Madagascar takes a new approach to CG animation
Review on an Unfinished Madagascar
One thing that interests me about the Madagascar animation [besides
the comedic cast] is the animation technique used for the film. Instead
of using soft computer generated animation, DreamWorks uses hard corners
to help create an even larger sense of dimension. While this effect doesn't
look as real in some cases, it looks even more real in others. In other
terms, the character drawings are somewhat sacrificed to better create a
sense of depth and, surprisingly, realism. Ok, that is just my take from
watching the Madagascar trailers, lets see what some one who has actually
seen the film has to say [snippets below]:
Firstly I’d like to say that before the screening we were told that we were some of the first people to see the film and that it was only 70% complete. 15% was only very, very basic animation (no texture or background detail) and the final 15% was storyboard. Obviously the film was a good way off from being finished, and so there is plenty of time to tweak the film before its summer release. I am a huge fan of computer animated films, I thought The Incredibles was the best film of last year and, with one exception, I’ve either loved or liked every one I’ve seen. The one exception was Shark Tale, DreamWorks’s last CGI effort. Nothing in the trailer interested me enough to go to see the movie which looked like it was far too worried with celebrity cast and being “street” to be a decent, enjoyable film. Most critics seemed to say the same and so I was a little worried about Madagascar, as it also has a big name cast.
However, the film was a great surprise. It was genuinely funny and had plenty of characters that an audience can actually care about. The basic, spoiler free story involves 4 African animals who have lived all their lives in the Central Park zoo. Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock) experiences a mid life crisis after his 10th birthday and decides he wants to experience life in the wild. His 3 best friends, including Alex the Lion, the pompous star of the central Park Zoo try to persuade him that New York is the best place to be, but soon he breaks out and heads for the wild, leading to a chain of events that cause the four to be captured, crated and shipped back to Africa. When the boat is taken over by penguins (it actually makes sense in the movie) they are washed overboard and end up on the island of Madagascar.
Read the entire review at AintitCool.
For Madagascar trailer, stills, and synopsis, go to the Madagascar
Movie Page. |
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