Island of Lemurs: Madagascar

Island of Lemurs: Madagascar

Theatrical release poster
Directed by David Douglas
Produced by Drew Fellman
Diane Roberts
Written by Drew Fellman
Narrated by Morgan Freeman
Music by Mark Mothersbaugh
Cinematography David Douglas
Edited by Beth Spiegel
Distributed by IMAX Pictures
Warner Bros.
Release dates
  • April 4, 2014
Running time
 41 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Box office $9,081,517[2]

Island of Lemurs: Madagascar is a 2014 nature documentary film directed by David Douglas about lemurs in Madagascar. The film was released through Warner Bros. on April 4, 2014. It is narrated by Morgan Freeman.

Plot

The film takes place on Madagascar, and focuses on lemurs. The film also highlights Dr. Patricia C. Wright's efforts on her mission to help lemurs survive in the modern world.[3] The film also focuses on the endangered levels of lemur species, who are losing their populations due to agricultural fires.[4][5]

Release

The film was released on April 4, 2014. The film was shot with IMAX 3D cameras, released in IMAX and 3D formats.[6] The film was also released with a G rating by the MPAA,[4] and a U rating by the BBFC.[1]

Home media

Island of Lemurs: Madagascar will be released on Blu-ray 3D on March 31, 2015 by Warner Home Video.[7]

Reception

Critical reception

The film has received generally positive reviews from critics. Based on 34 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, the film has received an overall rating of 79% and an average score of 6.5/10.[8] The review aggregator, Metacritic, assigned the film a 66/100 score.[9]

Justin Chang of Variety writes that all of the film's combined attributes such as score and cinematography "makes for a pleasant if fairly pedestrian viewing experience, one that more or less gets the job done in terms of balancing the requisite ooh-ahh moments with another unsurprising reminder of man’s capacity for selfishness and destruction."[10] Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter writes that Freeman provided a "concise narration, delivered with avuncular warmth."[11] Nanaimo Daily News praised the cinematography and informative nature of the film, stating, "Island of Lemurs is close to the perfect nature documentary."[12]

A negative review came from Kevin McFarland of The A.V. Club, who graded the film with a C. He wrote that in contrast to Freeman, the narration by Wright was "stilted, overwritten and monotonous", and the film did not go into as much depth as Freeman's Academy Award-winner March of the Penguins, so was therefore "half a movie".[13]

Box office

According to Box Office Mojo, the film grossed $188,307 on its opening weekend, in which it was released at 37 theaters.[2] As of March 22, 2014, the film has grossed over $9 million.[2]

Awards

Island of Lemurs was nominated for the Best Documentary and Best Animation/Family poster at the 15th Golden Trailer Awards, which were awarded respectively to Blackfish and Despicable Me 2.[14]

Music

Mark Mothersbaugh scored the film. Chang of Variety wrote that Motherbaugh's score would " too often surges when silence would have been more effective."[10]

Hanitrarivo Rasoanaivo, a Malagasy native, and her band Tarika sung a local version of American pop songs, featured in the film.[15] "I Will Survive" and "Be My Baby" were among these songs.[11] According to The Hollywood Reporter, the music "conveys the joy of observing the lemurs in action."[11]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "ISLAND OF LEMURS: MADAGASCAR (2014)". BBFC.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Island of Lemurs: Madagascar (IMAX)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  3. ↑ Dreifus, Claudia (August 18, 2014). "A Lemur Rescue Mission in Madagascar". New York Times. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Wine, Bill (August 21, 2014). "Movie Review: ‘Island of Lemurs: Madagascar’". CBS Philadelphia. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  5. ↑ Campbell, Karen (September 6, 2014). "Can’t get to Madagascar? You can still see lemurs". Boston Globe. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Island of Lemurs: Madagascar 3D". Pacific Science Center. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Isand of Lemurs: Madagascar 3D Blu-ray". Blu-ray. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Island Of Lemurs: Madagascar (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Island of Lemurs: Madagascar". Metacritic. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Chang, Justin (April 1, 2014). "Film Review: ‘Island of Lemurs: Madagascar’". Variety. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Linden, Sheri (April 1, 2014). "Island of Lemurs: Madagascar: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  12. ↑ Moore, Roger (August 19, 2014). "'Lemurs' is the perfect IMAX nature film: Review". Nanaimo Daily News. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  13. ↑ McFarland, Kevin (April 3, 2014). "Island Of Lemurs is gorgeous, but it’s barely half a movie". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  14. ↑ "The 15th Annual Golden Trailer Award Nominees". Golden Trailer Awards.
  15. ↑ "IMAX Island of Lemurs: Madagascar Production Notes". IMAX. Retrieved September 6, 2014.

External links