever seen in your life, and when he does that thing with his eyes and the audience goes 'awww,' we know we've been successful." Furry little lemurs notwithstanding, the animals who best understand how to manipulate being "cute and cuddly" are those four plotting penguins who set the entire story in motion with their planned escape from the zoo. As has become something of a tradition in animated features, several of the filmmakers became so identified with certain characters during scratch recording and pitch meetings that they went on to voice the characters in the film.  Leading that group, director Tom McGrath provided the voice of Skipper, the no-nonsense penguin-in-command who plans to lead his troops to the "wide open spaces of Antarctica." McGrath offers, "I'd done scratch and pitch for so long with this character, we just got used to the voice. Robert Stack was the inspiration for the voice, with a little Charlton Heston mixed in, but really it was just a matter of over-articulating every single thing I said."
Voicing the penguins Kowalski and Private are: Chris Miller, who was the voice of the Magic Mirror in the "Shrek" films and is directing the third "Shrek" movie; and assistant editor Chris Knights, respectively. The fourth member of their avian band, Rico, doesn't speak but carries a mean plastic spoon. "Shrek 2" director Conrad Vernon, who has already been immortalized as the voice of the Gingerbread Man in both "Shrek" movies, can also be heard in "Madagascar" as the voice of Mason, the pseudo-intellectual chimpanzee who can't read but can interpret sign language.
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 Own the Character Posters 
Shrek 2 - Forest 27 in. x 41 in. Buy posters at AllPosters.com Framed Mounted |
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