Cannes played host to a Hollywood reunion on Thursday as the stars of Madagascar descended on the film festival.Ben Stiller, Jada Pinkett Smith, David Schwimmer and Chris Rock made an appearance at the world premiere of Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted.It is the latest installment in the hugely popular animated franchise, which has been shot in 3D.The stars of the first two films were also joined by newcomers Frances McDormand and The Help actress Jessica Chastain.
Sacha Baron Cohen - the voice of King Julien the lemur – recently appeared in Cannes in character for The Dictator but has since returned to the US.Madagascar 3 sees Alex the lion (Ben’s character), Marty the zebra (Chris), hippo Gloria (Jada) and Melman the giraffe (David) determined to make their way back from Africa to Central Park Zoo.But they unwittingly end up in Monte Carlo where they are hunted by French animal control officer Capitaine Chantel DuBois, played by Frances McDormand, and decide to hide out in a down-and-out travelling circus.
"Alex has this brainstorm that the way to reinvent the show - to differentiate it from all others - is to reignite the performers' zeal, which they've lost,” Ben said of the plot. "He tells them, 'We don't need humans because we've got passion', then he uses his imagination and experience to pull it off. "The film follows the first two highly successful installements in the series - Madagascar in 2005 and its 2008 sequel Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.After attending the premiere, some of the stars of the film celebrated at the Women in Film Cannes party.
