Glendale, U.S.A. — DreamWorks Animation, ‘Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted –the 3D third installment in the blockbuster hit franchise about the Central Park Zoosters and their worldwide adventures – has now become the highest-grossing animated film in Russia’s box office history and the third highest-grossing film of all time in Russia. It is the #1 film of the year at the Russian box office and continues to play in theaters there. The top three animated films of all time in Russia are now all DreamWorks Animation pictures: ‘Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted’, ‘Shrek Forever After’ and ‘Puss In Boots’.

Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc., is distributing ‘Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted’ worldwide and Central Partnership is serving as the film’s local distributor in Russia. The film opened in Russia on June 7, 2012 on 1830 screens – the biggest number yet for any film release – and has grossed $48.3 million, or 1.58 billion rubles, to date.

“Russia is one of the most important markets in the world for DreamWorks Animation films and we couldn’t be more proud to have achieved such unprecedented box office results there,” said Jeffrey Katzenberg, Chief Executive Officer of DreamWorks Animation. “We’re incredibly grateful to our audience in Russia for their enthusiastic and historic support of ‘Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted’.”

‘Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted’ has grossed $200 million at the domestic box office and nearly $260 million overseas for a worldwide gross of approximately $460 million to date.

In the highly anticipated third chapter of the Madagascar franchise, Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo, and Melman the Giraffe are still fighting to get home to their beloved Big Apple and of course, King Julien, Maurice and the Penguins are all along for the comedic adventure. Their journey takes them through Europe where they find the perfect cover: a traveling circus, which they reinvent – Madagascar style.

Image Courtesy of   Madagascar 3

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A bi-monthly public reading of David Copperfield has launched in Belfast in partnership with the children’s charity, Barnardo’s.

The John Hewitt Bar in Belfast will play host to public readings of Charles Dickens’ 1850 novel, David Copperfield, as part of the Dickens 2012 NI festival currently taking place in celebration of Dickens’ 200th birthday. Three chapters of the novel will be read by members of the public–who can sign up by donating £5 minimum to Barnardo’s–twice a month until November 22 when the 64th and final chapter will be read.

Some attendees at the first reading event were: Dr. Leon Litvack, who has already been interviewed by Toonari Post about his involvement with Dickens 2012 NI and who read aloud the first chapter; Anne Dawson, the Media and Communications Manager for Barnardo’s; and Maurice McCarthy and Stephen Scarth, who volunteered to read aloud the second and third chapters, respectively.

Dr. Litvack set the tone for this celebration of Dickens by dressing as a Victorian gentleman, complete with a top hat and waistcoat, and encouraged public participation at this and all future Dickens 2012 NI events. However, it was the presence of Ms. Dawson which served to remind audience members of the significance of supporting Barnardo’s and its mission statement to transform “the lives of vulnerable children across the UK through the work of our projects, our campaigning, and our research expertise.

We believe we can bring out the best in every child whether the issue is child poverty, sexual exploitation, disability, and domestic violence.”

Dickens’ novels are, in fact, known for addressing social issues concerning children and youth culture, with David Copperfield – one of Dickens’ most popular and adapted novels – in particular tracing the journey of a young boy from childhood to adulthood. Barnardo’s Director Lynda Wilson has stressed the importance of members of the public getting actively involved with Dickens 2012 NI and with supporting Barnardo’s work on a permanent basis.

Wilson explained, “Charles Dickens and our founder, Dr. Thomas Barnardo, had much in common. Both were philanthropists in nineteenth century England, and both shocked Victorian society by exposing poverty and exploitation – Dickens through the social commentary in his novels, and Dr. Barnardo by starting homes for children affected by poverty.”

She continued, “Today, Barnardo’s as a children’s charity carries on the legacy of Dr. Barnardo’s work. According to official figures, there are 100,000 children in Northern Ireland living in poverty, and one in five leave primary school with below standard literacy and numeracy skills. Barnardo’s is working to address that, but it is only with the support of organizations like Dickens 2012 NI that we can really make a difference.”

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The bicentennial celebrations of one of Britain’s most beloved and enduring authors have kicked off with a Victorian-themed event at the Ulster Hall in Belfast.

Helmed by Dr. Leon Litvack of Queen’s University Belfast, Dickens 2012 NI got off to a rousing start on Wednesday January 25 when scholars, politicians, community workers and artists came together to deliver a morning of music, drama, speeches and costumes.

Among those who also addressed the crowd were Michelle McIlveen and Lynda Wilson from the Member of the Legislative Assembly and Barnardo’s Northern Ireland, respectively. Collectively, they stressed the importance of an event such as Dickens 2012 NI in encouraging citizens of all ages to become engaged in reading novels, studying history and taking an interest in social problems.

Wilson in particular raised two startling statistics, revealing that over 100,000 children in Northern Ireland can be classified as being currently ‘in poverty’ and one in five leave primary school with below standard literacy and numeracy skills. Therefore, Dickens 2012 NI could become a useful tool for helping to combat these issues if it continues with the type of creative and inclusive events that it is hosting this year.

However, there was still plenty of fun to be had at the launch event as Litvack and members of the Belfast Pickwick Players performed a selection of musical numbers, while classically trained actor and voice coach Rosie Pelan received a rave reception for her dramatic reading of the infamous “Please, Sir, I want some more” passage from Dickens’ classic novel Oliver Twist.

This was just the first in a long series of events which will be held across Northern Ireland over the coming months. Further highlights include: monthly screenings of film adaptations of Dickens’ texts at the Queen’s Film Theatre in Belfast – beginning with David Copperfield on Sunday February 5 and ending with The Muppet Christmas Carol on Sunday December 9; as well as: a read-a-thon of David Copperfield at John Hewitt Bar; a one-man play written and performed by Sam McCready at the Ulster Hall;

A competition for professional designers and school children to design their own book cover for Oliver Twist, Great Expectations or Edwin Drood; and a drama workshop with Rosie Pelan in Carrickfergus Library. Dozens of other events will take place right up until December, with the potential for more to be organised as the year progresses.

In the official festival program, Litvack explains:

“His work transcends time and place, language and culture. He has a massive contemporary influence throughout the world, and his writings continue to inspire film, television, radio, theatre, art, and literature.

Here you will find a rich and diverse calendar of events, appealing to enthusiasts of all ages … To this end, we bring you films, theatre performances, exhibitions, musical events, lectures, read-a-thons, dramatic readings, and many programmes specifically for young people.”

In fact, attending the launch event were two schoolboys dressed as chimney sweepers, proving that the festival is committed to integrating this public festival with a younger generation of readers who are perhaps not as familiar with Dickens, or other novelists in the genre, as would be necessary to effectively tackle the unsettling statistics put forth earlier by Barnardo’s Director Lynda Wilson.

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The upcoming election in New South Wales (NSW) Australia is set to be a memorable one, with many of the polls predicting a Liberal government will be in power for the first time in decades.

Current Labor Premier Kristina Kinneally has been campaigning in a series of interviews, advertisements and public policy announcements.

Opposition Liberal leader Barry O’Farrell has recently received positive publicity from two high profile charities in NSW with an announcement that a Coalition government would begin policies to bring children out of care homes.

Ms Jane Woodruff CEO of UnitingCare Burnside said that the removal of children from their homes can often be highly traumatic.

“We welcome an approach that aims to work closely with families to reduce
the number of children in care.

“It is important, however, that policy changes do not provide any obstacles to
removing those children in need of care and protection. Any child that needs
to be removed from their home should be – that is not negotiable,” Ms
Woodruff said.

The Association of Children’s Welfare Agencies (ACWA) also expressed its strong support for the proposed policy changes.

ACWA CEO Andrew McCallum said that reducing the number of children in care should be a priority for the government.

“Reform in this area is long overdue.

“Increasing the non-government sector’s role in service delivery, combined with a significant investment in prevention and early intervention services, will go a long way to  breaking the cycle of child abuse and neglect in our community and ensuring that removing a child from their family remains a solution of last resort.”

The election will be decided in NSW at the end of March.

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