I think the world may be coming close to an end, the worst animated film I have seen in recent memory is getting a sequel. Madagascar, DreamWorks’ mega summer animated hit, which has now passed the $500-million mark at the worldwide box office, making it the company¹s most successful original movie ever, is getting a sequel.
The news was announced today by DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg. Katzenberg also announced that Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and Jada Pinkett Smith, who starred in the original Madagascar as Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra and Gloria the Hippo, respectively, will be reprising their roles. He said he was looking forward to other original cast members returning to their roles for the sequel.
The sequel will once again be produced by Mireille Soria and co-directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath.
Speaking at the annual Merrill Lynch Media & Entertainment Conference in Pasadena, Katzenberg said, “As a result of its tremendous box office success, the potential to tell a new chapter in its story and the popularity of the film¹s characters, we are excited to announce that we are making Madagascar our second company franchise  along with Shrek. We will release a theatrical sequel in 2008.”
So there it is, Madagascar 2 will hit in 2008 and the world will end in 42 days just so we won’t have to watch it, but there is good news. DreamWorks Animation will be giving the scene-stealing Madagascar Penguins the chance to take top billing in a direct-to-video release due out in 2009.
Funny thing is, the penguins were supposed to be the feature presentation in what became Madagascar, and now the best thing about the actual film are getting sent directly to video.
The company has also produced its first mini-movie: a ten-minute film featuring the Penguins, which will play in theatres this fall alongside the studio’s main theatrical release: Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which opens October 7th in theaters nationwide.
Madagascar opened on May 27 and generated a domestic box office of approximately $192 million. It continues to perform extremely well internationally, and currently ranks as one of the top five computer-animated movies of all time.
