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Dreamworks, the movie studio headed by Steven Spielberg and other big media moguls, Television has signed cereal and snacks maker Kellogg's to create treats and goodies based on its movies. Under the agreement Kellogg's gets exclusive rights to make cereals and other tasty breakfast foods based on Dreamworks movies including Shrek 3 and Madagascar 2. Kellogg's will be responsible for promoting the foods, and therefore the movies, via in-store, TV and online ads. Kellogg's is just four years into what was supposed to be a 15-year agreement to do just this kind of thing for Disney but that deal's fate is now uncertain. Kellogg's is unlikely to create product for two movies from competing studios, after all. Sales of the Disney movie-themed snacks were moderate at best. Chris Thilk Filed under: Online, Print, Television

MAHAJANGA, Madagascar (Reuters) - Like other mediums at the annual "Fanompoana" festival in northwest Madagascar, Zo Andrianikenindraza is believed by the Sakalava tribe to be capable of hosting an ancestral spirit. Gripped by faith in the influence of the departed, he believes he has been taken over by the spirit of an ancient Malagasy monarch. "I want to speak with my people," Zo says, using words understood by villagers to be the king's. "I have come back to bless the Sakalava tribe and wish them prosperity." Taking a swig of cheap rum, he says he is not pleased with the progress the people have made since the king's reign. "It makes me sad to come back and see that my people are suffering from the lack of money and material goods," he shouts, followed by a crowd of children. "I want things to go better for them." Respect for dead ancestors and belief that they influence the living are paramount for the people of Madagascar, ...

If you choose to vanish, we're told early on in Madagascar, you probably won't be found. Nine out of ten people who disappear most likely prefer to remain lost. What happens then? The answers are not easy, but they can be surprising, as is J.T. Rogers's Madagascar. This delicate, ineffably moving play is splendidly acted by the trio of Kathryn Lee Johnston, Angie Radosh, and Bill Schwartz. It's a directorial tour de force for Ricky J. Martinez, whose fine-tuned ear for subtle mood changes and dizzying reversals of direction add up to an exhilarating theatrical triumph for this Florida premiere. In particular, Martinez's attention to gestural detail is touching and true: the stillness of a mother's hands as she contemplates the loss of her son, the wild and nervous hands of a giddy airline passenger, the caressing hands that reach out even when there is no longer anyone to caress. Frankly the Madagascar set is drab, but the words are brilliant and the characters ...

With big openings in Italy and Scandinavia, Madagascar reclaimed the international throne after a four-week absence. DreamWorks' computer-animated comedy corralled $11.6 million over the weekend, lifting its foreign haul to $291 million—compared to domestic's $192 million. Madagascar dominated Italy with $7.4 million from 294 locations, including previews. The massive debut kicked off the country's traditionally buoyant fall season and ended the traditionally slow summer season. Excluding previews the three-day weekend stood at $6.1 million, topping the first two Harry Potter movies as well as Finding Nemo by 15 percent and Shark Tale by 56 percent. The Scandinavian campaign was also impressive. In Norway, Madagascar's opening topped Finding Nemo's with $1.5 million from 113 screens. The escaped zoo animals also bested the lost fish in Denmark with $705,649 from 78 sreens. Other debuts included Finland's $305,276 from 51 screens and Sweden's $693,260 from 11...