BACKGROUND
As Disney Animation was floundering in amongst this new world of computer animation, DreamWorks SKG, a relatively new studio in comparison, was thriving.
The studio was co-founded by former Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, who heralded the return of Disney Animation back to its finest, Jeffrey Katzenberg, along with director Steven Spielberg, and producer David Geffen. DreamWorks’ animation department had had quite a lot of success from the outset, thanks to their push towards comedy and all-star castings. This had begun with Antz (1998), but was later demonstrated fully with one of their biggest films still to this day, Shrek (2001), which also playfully mocked some of the best Disney animated fairy-tale musicals that Katzenberg had helped make.
This time, instead of taking us to a fairy-tale world or under the sea, as they had just done with Shark Tale (2004), DreamWorks were moving their new story to the lesser-known island of Madagascar, a perfect setting to show off their computer-animated techniques.
At the same time that Disney was struggling to find its new place in the world of animation, and DreamWorks was seemingly thriving, there was another animation studio surpassing both of them, and that was, of course, Pixar, probably still the greatest studio when it comes to computer animation. However, as luck would have it, DreamWorks’ new film Madagascar was going to be released in 2005, a year when Pixar was not planning on releasing a new film. The stage was set for DreamWorks to really dominate.
And they certainly did dominate Disney, because Disney’s 2005 film of that year was Chicken Little, a movie that is still criticised and derided to this day – even though I actually quite like it. But it admittedly doesn’t feel much like a Disney animated film. Madagascar was able to outdo it by having a well-known voice cast enhance film, as DreamWorks had already been doing from the outset, and really pushed the envelope with their humour.
I watched Madagascar at the cinema, and remember finding it very funny, as did the rest of my family. It’s a very silly story, with some outrageously good gags and slapstick comedy, as well as a whole list of Easter eggs that refer back to other movies. Having said that, I don’t rewatch this film often, and actually prefer its two sequels. Although I still like it and enjoy quoting lines from it, which is very easy to do with this film, I do find the story is quite lacking after the four zoo animals arrive on the island of Madagascar, only recently realising how much of a distraction King Julien and the other lemurs are from the lack of plot.
PLOT
Madagascar begins with a zebra daydreaming about life in the wild. As the zebra dreams about getting to the watering hole nearby, a lion appears to be chasing him. All of a sudden, the lion jumps out in front of the zebra, causing the zebra to snap back to reality.
That reality is living in Central Park Zoo in New York City – and it’s ok that the lion is here with the zebra, because this lion and zebra are best friends and neighbours in the zoo. Alex is the lion, and Marty is the zebra. Today is Marty’s 10th birthday and Alex just wanted to surprise him and wish him a happy birthday. He then feigns toothache and asks Marty to inspect. Inside his mouth, Marty sees a snow globe – of Alex – wedged behind one of Alex’s teeth. This is Marty’s birthday present. Gee, thanks…Marty complains that he finds his zoo life really boring and decides to use this new day to start a new, fresh routine. And it’s a good day to do that, as it is Friday at the zoo, and that means it’s Field Trip Day.
The zoo starts to fill up with adults and children alike, who want to see the main attraction of Alex the lion, doing his big performances in his enclosure. Marty is known for doing tricks with water, ending his routine by spraying it at the parents! Gloria and Melman are the two other animals who live next to Marty and Alex at the zoo. Gloria is a hippo who entrances the zoogoers with her water ballet, and Melman is a giraffe, although he doesn’t do much other than panic that he is dying of some deadly disease. By the end of the day, Marty is still not satisfied with his life, even by trying to do something new. His thoughts are interrupted by the arrival of the zoo’s penguins in his enclosure. They had been trying to dig for freedom, but are still in the zoo. They’re disappointed not to have found their way to Antarctica – yet. At least Marty isn’t the only one who wants to leave and go to the wild. The penguins tell Marty he didn’t see anything and disappear down their tunnel….
After the zoo has closed for the day, the animals are treated like kings – and queens – by their keepers, before Gloria, Melman, Marty, and Alex come together to have a birthday party for Marty, with Melman giving Marty his first rectal thermometer as a gift. How thoughtful…But there is cake, and Marty is told to blow out his candles and make a wish. The other three desperately want to know what he wished for, but Marty says if he tells them, it will mean bad luck. However, their demands to know break Marty down and he tells them he wished to go to the wild. This shocks everyone, as they couldn’t possibly imagine leaving their cushy lives at the zoo to go to the untamed nature of the wild. Marty says the penguins want to leave too as his defence, to which Alex simply says the penguins are psychotic. They want to know what Marty wants from the wild, and he says large spaces. Gloria says Connecticut has large spaces, and you can get a train there from Grand Central Station. Marty is sad at his friends’ lack of support and decides to call it a night. Gloria convinces Alex to talk to Marty about it. Alex reminds Marty that the grass isn’t always greener and that Marty should be happy with everything the zoo and the city have. Alex then goes back to his enclosure to sleep, believing Marty has let go of this whole dream of going to the wild.
However, Melman wakes Alex up in the night to say that Marty has gone. Alex realises he must be heading for Connecticut, and decides they’ll have to get him back since they can’t call “the people”. Believing Marty to be lost and confused in the city, Alex, Melman, and Gloria break out of the zoo to find him. Two chimpanzees, Mason and Phil, also leave the zoo that night – to go and throw poo at author and journalist Tom Wolfe, apparently. Yet, Marty isn’t lost or confused. He’s having a great time looking for Grand Central Station. He even finds time to go ice skating! Marty asks a police horse for directions at one point though, causing the human officer to call in this strange encounter. Alex, Gloria, and Melman are having less of a good time, as they freak out all the locals on the subway on their way to the station. Alex scares one to death as he laments the latest loss for the New York Knicks. What a difference 20-odd years can make to a basketball team!
Eventually, all four of them are reunited at Grand Central Station, and more people flee in terror at the sight of the wild animals at the train station – all except an old lady who tries to beat up Alex with her handbag! Marty and Alex start fighting, but they are soon surrounded by officers. The chimpanzees and even the penguins are caught alongside the four. As Alex tries to explain what happened to “the people”, he is shot by a tranquiliser dart.
The next morning, Alex wakes up at the zoo. A news reporter is doing a live report from the zoo, saying how the animals’ behaviour led the public to realise they don’t belong there and are instead going to be returned them to the wild. Alex is soon spotted waking up and is shot with another dart to send him back to sleep.
The next time Alex wakes up, he is shocked to discover he is inside a crate. He hears Melman, Gloria, and Marty’s voices nearby, finding they are also inside crates. The three instantly turn on Marty and blame him for this, believing they are headed for a zoo transfer because of his insistence on going to the wild. As the four argue amongst themselves, we see these crates are on a cargo ship in the middle of the ocean. Also on this ship are the two chimps and the penguins. The penguins look out of a hole in their crate and see a label on it. They ask the chimps if they can read the label. One of them can – Phil – but he is mute, so the other chimp – Mason – translates his sign language. Mason says that they are headed for Kenya Wildlife Reserve in Africa. The penguins can’t accept that, and escape their crate.
Meanwhile, Marty and Alex’s arguing and tussling has caused their crates to break from the strap securing them, only they aren’t aware of this. The penguins have gotten to the bridge and have tied up the ship’s captain, deciding to turn this ship around and finally get to Antarctica. However, with the ship turning so abruptly, the crates containing Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman go overboard and start bobbing in the ocean. Alex sees through the holes in the crates that the other three are nowhere near him now. He is alone.
Eventually, his crate washes up on a beach and Alex tumbles out of it, onto the sand. Alex searches for his friends, wandering the beach all night. The next day, he comes across Melman, who is stuck inside his crate. Alex rushes over to him, happily, and tries to get Melman out of the box. As Alex is about to use a branch to push Melman out of the crate, Melman sees Gloria’s crate has just washed up on the beach. Alex rushes over to her instead, with her foot crashing through the crate and hitting Alex, who is tossed high into the air and lands on Melman’s crate, destroying it and releasing Melman. The three then look for Marty, and don’t have to look too far, as he surfs in on some dolphins. Alex and Marty go to hug each other in what appears to be a lovely reunion, except partway through this slow-motion hug, Alex realises that they are lost all because of Marty. He starts to try and fight him again, but they are stopped by Gloria, who reminds them that they are all at least together. Melman theorises that they must be in San Diego Zoo and that this beach isn’t even real.
As they wonder where the people are, the four animals hear music and head through the jungle to find the source of it, because where there’s music, there must be people, right? After Alex discovers that he doesn’t like nature much, the four arrive at a huge party, but it’s not people at all, but strange, fluffy creatures these zoo animals have never seen before. The party is wild and out of control, reminding Marty of a Puffy party… The less said about that, the better… Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman watch the frivolity in front of them abruptly come to an end as someone screams that the Fossa – also spelt Foosa here – are attacking! Alex decides to try and talk to the Fossa, who are about to eat one of the fluffy things, when he sees a huge spider on his back. Alex panics and starts screaming, scaring off the Fossa with his roar and teeth. The other creatures start to wonder if they should be afraid of these new animals in their jungle, and decide to push one of their kind – Mort, who was about to be eaten by the Fossa – in front of them to see if they eat him or not! Mort instantly starts crying as Alex approaches him, but Gloria picks him up and decides he’s cute. This leads the others to realise they are not savage killers and come out to introduce themselves.
Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman are surrounded by their new fans, who they think are squirrels. They are corrected by being told they are all lemurs, and they are led by their king, King Julien. King Julien decides to dub them the New York Giants. The four ask King Julien if he knows where the people are. He says they have the people and point up towards a tree, where the skeletons of humans are dangling. The animals believe the lemurs must’ve killed the people; they didn’t, it seems to have been a plane crash that killed them. The four wonder how they can be somewhere with no people. King Julien says this is the wild, specifically Madagascar, so there are no people. Alex decides to run into the ocean and try to swim to New York, not wanting to be in this place, nor do Gloria and Melman.
They decide to try and find a way out of there, hoping that someone will realise they are missing soon and come and find them. Melman even digs himself a grave to wait for death. Marty tells the other three that they are overreacting, which annoys Alex, who splits the beach into two halves, telling Marty to stay on his side, whilst they stay on theirs and try and find a way back home. Firstly, Alex builds a huge Lady Liberty out of firewood, whilst Marty has built himself a camp. Melman has been tasked with creating fire to light up their Lady Liberty beacon, but ends up accidentally setting fire to the whole creation. It burns up entirely. Gloria and Melman decide to join Marty on the “fun side” of the beach.
Meanwhile, the lemurs have a meeting on the people’s crashed plane to decide what to do about these newcomers. They decide that Alex can keep them all safe from the Fossa, but Maurice, King Julien’s right-hand man, is concerned about Alex, and doesn’t think they will be safe from him. King Julien tells him he is talking rubbish, and say they will officially welcome them to their home tomorrow morning.
Back on the beach, Alex has attempted to make a new sign, this time saying “Help”, but it eventually breaks, turning into “Hell” instead. Marty invites Alex to join their camp, but he refuses. Marty leaves the offer open. Eventually, Alex comes to his senses and goes over to the camp. He apologises for how he’s been acting. Marty welcomes Alex to his camp, providing him with drinks – of seawater, which they all just spit out – and food – of seaweed kebabs, which Alex just can’t swallow. That night, Alex is so hungry that he dreams of steaks, and wakes up to find himself licking Marty’s back. All the others are confused, but Alex quickly pretends to go back to sleep to avoid being questioned. King Julien, Maurice, and the others are watching all this, and Julien tries to rationalise the lick, saying it was simply out of friendship. Maurice isn’t at all convinced.
The next day, having arrived in Antarctica, the penguins decide they don’t like the cold, or the emptiness of the continent and get back on the ship. Back in Madagascar, the four wake up to find themselves off the beach and in the lemurs’ area. They are shown how great this island is with its spectacular views. Marty and Alex chase each other around this area, with Alex going hyper from being so hungry. They join the party, back with Melman, Gloria, and the lemurs, with King Julien very happy with how his plan to keep Alex on side and the Fossa away is playing out. Randomly, King Julien hears the newcomers talking about him Alex is a king. Alex explains that he was the King of the Central Park Zoo and is encouraged to show off his performance. However, as he does, Alex starts to hallucinate that everyone in front of him is a steak and lets out a real roar, not a performative one. He then jumps down and bites Marty on the butt. They are all horrified. Maurice explains that Alex is a predator and that his “friends” are actually his prey. King Julien accepts his plan didn’t work and tries to banish Alex, but he goes savage again and starts chasing Marty to try and eat him. Maurice throws a coconut at Alex, stopping him in his tracks and letting him come to his senses. Alex hates what he is becoming and chooses to go over to the Fossa side of the island and pens himself in, to keep his friends safe from him.
The other three get back to the beach after hearing the sound of a ship’s horn. They see that the penguins have taken over the boat, having put all the people on a lifeboat. Gloria, Melman, and Marty see what is going on, wanting to go back home. Marty wants to find Alex so he can go home too, but Gloria and Melman warn him against going to find him. However, Marty goes alone, into Fossa territory. Alex continues to dream of food, this time in New York City and that all his adoring fans at the zoo are steaks. Marty finds Alex and tells him the boat his here for them. Alex warns Marty against coming close to him, as he keeps going savage and doesn’t want to hurt him. Marty reiterates that he isn’t going anywhere without him. The Fossa then surround Marty and chase him. Melman swings in on a vine and tries to save him, with him, Gloria, and Marty setting off on a run. The penguins attempt to help to, by using a flare gun and themselves to distract the Fossa. They find themselves surrounded quickly though and think all looks lost. Suddenly, Alex approaches them and announces that they are all “his kill”. He whispers to Marty that it is showtime and should just go along with it. Alex picks all of them up and runs with them, with the three pretending to be scared. Alex threatens all the Fossa and they flee, going far away from them. King Julien sees all this and decides his plan did work after all.
Back on the beach, the penguins introduce Alex to sushi, which satisfies Alex’s appetite and stops him wanting to eat all his friends. The lemurs set up a goodbye party for all of them, with King Julien even giving Alex his crown – but only because he got a bigger, better one, complete with a free gecko! Alex and the others get back on the boat and are ready to leave, although Alex says they don’t have to go back to New York right away, and could explore some other places first. They wave goodbye to everyone, but something isn’t quite right. The penguins are still on the beach, sunbathing. They wonder when they should tell the others that the boat has no fuel left!
CHARACTERS & CAST
Alex is a lion, so, naturally, he is one of the main attractions at the Central Park Zoo, which has caused him to be just a little bit arrogant and full of himself. Alex loves his life at the zoo, with his adoring fans, frequent performances, and juicy steaks whenever he wants them. This makes it a real shock when he discovers that best friend Marty wants to trade all this in for the open spaces of the wild; it has never occurred to Alex to go to the wild. It just doesn’t appeal to him. However, quite ironically, by Alex being so determined not to let Marty go to the wild, and heading into the city to find him, he ends up getting them all sent to Kenya, whereas had he let Marty go off alone, he could’ve remained at the zoo forever. Instead, he blames Marty, and their new surroundings are a frequent source of tension between the two – which only gets worse when Alex finds himself wanting to eat his best friend. But Alex knows he is not really a monster, so struggles to come to terms with his natural instincts. Sadly, Alex feels he has no choice but to make himself a sort of prison in Fossa territory to keep everyone else safe from him. Alex then shows his loyalty to his friends by saving them all from the Fossa, so even though Alex might seem egotistical and loves the spotlight, he also has other qualities which make him a fun guy to be around.
Alex was voiced by director and actor Ben Stiller. Earlier in his career, Stiller created, wrote, and starred in his own show, The Ben Stiller Show (1992-93), which won him an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music Program. He went on to direct other movies including his directorial debut with the rom-com Reality Bites (1996) starring Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke; Stiller played Michael Grates. He then directed The Cable Guy (1996) starring Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick. Stiller is also well-known for various acting roles, such as being cast as Ted Stroehmann in There’s Something About Mary (1998) opposite Cameron Diaz; playing Gaylord “Greg” Focker in the Meet the Parents film series, with the newest addition to the franchise coming in 2026 with Focker-in-Law; playing Reuben Feffer in Along Came Polly (2004) with Jennifer Aniston; and starring as Larry Daley in the Night at the Museum film series. He also directed and starred in Zoolander (2001) and its 2016 sequel, going on to direct and play Tugg Speedman in Tropic Thunder (2008), and direct and star in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) in the title role. Stiller has also won a Directors Guild of America Award for his work on the limited crime series Escape at Dannemora (2018). More recently, Stiller directed some episodes of Apple TV’s Severance (2022-25). He is set to play Dr. Stone in upcoming film The Dink (2026) for Apple TV.
Marty is a cool, calm, and collected zebra, who doesn’t let much bother him, although what is bothering him is his boring zoo life. This questioning has come from a “mid-life crisis” of sorts, as Marty celebrates his 10th birthday. Marty just wants to be free and have new experiences, frequently daydreaming about running in nature, not in the concrete jungle of the Central Park Zoo. Marty loves being in Madagascar, thinking that the beach and the jungle are cool places to be, although admittedly they are completely different to their zoo enclosures. Marty tries to make the most of things on the island, by building a camp and getting involved in the party atmosphere, but things start to become difficult to enjoy when Marty sees Alex going savage, and doesn’t know how to deal with this new version of his friend. However, when the boat returns, knowing how much Alex hates the wild, he bravely goes to find Alex, dodging the Fossa on the way, because he can’t leave him behind. In the end, Marty is willing to give up the dream of staying in the wild to keep his other friends happy. Although as luck would have it, that boat can’t leave Madagascar anyway!
Comedian and actor Chris Rock was cast as the voice of Marty, having begun his career in stand-up, before becoming a cast member in Saturday Night Live (1975-present) from 1990 to 1993, joining up with other great comedy talents, like Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, and David Space. In film, Rock voiced the character of Rodney the guinea pig in Dr. Dolittle (1998), starring Eddie Murphy; voiced Mooseblood the Mosquito in Bee Movie (2007) and was cast as Aaron Barnes in Death at a Funeral (2010), alongside an all-star cast. Rock is also no stranger to appearances in Adam Sandler’s films, like playing Kurt McKenzie in Grown Ups (2010) and its 2013 sequel – both of which I love, even if Adam Sandler did only make them so he could work with his friends! – and Kirby Cortice in The Week Of (2018). More recently, Rock played Milton King in Amsterdam (2022) and portrayed Roy Wilkins in the biopic Rustin (2023), which starred Colman Domingo as civil rights activist Bayard Rustin. In television, Rock had his own late-night show on HBO called The Chris Rock Show (1997-2000), and created the semi-autobiographical sitcom Everybody Hates Chris (2005-09) about his teenage years. Rock also played Loy Cannon in Season 4 of Fargo (2014-24).
Gloria the hippo is the only female member of the cast, which means she has her hands full keeping the guys in line. She has to stop Marty and Alex’s incessant fighting, keep Melman from going crazy, and tries to look after everyone, and give them some hope that they will escape this island. But just because Gloria is caring doesn’t mean that she is a pushover. In fact, Gloria is the toughest of all of them and doesn’t suffer fools gladly. Gloria initially doesn’t like the look of this island, but soon finds herself able to join the party there, despite the fact the boat is a very much welcome sight when it returns.
Gloria was voiced by Jada Pinkett Smith. Her earlier films roles include playing Carla Purty in The Nutty Professor (1996), opposite Eddie Murphy; Sonji Roi in Ali (2001) with Will Smith in the title role; and Niobe in The Matrix film franchise, from The Matrix Reloaded (2003) onward. After Madagascar, she starred as Christina Hawthorne in the medical drama Hawthorne (2009-11), winning an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in 2010. She also later played Lisa Cooper in Girls Trip (2017) alongside Queen Latifah, Regina Hall, and Tiffany Haddish, and was cast as FBI Agent Helen Thompson in Angel Has Fallen (2019), part of the Has Fallen series. More recently, Pinkett Smitt hosted the Facebook Watch talk show Red Table Talk (2018-22) with her mother, and her daughter Willow, which was nominated for Daytime Emmy Awards in the category of Outstanding Talk Show Informative, winning one in 2021, as well as nominations for Outstanding Informative Talk Show Host. She also recently produced and narrated the Netflix miniseries African Queens (2023).
Melman is a giraffe, who is a complete hypochondriac. The best thing about living in a zoo for him is the around-the-clock medical care he gets at the Central Park Zoo. So, when Melman arrives in Madagascar, he is horrified and believes he is going to die without his treatments and medications. Obviously, that doesn’t happen, but he does hate nature and doesn’t want it anywhere near him at risk of it causing serious illness. As a fellow hypochondriac, I can completely understand Melman’s overreactions in this film! Melman doesn’t like how everything changes when they get to Madagascar, and begins to fear Alex and his “savage” mood swings. It’s all a bit much to cope with so naturally, Melman wants to get back to somewhere safe and familiar. He’ll have to wait a little bit longer for that though!
David Schwimmer was cast as Melman, with Schwimmer being best known for his role as Ross Geller in the sitcom Friends (1994-2004), also directing some of the later episodes. Over the years, Schwimmer has had a mixture of comedy roles and more dramatic ones. Within comedy, Schwimmer more recently played Jerry Berstein in the Sky comedy series Intelligence (2020-23), written by Nick Mohammed. Schwimmer also directed the film Run Fatboy Run (2007), which starred Simon Pegg. On the more serious side, Schwimmer was cast as Captain Herbert Sobel in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers (2001), created by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, winning the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Television for his performance, and he portrayed Robert Kardashian in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016), being nominated for a Primetime Emmy award. He also received a nomination at the Children’s and Family Emmy Awards for his role as Anthony Brewer in Season 2 of the Disney+ series Goosebumps (2023-25).
King Julien is the king of the lemurs in Madagascar, and, as far as he is concerned, he might as well be king of the world. King Julien is flamboyant, eccentric, and performative, and believes that everyone around him adores and worships him. When Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman arrive, King Julien is initially fearful of them but soon comes to realise that they might be able to help them keep the Fossa away once and for all. However, King Julien becomes threatened when Alex starts talking about being the King of New York City, and later finds that Alex is turning savage and putting their lives at risk. It was King Julien’s plan, after all, to keep Alex with them, despite his right-hand man, Maurice, telling him otherwise. Still, King Julien likes to believe that he has all the best ideas, and even claims that his initial plan did work in the end, as Alex does eventually scare all the Fossa away. King Julien is a complete scene-stealer in Madagascar, and the best character in the film for me.
Sacha Baron Cohen was chosen to voice King Julien. Baron Cohen is known for playing outlandish characters in both television and film, with one of his first being Ali G, who was originally used for the Channel 4 comedy series The 11 O’Clock Show (1998-2000). He later used this character again for Da Ali G Show (2000-04), which won BAFTAs and nominations at the Emmy awards. Baron Cohen later wrote and starred as Ali G in the film Ali G Indahouse (2002), before writing and starring in Borat (2006), and Brüno (2009). Borat eventually got its own sequel in 2020, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. Both Borat films were nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Academy Awards. Sacha Baron Cohen also won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for his role as Borat. Although clearly very comfortable in comedic roles, Sacha Baron Cohen has been known to delve into more serious ones too. To showcase his musical talents, he was cast as Adolfo Pirelli in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), and later as Monsieur Thénardier in Les Misérables (2012), alongside Helena Bonham Carter. He also portrayed Abbie Hoffman in The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020), which earnt Baron Cohen a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Oscars. More recently, Baron Cohen played Robert Ravenscroft in the Apple TV series Disclaimer (2024) which also stared Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline. In 2026, Baron Cohen has returned to comedy with roles such as Pavio Curto Bundchen in Balls Up (2026) for Amazon Prime, and Damien Sachs, opposite Rosamund Pike, in Ladies First (2026) for Netflix.
Maurice is the serious, intelligent sidekick of King Julien. He doesn’t just go along with King Julien’s ideas, despite being treated like his servant, having Maurice wave his arm for him when King Julien gets tired, for example! Maurice is the first to raise suspicions about Alex, with these suspicions being warranted as Alex shows that he is a predator willing to kill for food, as he starts to see all the other animals as steaks. However, Maurice is not listened to by King Julien, because King Julien likes to think he’s the smartest animal in the jungle. Poor Maurice. He should really look for a different employer who actually appreciates him.
Maurice was voiced by Cedric the Entertainer, a stand-up comedian and actor. Cedric the Entertainer actually has soon history in voice acting, by voicing Carl the Embolotherium, a prehistoric rhino, in Ice Age (2002); Golly the Gander in Charlotte’s Web (2006); and Leadbottom in Disney’s Planes (2013) and its sequel Planes: Fire and Rescue (2014). Also for Disney, he voiced the recurring role of Bobby Proud in The Proud Family (2001-05), reprising his role for its revival The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder (2022-present). Outside of that, in television, Cedric the Entertainer was cast as Cedric Jackie Robinson in the sitcom The Steve Harvey Show (1996-2002) and played Reverend Sherman Boyce Ballentine in the sitcom The Soul Man (2012-16). More recently, Cedric the Entertainer played Calvin Butler in The Neighborhood (2018-26) sitcom for CBS and was the Honey Pot in Season 13 of The Masked Singer (2019-present) in 2025.
Mort is the smallest, cutest, fluffiest little lemur in all of Madagascar. He giggles a lot, talks too much, and everyone seems to find him really irritating – although I don’t. Mort is quite upbeat as well considering he is used as a sacrificial lamb when King Julien wants to test if either Alex, Marty, Melman, or Gloria is a killer that wants to eat them. Nobody even comes to Mort’s defence or chooses to sacrifice themselves instead. Mort is a bit of a sycophantic fan of King Julien’s though, so I guess that’s why he finds Mort so annoying!
Mort was voiced by Andy Richter, who is known for being Conan O’Brien’s “sidekick” – because all great late-night hosts have one – on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (1993-2009), although Richter did leave in 2000 and started to pop up in various films. Some of these included playing Morris, one of the children’s book writers, in Elf (2003); Bennie in the Mary-Kate and Ashley film New York Minute (2004); and Bobby Dee in Semi-Pro (2008) with Will Ferrell. Richter later returned to be by Conan’s side for both The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (2009-10), and, after some drama and disagreement which led to O’Brien launching his own show, Conan (2010-21). More recently, Richter was a participant in Season 34 of Dancing with the Stars (2005-present) in 2025, and appeared as Dust Bunny in Season 12 of The Masked Singer in 2024.
The penguins in Madagascar are determined to escape the zoo to get to Antarctica, the place where they belong. Eventually, they find themselves in the perfect circumstances to commandeer a ship and sail right to it. However, on arrival, they find it too cold and head to Madagascar, finding the other former Central Park Zoo animals in the process. The penguins are incredibly resourceful, with each having their own purpose. Skipper is the leader of the group, and puts their plans into action. Kowalski is the brains behind the operation, being highly analytical and intelligent. Rico is the one with all the weapons and tools to complete their missions, and Private is the youngest and smallest one, who tends to be used as distractions. He is also the most nervous of the penguins.
All the penguins were voiced by DreamWorks employees. Skipper was voiced by co-director of Madagascar Tom McGrath. Kowalski was voiced by Chris Miller, who had been a storyboard artist on Antz (1998), Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003) and Shark Tale (2004) prior to Madagascar. He went on to direct Shrek the Third and Puss in Boots (2011) for the company, and was the voice of the Magic Mirror in Shrek (2001) and Shrek 2 (2004). Private was voiced by Christopher Knights, who had worked in the editorial department for the Shrek films, as well as more recent DreamWorks films like Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024). He was also the voice of the Three Blind Mice in the Shrek films. Strangely enough, Jeffrey Katzenberg, the co-founder of DreamWorks SKG and the CEO of their animation department, was the “voice” of the non-speaking Rico. He is uncredited though.
Lastly, Conrad Vernon, another DreamWorks employee, provided the voice of Mason, the chimpanzee who can speak, in this film, as his friend Phil doesn’t talk. Vernon had previously co-directed Shrek 2 (2004), and later co-directed Monsters vs. Aliens (2009). Outside of DreamWorks, Vernon co-directed The Addams Family (2019) and its 2021 sequel with Greg Tiernan. Vernon was the voice of the Gingerbread Man in the Shrek films.
MUSIC
The soundtrack for Madagascar features a variety of different songs, of many styles and genres. The official soundtrack was released on 24th May 2005.
The first song used within Madagascar is the song “Born Free”, which we hear through the opening sequence, of Marty daydreaming about running free in the wild, just before Alex scares him and jolts him out of his daydream. “Born Free” was written by John Barry and Don Black and performed by The Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
“Boogie Wonderland” is then used as the zoo animals get ready for a new day at the Central Park Zoo, with Alex specifically trying to hype everyone up for the day, as it is Field Trip Day. “Boogie Wonderland” was written by Jon Lind and Allee Willis, and performed by Earth Wind & Fire. As Marty is strutting down the streets of New York, trying to find Grand Central Station after breaking free from the zoo, a snippet of “Stayin’ Alive” can be heard. It was written by Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, and Maurice Gibb and performed by the Bee Gees.
A couple of other songs are briefly heard as the animals arrive on the beach of Madagascar. One is the “Hawaii Five-O Theme”, written by Morton Stevens, and performed by The Ventures. It was used for the part where Marty surfs on to the beach on dolphins. Shortly after, “Chariots of Fire”, written and performed by Vangelis, is used for Alex and Marty running to each other in slow motion on the beach, with Alex deciding that this shouldn’t be a happy reunion because it’s Marty’s fault they’ve ended up stranded.
When Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman go to find the people in Madagascar, they hear music. It is the song “I Like To Move It, Move It”, which was written by Erick Morillo & Mark Quashie and originally performed by Reel 2 Reel feat. The Mad Stuntman. Here, though, there are additional vocals performed by Sacha Baron Cohen as King Julien, performing for all the lemurs at the party. It is also heard again in the End Credits.
The other song to feature in both the film and the soundtrack is “What A Wonderful World”, with this upbeat song used to contrast with the quite sad scene in the film, as Alex trudges off to Fossa territory alone, thinking he’s becoming a monster, whilst the other three see a world dominated by predators. This song was written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss and was Performed by Louis Armstrong.
The other tracks to appear on the soundtrack are mostly instrumentals, although it is worth pointing out that these tracks do not make up the entire score.
The score for Madagascar was predominately composed by legendary composer Hans Zimmer, who had already written the score for the DreamWorks’ films The Prince of Egypt (1998) and The Road to El Dorado (2000). He is also known for his work on blockbuster hits Inception (2010), Interstellar (2014), and Dunkirk (2017), being nominated for Best Original Score at the Academy Awards for all these movies, winning the award for his music on Dune (2021), alongside a Golden Globe for Best Original Score for this movie too. Zimmer has won Grammy awards for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media for both his work on The Dark Knight (2008), alongside James Newton Howard, and Dune: Part Two (2024). Let’s also not forget that he was part of the all-star music team that worked on Disney Animation’s The Lion King (1994). The Lion King soundtrack won numerous awards, like the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Original Score, amongst others.
“Best Friends” is the first track, although I am not actually sure where in the film it appears. It was composed by Zimmer, Hector Pereira, James S. Levine, and Ryeland Allison. “Whacked Out Conspiracy” is the instrumental playing as the penguins try to escape from the zoo, using spoons to tunnel their way out. It has a spy-film quality to it, since the penguins seem to think that they are always completing high-risk missions. It appears again as they turn up in Marty’s enclosure, disappointed to find they are still in New York. The title of the track references Skipper saying it is all a “whacked out conspiracy” that these animals are kept captive in the zoo. Composer James Dooley wrote this piece for the film, having worked as an assistant to Hans Zimmer on movies like Gladiator (2000), Pearl Harbor (2001), and DreamWorks’ Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) beforehand.
“Zoosters Breakout”, written by Hans Zimmer, is used for the sequence of Alex, Melman, and Gloria breaking out of the zoo and finding their way across New York to find Marty. This is my favourite piece within the score. “The Foosa Attack”, composed by Heitor Pereira, is obviously used as the Fossa attack the lemur party and start trying to eat Mort. Pereira had previously worked with Hans Zimmer on the film Riding in Cars with Boys (2001), before collaborating again on the music for the rom-com It’s Complicated (2009). More recently, Pereira has composed the music for the Despicable Me film franchise and the Angry Birds movies. “Beacon of Liberty” is used as Alex builds his Lady Liberty statue, ready to burn the beacon and call attention to their distress so they can be rescued. It was composed by Zimmer and James S. Levine. Recently, Levine has co-composed the music for the anthology series American Horror Story (2011-present), having previously composed for the popular drama series Glee (2009-15).
Zimmer was nominated at the Annie Awards for his work on the music of Madagascar, specifically in the Music in an Animated Feature Production. Despite only having two nominees in this category, Zimmer lost out to Julian Nott and his music for Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005). The soundtrack did however reach the No. 3 spot on the US Billboard Soundtrack Albums chart and No. 36 in the Billboard 200.
As well as what is on the official soundtrack, Madagascar contains various other music tracks that are still credited and clearly audible within the film, to either enhance the atmosphere, or to add to one of the film’s jokes.
Three of these take place during the opening events at the Central Park Zoo. “Holiday for Strings”, written by David Rose and performed by The Voices of Walter Schumann is playing as Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman are pampered by their keepers after a hard day’s work at the zoo. This is shortly followed by Alex, Gloria and Melman performing their version of “Happy Birthday to You”, originally written by Mildred J. Hill and Patty S. Hill, to Marty during his birthday party. In this case, they’ve altered the lyrics to say “Happy birthday to you, you live in a zoo. You look like a monkey, and you smell like one too”, which the chimpanzees Mason and Phil overhear and are very insulted by – seemingly forgetting that they are actually apes and not monkeys! Alex then sings “New York, New York” to Marty as a way of trying to encourage him to stay at the zoo and not think about life in the wild. Later in the film, Marty does the same for Alex, by singing this song to him to encourage him to leave Fossa territory and to get on the ship back home with them. This song was written by John Kander and Fred Ebb.
Following on from that, you can briefly hear part of “Piranhas Are a Very Tricky Species”, a track from the film Rushmore (1998), which was written by Mark Mothersbaugh. This is used as Alex, Melman, and Gloria disembark the subway and head to Grand Central Station, passing by a drumming busker. After Alex is shot by a tranquiliser dart during their capture at the train station, he starts to hallucinate. This hallucination is accompanied by the song “The Candy Man”, written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, and performed by Sammy Davis Jr. It plays again, sped up, after Alex is shot for the second time.
Later, as the penguins commandeer the cargo ship, the song “I Second That Emotion”, written by William Robinson Jr., also known as Smokey Robinson, and Alfred Cleveland, and performed by The Chosen Few, is playing as the captain is attacked by one of the penguins. Shame, because the captain seemed to be enjoying the song as well!
On arriving at Madagascar, two excerpts of other tracks can be heard. “Dead Already”, from the film American Beauty (1999), written by Thomas Newman, is playing as Alex is dreaming about steak on the beach and wakes up to find himself licking Marty. This dream of Alex seeing steak fall on him is a parody of a scene from American Beauty, where rose petals are raining down instead of raw meat. Finally, you can briefly hear the “National Geographic Fanfare”, composed by Elmer Bernstein and performed by The United Kingdom Symphony Orchestra, as Alex chases down his friends after going savage from hunger.
PRODUCTION
By the mid-2000s, DreamWorks was making a name for itself within the animation space, despite the fact only two of their films – Shrek and Shrek 2 – had been major hits for them.
Others had had modest success, such as Antz (1998) and The Prince of Egypt, whereas the likes of The Road to El Dorado and Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003) had failed to hit the mark. With Shrek being as popular as it was, DreamWorks knew they could create a major franchise from it, since it had proven appeal. Now was the time, though, for DreamWorks to begin creating another one.
The idea behind Madagascar is said to have come from a one-line synopsis. Basically, what would happen if you took zoo animals from New York City, completely accustomed to their way of life there, and threw them in the wild? How would they survive? This is essentially the backbone of the storyline, making you realise just how little plot the film actually involves. Yet, it still manages to entertain me for just under an hour and a half.
The directors of Madagascar were Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath. McGrath had previously worked in the animation and storyboard departments for non-DreamWorks films, including Space Jam (1996) and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000). McGrath went on to direct other films for DreamWorks outside of the Madagascar franchise, including Megamind (2010), The Boss Baby (2017), and its sequel The Boss Baby: Family Business (2021). Darnell worked for DreamWorks until around 2015, having previously co-directed DreamWorks Animation’s first feature-length film Antz (1998) as well as working on the Madagascar franchise. He founded his own studio in 2015, called Baobab Studios. As well as directing the films, McGrath and Darnell both voiced the Fossa in this film.
Joining McGrath and Darnell as the writers of Madagascar were Mark Burton and Billy Frolick. Burton had written for the British satirical show Spitting Image (1984-96) before moving into screen writing, first writing for the BBC sitcom The Peter Principle (1995-2000), which starred Jim Broadbent. Burton then worked on the screenplays for animated films like Aardman’s Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) and Starz Animation’s Gnomeo & Juliet (2011), later co-directing and co-writing Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015) and its sequel A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019) for Aardman Animations again. Billy Frolick recently co-wrote the screenplay for Paw Patrol: The Movie (2021).
It was decided that the zoo animals would be from Central Park Zoo in New York City. New York is known for being busy and loud, full of large buildings and lots of people, which is in complete contrast to the quiet, natural spaces of the wild. Since the film is titled Madagascar, obviously Madagascar was the inspiration for the movie’s other setting.
Madagascar sits about 250 miles south east of the African mainland. It is the fourth-largest island in the world, behind Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo. The reason that Madagascar was such a fascinating place for the DreamWorks team to use as a setting for their new film was because it is full of rare plant and animal species, with many of them only being found in Madagascar, making it a unique area with lots of animation possibilities.
Just one of the plant species that the animators studied for Madagascar were the Baobab trees, because they are some of the most known trees to exist in Madagascar, towering high above the other trees there. The animators built various models of the Baobab trees, before they were computer-animated. These trees create the atmosphere of Madagascar, blending nicely into the background to add to the jungle landscape.
The Madagascar-specific animals that the DreamWorks team focused on were the lemurs, with over a hundred different kinds of lemurs inhabiting the island. It would be very hard for DreamWorks to animate every single species of lemurs that reside on Madagascar, so they chose to animate around 20 unique lemur designs for the film. In Madagascar, the film, lemurs are known for being party animals, with the party scene being a particular challenge to animate, because of it being such a big crowd scene. Lemurs were a great animal to use within an animated film such as this because they are able to move in funny ways, and have such expressive faces. Fossa are also real animals that are native to Madagascar, and they are slender, cat-like predators who prey on lemurs. The animators made the fossa look more mangy and savage than they do in real life.
However, although some animated films, namely those from Disney, like to portray realism within their animation, particularly in their backgrounds, like in Bambi (1942), DreamWorks had no intention of meticulously recreating Madagascar. Despite researching the area, and the animals and plant life that exist there, they were actually more inspired by the French painter Henri Rousseau, who would paint exotic and fantastical jungle landscapes, despite having never been to the jungle itself. It gave the essence of the place without painting it from life. This was what DreamWorks intended to do in Madagascar[1].
The animators’ choice to create more stylised and cartoonish animation for the characters in Madagascar. Lead character designer Craig Kellman said that the designs were inspired by simple illustrations from things like Golden Books, and was asked to draw some initial sketches for what some of the animal characters might look like. From these graphic designs, the four main characters were chosen.
With this in mind, they could then work on animating the characters in the computers, benefitting from the studio’s many years of development of their toolsets for animation that they had built and created for earlier films. There is plenty of slapstick humour within Madagascar, and a lot of cartoon gags, pushing, squashing and stretching their characters to inflict the most pain on them – for comedic effect, of course – for example, in the scenes of the characters coming out of the crates, and all the fights and falls they have during the film. This is because the animators were inspired by the work of Tex Avery and Chuck Jones, who had created the Looney Tunes characters[2]. Even back then, there was a clear distinction between the comedy and style of their characters versus those from Walt Disney and his studio. This has continued to carry over into present day, where it is fairly obvious to know if you are watching something from Disney or something from DreamWorks.
The team also had to animate all the effects within the film. This included various elements, such as the movement of the jungle, to show that it is alive as well as moving in the breeze; the sand, from its particles and how they interact with fur, and the footprints that the characters leave in it; and the waves and sea form. It was also a particular challenge to animate the waves that Marty is surfing when he arrives on the beach of Madagascar, which had to be shaped and sized by the animators, who basically choreographed the waves to suit the sequence. This was a similar way they dealt with controlling the uncontrollable nature of fire, after Melman sets fire to Alex’s Lady Liberty wooden structure.
Overall, it took around four years to make Madagascar, with animation taking place over two different sites within California[3].
RECEPTION
After having its official premiere in New York City, Madagascar was released to the general public on 27th May 2005 in the US and Canada. It gradually made its way across the world over the next couple of months.
In the US, Madagascar had made $101 million within its first 10 days in theatres. It had not opened in top spot at the US box office, with that spot being held by Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, but in its second week, Madagascar did manage to reach No. 1 at the box office. Madagascar actually passed the $100 million mark a day quicker than DreamWorks’ Shrek had in 2001, and five days quicker than DreamWorks’ 2004 film Shark Tale[4]. In the UK, in July, Madagascar took the top spot at the box office from War of the Worlds, taking £5.43 million in its opening weekend[5].
By the end of its run, Madagascar had made a respectable $542 million worldwide to put it in sixth position in the Worldwide Box Office for 2005. This figure meant it was ahead of other family-friendly releases that year, like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which made just under $475 million; Disney’s Chicken Little, which made $314 million; and Aardman Animation’s Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which made just under $193 million. However, Madagascar was way behind some other movie releases that year that also appealed to families and children, such as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, with $896 million; Star Wars: Episode III, which made a little under $850 million; and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, with $745 million.
When it comes to reviews, Madagascar was mostly met with mixed reviews. On the more positive side, some very much enjoyed the humour, saying it was unhinged – but in a good way. It also benefitted from a strong cast, specifically that of Sacha Baron Cohen who was praised for his performance as King Julien. Many also liked the more stylised animation style, with its nod to the best cartoons of the past.
On the other hand, Madagascar was criticised for its lack of a coherent and interesting story, saying that, despite being set up nicely when the characters are in New York City, once Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria reach the beach, not much actually happens after that. I kind of agree with this comment, though I hadn’t really noticed that until recently; I think King Julien is a big distraction from the lack of story. Some said it was dull and generally lacked a purpose. It was not seen to be threatening to Pixar, or even to Shrek, but was considered better than DreamWorks’ previous film, Shark Tale – so that’s something!
Madagascar was nominated for numerous awards, although it did not win much. For example, it was nominated in six different categories, including for music, at the Annie Awards, however, it did not win any. It lost out on Best Animated Feature, Animated Effects, Character Design, Production Design, and Directing to Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which I completely agree with, even though I have always liked Madagascar.
It was also nominated for Choice Movie: Animated/Computer Generated at the Teen Choice Awards, but lost to Shrek 2; and was nominated for Favorite Family Movie at the People’s Choice, with the winner being Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At the Critics’ Choice Awards, it was once again nominated for Best Animated Feature, but lost out to Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit again. Madagascar was not nominated at some of the other major award ceremonies in the Best Animated Film category. This did not exist at the Golden Globes until 2007, and did not come to the BAFTAs until 2007 either, so that’s two excuses, but Madagascar was simply snubbed by the Oscars.
The film did win two Kids’ Choice Awards though, for Favorite Animated Movie, and Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie, for Chris Rock as Marty. Madagascar thankfully did not win for Worst Animated Feature at the Stinkers Bad Movie Awards. Sadly, for me, the “award” went to Chicken Little. Come on, it’s not that bad, is it?
LEGACY
Since the release of Madagascar in 2005, there have been multiple further screen projects and spin-offs, leading this film to span a big franchise for DreamWorks, as Shrek has done.
Following on from Madagascar, the sequel Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa was released in 2008, where the group find their way to a nature reserve in Kenya. Although new characters were introduced as well, many of the original characters and their voice actors returned for this sequel, as did the two directors of the first film. This was a similar situation for the third film, or the “threequel”, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, released in 2012 and set in various European countries and the US, although Conrad Vernon also joined Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath in directing this one. I actually prefer both of these films to the original. I was quite surprised they did a third film to be honest, but for me, luckily, it worked. A fourth film was said to be in development in the mid-2010s; however, the project was never moved forward. I don’t think there needs to be a Madagascar 4, but in this day and age, perhaps we should expect it at some point. I didn’t think there was a need for Shrek 5…
There were also various television series, specials, and short films created around Madagascar. The short film The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper was released in 2005, to go alongside the theatrical release of Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. This was followed up with the penguins starring in their own series, The Penguins of Madagascar (2008-15), which aired on Nickelodeon and Nicktoons for three seasons. Some of the voice actors returned here from the films, but many were changed. The series is not meant to take place at any specific point in the Madagascar films’ timeline, as the penguins and some characters from Madagascar, like King Julien, are all living at the Central Park Zoo together, so this lack of continuity might be confusing to some. However, the 2014 film Penguins of Madagascar coincides with the storylines from the three Madagascar films, as the events of this film take place after the third film has ended.
Later spin-off series chose to focus on King Julien and not the penguins. A Netflix series titled All Hail King Julien ran from 2014 to 2017 and is considered a prequel, set prior to the events of Madagascar. The series had five seasons, with a separate season set between Seasons 4 and 5 titled Exiled. Although Andy Richter returned to voice Mort on numerous occasions, Sacha Baron Cohen and Cedric the Entertainer did not reprise their voice roles of King Julien and Maurice outside of the main films. They are voiced by Danny Jacobs and Kevin Michael Richardson, who voiced the characters from The Penguins of Madagascar onwards. All Hail King Julien won seven Daytime Emmy Awards over its run. A further prequel series called Madagascar: A Little Wild aired on Hulu and Peacock from 2020 to 2022, over eight seasons. This series followed Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria as children growing up in the Central Park Zoo.
A 30-minute television special, Merry Madagascar, was first broadcast on NBC in November 2009. It sees Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman attempt to return to New York City for Christmas. It is set sometime between the first and second films, and sees them, the lemurs, and the penguins come face-to-face with Santa Claus himself. Many of the original voice cast returned here, although Sacha Baron Cohen did not return to voice King Julien, being replaced by Danny Jacobs. Carl Reiner voiced Santa Claus for this special. Merry Madagascar won an Annie Award for Storyboarding in a Television Production.
There were then various short films created based on the Madagascar films, including the short film Madly Madagascar, released in 2013 ahead of Valentine’s Day, and set after Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. Once again, most of the voice cast returned, except Baron Cohen, with Danny Jacobs returning to voice King Julien. Two short films were also created in 2017 for the All Hail King Julien series, titled All Hail King Julien: New Year’s Eve Countdown, and All Hail King Julien: Happy Birthday to You.
Madagascar has also spanned a wide selection of merchandise, including figurines, clothing, posters, plush toys, and the usual DVD and Blu-Ray releases. Some of the characters were also featured in video games, like ones based on the films, and ones from DreamWorks, like DreamWorks Super Star Kartz and DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing. Madagascar recently celebrated its 20th anniversary too, in 2025, with the film being re-released in US theatres at the beginning of January 2026. Other theatres around the world seem to have had special showings of the film in 2025 for this event.
Madagascar also had quite a presence at various theme parks around the world. At Chessington World of Adventures Resort in the UK, there used to be a show called Madagascar Live: Prepare to Party, which ran for a few years, from 2012 to 2014. In 2015, and into 2016, Chessington promoted the Penguins of Madagascar film with themed rooms at their Safari Hotel, a drop tower called Penguins of Madagascar Mission: Treetop Hopper, and the show Penguins of Madagascar Live! Operation: Cheezy Dibbles. Madagascar Live: Prepare to Party was also used for Dreamworld on the Gold Coast in Australia, opening in 2012 and running until 2023. The show coincided with the DreamWorks Experience area opening in 2012. It later closed in 2023 so it could be rethemed to Kenny & Belinda’s Dreamland. Within the DreamWorks Experience area was Madagascar Madness, which featured a suspended roller coaster called Escape from Madagascar, a ball play area called MAD Jungle Jam, and King Julien’s Theatre in the Wild, which staged Madagascar Live.
The stage show Madagascar Live: It’s Circus Time! based on the third film ran for a limited time at Everland Resort in South Korea, Heide Park in Germany, and Gardaland in Italy from 2012, when the film came out, to the mid-2010s. Madagascar Live! Operation: Vacation was another stage show, but this time it ran in two US theme parks: Busch Gardens Tampa, and SeaWorld San Diego. The show ran from around 2013 to 2015.
Elsewhere, there was a Madagascar-themed land in Universal Studios Singapore, which featured a carousel called King Julien’s Beach Party Go-Round, the boat ride Madagascar: A Crate Adventure, the shop Penguin Mercantile, and two food outlets: Marty’s Casa Del Wild Food Court and Gloria’s Snack Shack. Guests could also meet characters from the movie here, before the land closed in 2022 to be re-themed for Minion Land.
Although much of these theme park offerings have vanished, there is still a Madagascar area at the indoor DreamWorks Water Park in New Jersey. There is also a DreamWorks Animation area at Motiongate Dubai, with many attractions, like the Melman-Go-Round; the rollercoaster Madagascar Mad Pursuit; and Penguin Air. You can ride the Madagascar Crazy River Adventure! and see the Madagascar Circus Show, as well as meet some of the characters from the film, at Beto Carrero World in Brazil too.
Adding to this, some of the other Universal Resorts also have references to Madagascar, although not by way of an attraction or ride. At Universal Studios Hollywood, there have been character meet and greets with characters like King Julien, Alex, and some of the penguins. King Julien appears to have a dedicated daily spot to meet guests at Universal Plaza here. Universal Orlando also may have these same meet-and-greets either in the DreamWorks Land area of the Universal Studios Park, or just randomly. King Julien also ends the dance party at the DreamWorks Imagination Celebration show in DreamWorks Land. During the festive period, Universal put on their Universal’s Holiday Parade featuring Macy’s, which features many DreamWorks characters, including those from Madagascar. The Madagascar section consists of floats and dancers for the penguins, King Julien, and the main four of Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria. Universal Studios Beijing also has parade floats themed to Madagascar for their park’s parade Universal on Parade.
In 2027, a new stage show, Madagascar – A Musical Adventure, will debut at all three Butlins resorts in the UK at the start of the year. This follows on from the stage adaptation of the film with Madagascar Live! debuting in January 2011 as a touring production across the US, however, it was cancelled after its New York shows in April 2011. It later toured the UK in 2013. The show reappeared as Madagascar: The Musical around 2018 in some countries.
Finally, I just want to mention the film The Wild (2006), which many have considered to be a rip-off of Madagascar. It too follows animals leaving Central Park Zoo, in this case to find a lion’s young son who has been shipped off to Africa alone. The Wild is not counted as a Disney animated classic because it was animated by C.O.R.E. Feature Animation, but it was promoted as a Disney film since Walt Disney Pictures distributed it. I remember seeing trailers for The Wild at the time and thought it was just a bad imitation of Madagascar even back then. This has been many people’s reactions to The Wild, who find it much too close to Madagascar, as well as Pixar’s Finding Nemo and Disney’s The Lion King. It was not received well and did not do well financially. The question is: was The Wild a rip-off, or was their idea stolen by DreamWorks? Who knows, and really it doesn’t matter. Watch both and decide which one you prefer. So, I did that, and came to the conclusion that Madagascar is infinitely better than The Wild in every possible way. The Wild’s animation quality is poor and should not have the Disney label attached to it, and despite the big-name castings, their performances were so over-the-top that it was just awkward to listen to. I think Disney was happy to attach themselves to The Wild because they didn’t release their own film in 2006.
FINAL THOUGHTS
For me, Madagascar is a fun, colourful, hilarious adventure, that benefits hugely from its stellar voice cast, who somehow manage to distract most of us from the film’s lack of an engaging storyline! However, I am aware that Madagascar was made predominately with children in mind so having a complex plot would not have appealed to their target audience.
Madagascar went on to develop quite a franchise in the years since the release of the first film, not quite surpassing that of Shrek, but still showing that it is an integral part of the history and progression of DreamWorks Animation.
It also proved that DreamWorks was one to watch when it came to studios at the forefront of computer animation, although many of us would say that Pixar always has outperformed even DreamWorks. Still, in the 2000s, it was Pixar and DreamWorks who were leading the way in animated family-friendly films, both able to capitalise on Disney Animation’s shifting focus causing them to lose their grip on the market, if only momentarily.
REFERENCES
[1] Credit: DreamWorks Animation, “Enchanted Island”, from Madagascar (2005) UK DVD (2005).
[2] Credit: DreamWorks Animation, “The Tech of Madagascar”, from Madagascar (2005) UK DVD (2005).
[3] Credit: Credit: DreamWorks Animation, “Behind the Crates”, from Madagascar (2005) UK DVD (2005).
[4] Credit: Variety, ‘‘Madagascar’ tops box office’, Variety.com, 5th June 2005.
[5] Credit: BBC, ‘Madagascar leads UK’s box office’, News.BBC.co.uk, 19th July 2005.