If a picture is worth a thousand words, a movie poster is and should be, worth a lot more. A movie poster should contain an apt description or preview of the movie. Needless to say, the poster’s background, title, and list of actors should be able to tell its audience what is in store for them. “Madagascar” is a famous movie made by DreamWorks in the year 2005, which was followed by its sequel, “Madagascar: Escape to Africa”. The poster of “Madagascar” targets children and adolescents for an audience. From the colors to the portrayal of the characters, it is obvious what kind of audience the poster is targeting. Aside from the fact that it has a great visual foundation, it also has a comedic theme that kids and teenagers love.
Although the background is realistic in its portrayal of Manhattan, the city surrounded by water, it is not sophisticated. It is a background that a child could easily relate to. Unlike movies that seek an older audience, the poster has a certain simplicity to it. Normally, the background would be abstract if not really sophisticated in nature. A typical background in itself hides a lot of messages interpreted differently by different people. But this poster’s background is very simple. In fact, the background simply shows a vivid view of New York City. It doesn’t dwell on intricate details, except those that would help people identify the background as the city of Manhattan.
The background and the characters are colored vividly with bright colors. The poster makes use of light colors which suggests what type of movie it is. The movie, as the poster suggests, doesn’t seem to dwell on deep and profound topics. Contrary to this, the poster suggests that the movie is very light and can easily be understood by anybody, young or old.
The movie makes use of characters that children can easily describe as “cute”. In fact, the characters resemble stuffed toys that kids know and love. Not only children, but teenagers and even adults adore stuffed animals. Although they aren’t the typical stuffed animals, they still look so delightful and appealing. They are almost like teddy bears. Bears are known to be ferocious creatures, which are found in the wild. But, when humans started making teddy bears, the way people thought about bears changed. Similarly, Lions and the like are creatures that are feared by a lot of people. Somehow, this poster changes that perception, by making creatures such as a ferocious lion look so adorable.
Humans live in the city with their pets. Pets are domesticated animals. They are animals that are safe for human interactions. This movie, specifically the poster shows a huge contradiction. It depicts wild animals which are drifting away from New York City. These animals are not the typical domesticated animals such as cats, dogs, and bunnies. In fact, they are the complete opposite, they are animals feared by a lot of people. However, as it is seen on the poster, these animals are indeed domesticated. Taken literally, domestication is a process wherein a group of species, animals or plants, are trained or accustomed to human behavior. It cannot be denied that the use of cell phones, headphones, and ice bags, are typically human. Aside from this, going to the game, and cheering for a basketball or baseball team are actions limited to a human being. As is seen in the movie poster, the hippopotamus has a cell phone in her hand and is apparently listening to music. The giraffe on the other hand has a bag of ice on top of his head. And the Lion, who is holding a flag, while the Zebra who is wearing a hat, (both saying NYC), are no doubt cheering for a team. These are behaviors that are not typical to a wild animal, only to animals with concrete human interactions, hence their domestication. Aside from contradicting themes, the fact that these animals are domesticated gives people a sense of understanding, which helps them relate to the main characters of the movie.
Lastly, the poster tells us that the movie is a comedy. Aside from the fact that the characters have contorted faces, the movie has a great line-up of actors whose voices the animals used, which makes it funny. They are no ordinary actors; they are the best comedians the world has ever seen. Ben Stiller is a really great actor, who has starred in a lot of different award-winning comedy movies and is praised for his comic antics. Chris Rock on the other hand is a very talented comedian who is applauded by many for his witty remarks. These two alone make for a hilarious movie.
The poster of “Madagascar” shows a concrete preview of what the audience should expect in the movie, from its background, its choice of colors, to its remarkable line-up of comedians and actors.
Works Cited
“How Marketers Target Kids”. Media Awareness. CA. 2009. Web.