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VFX•CG Films n n n n When an animated fi lm is as stylized and wacky as PDI/DreamWorks' Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, the visual eff ects play two roles. As always, the physical eff ects must be believable, but they must also be graphic and, often, funny. With positive reviews and a built-in fan base, Madagascar 3, the third fi lm in the fran- chise, shot to number one on opening week- end, held that spot the following week, and dropped only slightly to number 2 the third week. By week four, the fi lm had earned more than $400 million worldwide at the box offi ce, putting it on track to become as successful as the fi rst fi lm, perhaps even more successful. "Th e fi rst thing you have to ask yourself land in Africa in the second. Or, that the pen- guins are in Monaco gambling in the casino with the help of two monkeys disguised as the King of Versailles. (You have to see it.) Somehow, though, the Zoosters travel across Africa, and in the next scene, we see Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria, all wearing snorkeling gear, emerge from the Mediterra- nean Sea in Monaco's harbor. Julien (Sacha Baron Cohen), a Madagascar lemur, follows closely behind in an elaborate paddleboat. And, Alex hatches a plan. Th e plan goes stunningly awry when Glo- ria falls through the skylight of the casino and onto a roulette table. Th e Zoosters head toward an exit, but they're trapped until…the moment like this. She mounts her Vespa and takes chase with three of her animal control offi cers speeding behind. "She's this dark force on their tail," says Darnell, who shares a writing credit in addi- tion to that of director. "We hadn't had such a strong villain in our previous fi lms. She was a great engine to push the story." DuBois has the chiseled features of Marlene Dietrich and sings like Edith Piaf. She has a square-ish face, black hair, and bright red lip- stick, and she looks a bit deranged. "One of the challenges in the fi lm was having a human villain who can't speak to the animals," says Rob Koo, head of story. "And yet, we had to keep up the antagonism. So, we treated her as The VFX crew on Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted gives reality a zany twist By Barbara Robertson [when considering a sequel], is whether the story takes the characters further than you have already taken them," says Conrad Ver- non, who directed the fi lm along with Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath. "In the fi rst, we set up the question, 'Is there more to life?' Th e second fi lm really didn't answer the question. In the third fi lm, we could answer it, so we just made it bigger and gave it a broader palette." Th e feature begins in Africa on Alex the lion's birthday. For his birthday, the Zoosters created a replica of New York City, their home, out of mud. It even has a tiny replica of Alex on his rock in the Central Park Zoo. Th e di- orama, though, makes Alex (Ben Stiller) and the other Zoosters—Marty the zebra (Chris Rock), Melman the giraff e (David Schwim- mer), and Gloria the hippopotamus (Jada Pinkett Smith)—homesick. But how can they go home? Th e answer is the penguins' monkey- powered super-plane, of course. Never mind the penguins caused them to roll up on a Madagascar beach in the fi rst fi lm and crash- Images ©2012 DreamWorks Animation LLC. June/July 2012 59 Captain Blanche DuBois and her animal control offi cers emerge from the wildly exaggerated aftermath of a car crash as they chase the Zoosters through the streets of Monaco. penguins show up in an armored Luxury As- sault Recreational Vehicle (LARV) and rescue them. Meanwhile, Capitaine Chantel DuBois (Frances McDormand) catches the animals' scent. DuBois has spent her entire career trap- ping small animals in Monaco, waiting for a an insane person. She didn't have to commu- nicate with them." A team of 70-plus animators in three loca- tions—Redwood City and Glendale in Cali- fornia and Bangalore in India—worked on the fi lm, performing the 25 characters that star in