Dreamworks was always the likely top contender, with viable franchises and brands via the Madagascar animals, the Shrek universe, and the expanding mythologies of How to Train Your Dragon and Kung Fu Panda.

FORBES: Can Fox And Dreamworks Combined Challenge Disney's Animation Empire?

If the animals had reached Madagascar via a "land bridge" - meaning the landmass was connected to the African continent - Simpson argued that large mammals would have also made the journey.

BBC: Mammals 'floated to Madagascar'

The discovery fills a gap in the fossil record and raises intriguing questions about the evolution of animals on both Madagascar and India, which separated at about the time this newly identified creature walked the Earth.

BBC: Dinosaur 'fills fossil record gap'

Now investors are watching "Madagascar, " the story of zoo animals who find themselves in the wild, very closely.

NPR: DreamWorks Movie Studio Falls Short of Investors' Targets

It's about a bunch of pampered New York City Zoo animals who wind up in the wilds of Madagascar.

NPR: Making an Animated Escape to 'Madagascar'

There are fears that as Madagascar's political problems continue, illegal exportation of the country's animals and plants is on the rise.

BBC: Smuggled rare Madagascar tortoises seized in Malaysia