I think you might have jumped the gun on this one Josh.
This has been in production at Disney for a really long time. It was originally slated for a summer 2005 release but was delayed. If I had to guess I'd say this was another case of Dreamworks ripping off Disney. This time, however, thanks to simpler animation and Disney's troubled animation department, Dreamworks' project beat them to the punch.
I could be wrong, but it would be interesting to see which movie recorded audio first.
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First, this was not made at Disney in LA, but at Core in Toronto, so it had nothing to do with Disney's animation department.
Second, the production and story writing for this film began even before Madagascar was a blip on the radar. It's only because this movie is delayed and now came out after Madagascar that people seam to think it's a rip off. Though both movies are in a totally different visual style.
I just KNEW someone would pop up with the idea that they started making this one first.
That may be true man, but the movie still looks like a clone of Madagascar. At this point they should have scrapped it, DreamWorks already beat them to the punch.
The animation style is different, but the trailer is a beat by beat copy of everything in Madagascar.
Second, the production and story writing for this film began even before Madagascar was a blip on the radar. It's only because this movie is delayed and now came out after Madagascar that people seam to think it's a rip off. Though both movies are in a totally different visual style.
Got any links to back up dates on it?
I can't find any specific info on when THE WILD started production, but it was still in pre-production in mid-2004. That probably means it went into production late 2004 early 2005? By then Madagascar would have been finishing up production.
Which would mean they had plenty of time to find out what Madagascar was doing, and then alter their script to rip it off.
Regardless, I still think it looks better than madagascar. I'd watch Eddie Izzard over Chris Rock every day of the week and the animation looks pretty good aswell, better then any disney in-house cg i've seen before.
I can't find any specific info on when THE WILD started production, but it was still in pre-production in mid-2004. That probably means it went into production late 2004 early 2005? By then Madagascar would have been finishing up production.
Which would mean they had plenty of time to find out what Madagascar was doing, and then alter their script to rip it off.
The only thing I've found is an AICN article that indicates it was originally slotted for a summer 2005 release which would have put it in close competition with Valiant. Instead I suspect it got bumped to April which was the obvious choice given Madagascar.
I would like to see production start dates on both. Given Dreamwork's production idea "theft" track record I'm going to give Disney/C.O.R.E. the benefit of the doubt.
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Whoever came up with the idea first, Madagascar came out first, was a huge success. They are too late. This should be straight to video.
If you are going to be writing such negative articles, you might want to get your facts straight first. The Wild and Madagascar WERE in production at the same time. The Wild originally had the earlier release date but due to a massive script re-write it ended up getting pushed back and Madagascar took all the glory. Dreamworks is known for stealing ideas and it was no different here. They were getting info on the wild and taking what they liked especially when they found out that the Wild's release date was pushed back. The name of the Lion in The Wild was originally Alexander but then Dreamworks changed the name of their lion to Alex so the lion in the Wild ended up changing to Samson. Dreamworks doesn't seem to have a problem with playing dirty. It's true that this Hollywood trend of rival studios coming out with similarly themed movies is terrible but just because one movie comes out before another doesn't mean that the other movie sucks and should be shelved or made direct to DVD. Antz came out before A Bugs Life but A Bugs life was better received and made more money. With your logic, if Shark Tale came out before Finding Nemo, Nemo (the superior film) should have been shelved or direct to DVD. That is just silly. I've already seen The Wild because I worked on the film and I am very proud of it. I saw Madagascar in the theatres and I can assure you that they are VERY different films. If you decide you don't like it based on the trailer then that is fine but don't make accusations that aren't true. You never know, you might actually like The Wild MORE than Madagascar. Oh and to answer your question, The Wild was produced by Disney but the film was made at a studio in Toronto Canada called CORE Feature Animation. I'm impressed that CORE was able to put a studio together from scratch and produce a film that is technically as advanced as any of the big established studios.
If you have proof for anything you've said I'm willing to listen, but otherwise you've done nothing but throw out unfounded, obviously biased accusations with no support for them. I'm sure you'll understand that we can't all just take your accusations at face value. I'm sure someone who worked on Madagascar would say the same things!
If you worked on the film, you have my condolences. You've gotten the shaft.
You have to realize that your movie has an uphill battle. It's not your fault, but there it is. You've been scooped by Madagascar... regardless of the cause that's where THE WILD stands!
Direct your anger at DreamWorks or your own company, not us.
I hope you're right, and that THE WILD really is better than MADAGASCAR. You're obviously very passionate about the movie and that certainly speaks well of the effort that went into it.
If you have proof for anything you've said I'm willing to listen, but otherwise you've done nothing but throw out unfounded, obviously biased accusations with no support for them. I'm sure you'll understand that we can't all just take your accusations at face value. I'm sure someone who worked on Madagascar would say the same things!
Direct your anger at DreamWorks or your own company, not us.
Damn emails. You can't get across tone of voice in an email unless you put smiley faces. I'm in no way angry. I was just giving my side of the story. I didn't call anyone names or say anything mean. The only proof is what I heard and saw around the studio. I could name names but what good what it do. I'm not producing documents or anything. It's just a movie in the end. You can either believe me or not, it's up to you. But if you are asking for proof of what I said, next time please present your proof with your accusations that one studio blatantly ripped off another.
Last edited by Balrogblog; 01-27-2006 at 04:57 PM.
My proof is that Madagascar came out first, and The Wild looks exactly like it, down to even the smallest details.
In this case, the similarities seem to go far beyond them both being about Zoo animals.
Ah geez.........okay, that's an opinion, not proof. The Wild looks EXACTLY the same? Down to the SMALLEST details. Come on now, let's get real here.
The similarities are:
Both movies are about animals in the New York Zoo that go to Africa.
Both movies have a Lion and a Giraffe as main characters.
Both movies are CG.
In both movies the animals get to Africa by sea.
Now the differences:
The main characters in Madagascar that AREN'T a lion or a giraffe are a Zebra and a hippo which AREN'T main characters in The Wild. There is a hippo in The Wild but he has a very small part. The other main characters in The Wild are a squirrel, a snake and a Koala(none of which are in Madagascar). The penguins in Madagascar play a big role. The penguins in The Wild play a tiny role.
The reason they go to Africa in Madagascar is that the Zebra wants to see "the wild" so they escape the zoo, get captured and then get shipped off. In the Wild, The Lion's son is accidentally sent to Africa and him and his friends go to rescue him.
The look/designs of the films are very different. Madagascar went for a simple cartoony look where The Wild has a cartoony/realistic look. They have different animation styles as well.
Madagascar is more of a pop culture comedy where as The Wild is more of a classic Disney tale.
The reason The Wild was so late was the massive story overhaul. They didn't use the lateness to RIP OFF Madagascar, they used the extra time to change the Wild to be as different as possible from Madagascar. Just so you know, one of the unique characters in the Wild is a froo froo poodle that is vicious. This character was in the film from the start. There was no vicious poodle in Madagascar but when the DVD came out they helped themselves to the character in the Penguin short. Cheap shot.
I could sit here all night telling you how very different these movies are but I have other things to do. If you feel up to it, watch The Wild when it comes out and judge for yourself.
Oh, by the way, do you usually have William Shatner pics with your posts? I only ask this because William Shatner does the voice of the Villian in The Wild. For some strange reason they excluded him from this trailer. I'm sure he'll be in the next trailer though. He does a great job by the way. I hope they put footage of him recording the voice on the DVD. It's amazing. He gets so into it.
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