List of Madagascar (franchise) characters

This is a "List of characters" that have appeared in the "Madagascar" films and the television series "The Penguins of Madagascar".

Concept and creation

Tom McGrath explained in an interview that the intention of Madagascar wasn't to take a political stance on whether "zoos are bad and the wild is better, or that the wild is bad", but to show "the most extreme "fish out of water" story that [they] could do". McGrath stated that "the basic irony to the story is that, you think animals do belong in the wild, but if they're so accustomed to civility, they wouldn't know where food even came from", and that the animals were meant to "love the zoo and to love where they are because they've got 5,000 square feet right off Fifth Avenue".

McGrath also described that during the research of Madagascar, they "found these crazy, weird animals that were already cartoons in their own right."

Central characters

Alex

Alex, formerly named Alakay before living at the Central Park Zoo, was the main attraction at the zoo and is voiced by Ben Stiller. He enjoys his life at the zoo, and is surprised when hearing Marty's wish to leave and live in the wild. Alex, as the main attraction, is featured heavily on merchandise, and gives an "Alex the Lion" snow globe to Marty for his birthday. He also shows an infatuation with steak, though later remarks that sushi tastes better. As a cub, Alex was born on a African wildlife reserve and named Alakay. He was the son of the alpha lion, Zuba, and was constantly given lessons on hunting, though he displayed no interest in the activity. During one of the sessions, Alex was captured by poachers, but the crate he was contained in fell into a river and eventually floated to New York. He is found by humans and taken to the Central Park Zoo. In Madagascar, after Marty (Alex's best friend) leaves in an effort to take a train to the wild, Alex, Gloria, and Melman pursue him and are shot with tranquilizer darts by humans. Animal-rights activist pressure the zoo into releasing them back into the wild, but on the ship to the preserve, Alex and his friends fall into the ocean. They wash ashore on Madagascar, and, while Marty is excited to be free, Alex wishes to go home. He grows very hungry after days of being unable to eat, not realizing that steak is animal flesh. Hunger drives Alex into a crazed state, and he barricades himself in the predator area of the island. Marty pursues him, unwilling to leave his friend, but is attacked by the fossa, the native predators of Madagascar. Alex works to defend Marty, and is later given sushi by the penguins to satiate his hunger.

In Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Alex encounters his parents, Zuba and Florrie, who are overjoyed to see their son. Zuba assumes that Alex is strong after hearing that he is the "king" of New York and arranges a rite of passage into the pride. Makunga, Zuba's rival, persuades Alex to challenge Teetsi during the Alex's rite of passage. Teetsi was revealed to be a bulky, strong lion and Alex quickly loses. In order to keep from banishing Alex, Zuba transfers his control to Makunga, and in turn he, Florrie, and Alex are banished. Zuba soon grows unaccepting of Alex after realizing that he is not a fierce warrior. The next day, the watering hole is shown to be dried up and Alex leaves with Marty to find out the cause. They leave the safety of the reserve, prompting Zuba to follow Alex and bring him back. Alex discovers that stranded New Yorkers had created a dam, and through use of dancing, he is recognized by the attacking New Yorkers. With the help of others, the dam is destroyed and they return to the preserve. His father learns to respect his habits, and they remain in Africa instead of flying home with the penguins. In The Penguins of Madagascar in a Christmas Caper, a stuffed animal Alex is seen briefly and its head is quickly dismembered by Nana's Poodle Mr. Chew. Alex has small cameos with his friend celebrating Christmas and singing a version of "Jingle Bells".

Marty

Marty is a zebra which lived at the Central Park Zoo, and a good friend of Alex the Lion, in the second movie Madagascar escape to Africa. He temporarily had an iPod before Alex broke it. He is sometimes seen walking and standing on his hind legs like Alex and Gloria, he mostly walks on two legs in the first film but not much in the second. Marty is also voiced by Chris Rock.

In the beginning, Marty lived a life of comfort in the zoo, but comfort led to boredom and Marty soon saw that his tenth birthday came and went and with that, his life was halfway in. Marty decided, then, that he must travel to the wild, for at least a short time, never having seen the wild.

At one point in the movie, Alex says he's black with white stripes, as he has 30 black, and only 29 white, but this was partly due to the fact that Alex had to give an explanation as to why he was licking Marty, as he thought he was the steak in his dream.

The film begins on Marty’s 10th birthday (middle-aged for a zebra). His friends try to give him a great birthday, but somehow, Marty wants more. He escapes the Central Park Zoo, in which he lives, and makes a dash for the wild. His friends, Alex the Lion, Melman the Giraffe and Gloria the Hippopotamus flag him down, but as they're about to take him back to the zoo, police officers appear in all directions, tranquilize the animals, and send them on a ship to Kenya. However, the penguins take over the ship and the four friends are washed up on the shores of Madagascar.

Once on the island, the animals begin to panic except for Marty, who has had his dream fulfilled. Marty sets up a "bar" on the island, known as Casa del Wild (in English Home of the Wild). Alex is mad at Marty for getting them shipped to the wild, but he later apologizes to Marty and actually begins to enjoy himself on the island. Unfortunately, his enjoyment brings on his killer instincts, causing him to attack the resident lemurs and his friends, including Marty. Alex doesn't "go savage" for long, and is later able to rejoin his friends as they head back to the zoo.

Marty, along with his friends has only a few small cameos in The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper. He, Alex, and Gloria are seen at the beginning decorating Melman's neck with Christmas lights. At the end, he, his friends, and almost all the other zoo animals are seen singing their own version of "Jingle Bells".

In "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," Marty (along with the other animals) finds himself stranded in Africa. There, he joins a herd of zebra that all look and sound exactly like him. While he enjoys this new lifestyle at first, he quickly becomes depressed when it becomes evident that he has no individuality in a herd. Marty also becomes upset when Alex is unable to tell him apart from the other zebras. Ultimately, Alex is able to make amends by picking Marty out of the herd and Marty accompanies his friend to unblock a dam set by stranded New Yorkers in the jungle (which causes the watering hole to dry up). When Alex is caught, Marty gets the other animals to help rescue him.

Melman

Melman is a half-anthropomorphic giraffe, who appears in the DreamWorks film, Madagascar. He is somewhat of a hypochondriac, having doses of medicine for meals and doctor's appointments frequently. He even complains about having spots on his neck. He is voiced by David Schwimmer.

Melman had a residence at the Central Park Zoo, where he would receive constant medical treatment for problems that, oddly enough, were all a figment of his imagination. Melman would undergo MRI's, CAT scans, injections, flu shots, and be put into braces and crutches for no particular purpose at all. In the Central Park Zoo, Melman received treatment, and was so used to his cushy life taking pills and undergoing treatments. One night, however, Marty the Zebra escaped and Melman immediately informed Alex of this.

In a flashback in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, there is a hint that he had a crush on Gloria as a child (as he seems uncomfortable when she comments that Alex is cute). When the animals nearly die trying to fly back to New York in a salvaged air plane, he screams that he is in love with Gloria, however she is asleep and does not hear this. In Africa, Melman is horrified to learn that once a giraffe becomes sick, it has no way to survive and therefore must simply wait in a hole to die. He takes the position of Witch Doctor (but introduces them to modern medicine) to cure sick animals, giving them longer and better lives. While he proves to be very good at this job, he is informed by another giraffe that Melman has a brown spot on his shoulder, one which the previous Witch Doctor seemed to have gotten and died two days later from. Thinking he only has days to live, Melman initially waits in a hole but then takes King Julien's advice and goes to declare his love to Gloria. He finds her on a date and screams at her date what a wonderful girl Gloria is and to treat her right. When the watering hole dries up and King Julien decides to sacrifice an animal for the water gods, Melman offers himself. He is saved at the last moment, when Gloria tells him that she loves him back, it becomes apparent that the "brown spot" was not fatal (the previous Witch Doctor is found alive and well), and that Alex is in need of rescue.

Melman's personality in the sequel is very similar to Schwimmer's character Ross Geller in Friends. Ross was in love with friend Rachel Green for many years and finally told her after Rachel's many love interests came to an end. The synopsis is similar for Melman and Gloria.

Gloria

Gloria is a hippopotamus who resided in the Central Park Zoo as an attraction, all the while being good friends with Alex, Marty, and Melman. Gloria is voiced by Jada Pinkett Smith.

Gloria, of the four, is the most fat and calm. As a hippopotamus, Gloria had a passive nature when it came to most problems, and served as the voice of reason for her friends. At the time of Marty the zebra's birthday, Gloria is another animal in the Central Park Zoo and was one of the many attractions, drawing crowds that enjoyed seeing her swim about in her water tank. She would also receive the star treatment as one of the zoo's main attractions and attend Marty’s birthday party. At this party, Marty announced his wish upon blowing out the candles on his cake: to go to the wild. Gloria, Alex and Melman tried to have Marty come to his senses by telling him that life out in the wilds was savage and difficult, whereas life in the zoos was adequate. Marty was unhappy at hearing this and Gloria told Alex to go and console Marty. Later that night, however, Marty acted out his wish and headed straight for the Terminal Station so as to take a train and go to Connecticut, where Marty heard that wide open spaces were found. Gloria urged both Alex and Melman to come with her so as to find Marty and bring him back before any people would notice. They were found, regardless, alongside Mason and Phil, the two chimps; and a troupe of secretive penguins, all ending up tranquilized with darts.

When they all came to, they found themselves in crates bound for Africa. When the penguins hijack the ship, the crates fall into the ocean and wash up on the island of Madagascar. After some confusion, they start to set up their own society and attract the attention of a lemur colony.

In Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Gloria expresses a desire to join in the zoo breeding program, in the hopes of finding a boyfriend. When the animals crash land in Africa, she attracts the attention of a hippo named Moto Moto ("Hot Hot" in English). Though she thinks he is the ideal boyfriend at first, she realizes that he only loves her for her body, whereas Melman loves her for who she is. Realizing that she loves Melman back, she convinces him not to sacrifice himself into the volcano and Gloria grabs him by the ear and says, "It's crazy to think that I had to go half way around the world to find the perfect guy for me," and then joins the other animals in rescuing Alex from Nana.

Major characters

Skipper

Skipper is the leader of a band of penguins bent on a secret agenda of escaping the confines of the zoo and being free in Antarctica. He is voiced by Tom McGrath. He has dark sapphire-blue eyes. It is unknown if Skipper and the rest of his squad are warm climate penguins or cold climate penguins (this does not include Rico since he was born in Antarctica). It is revealed that he, as well as the others, have no idea what is expected of the penguin species by humans aside from the 'smile and wave'. It comes to the point where Private needs a bird biology book to tell the others how to act, even though it's not addressed how he, nor Kowalski, has been able to read the English language and yet still need Phil and Mason to translate in most instances.

As leader, Skipper was the mastermind behind a plot to escape the confines of the zoo and leave for Antarctica with three other penguins as his accomplices. As it were, Skipper and his troupe of penguins dug and dug under their enclosure until they reached the enclosure of Marty the zebra, thinking it to be the South Pole. Skipper explained to Marty that they would escape the zoo on the grounds that penguins don't belong in captivity and with that, ordered his accomplices to continue tunneling. Late that night, Skipper and the other penguins were caught by a SWAT team, as were six other animals also found outside the zoo. The penguins were tranquilized and put into a crate to be transferred.

When they awoke, Skipper was confused at the lettering on the crate where they were held and ordered a nearby chimpanzee named Mason to read it, with Mason's companion Phil reading it: they were all bound for a wildlife preserve in Africa (this is not logical as African habitat is not for penguins, but some think that Africa was simply the first stop, and Antarctica was going to be a later stop, although the Kenya sticker was on the penguin crate so this can be argued). Skipper ordered Rico, another penguin to pick the lock on the crate where they were held, whereupon the four penguins knocked out the crew and took command of the ship, commandeering it to reach Antarctica. Skipper and his mates finally reached Antarctica and were sorely disappointed by the barren, desolate terrain, standing in the snow for only a moment or two before Private declares, "Well, this sucks".

Skipper had the ship return quickly from the South Pole where it crashed into the beaches of Madagascar and a much warmer climate. Upon arriving, he and the other three encountered Gloria and Melman, and saw that Alex and Marty (known as their "monochromatic friend") were gone. Skipper decided to help rescue Marty from the grim fate of being eaten by the native fossa (possibly as gratitude for his silence regarding the escape). It was Skipper who helped to distract the fossa while Marty was recovered and then helped fight off a number of them.

Skipper noticed later on that Alex was still hungry, not being able to eat steak, and had Rico prepare fresh slices of fish in the form of sushi for Alex. Skipper then relinquished control of the ship to Alex, as he no longer needed it, and proceeded to sunbathe on the tropical beaches in comfort. Skipper was asked by Private, one of his accomplices, if they should tell Alex and his friends that the ship was out of gas. Skipper declined, telling his troupe to "Just smile and wave, boys, smile and wave."

In the sequel, Skipper leads the penguins in first salvaging a crashed air plane to fly back to New York and then fixing the plane when it crashes at Africa with the help of "more thumbs"(chimpanzees that also escaped the zoo). At the end of the movie, he marries a bobble head. In The Penguins of Madagascar, the bobble head is nowhere to be seen.

In "Tangled in the Web" and "Crown Fools" it is shown that Skipper knows karate and is an exceptionally capable fighter, he's also very strong as seen in "Launchtime" and in "Crown Fools" he said that he had taken down an angry walrus with "a wing and a prayer and another wing", but was revealed that he's very afraid of needles in "Needle Point." In "Eclipsed" he mentioned that he has a Dolphin enemy named "Dr. Blowhole", he apparently had a plan to extinguish the Sun, as when Private told him that the sun went dark. Skipper believed that Dr. Blowhole had succeeded in his plan. Dr. Blowhole hasn't been seen only mentioned by Skipper. Rhonda the walrus was talking to Dr. Blowhole on a walkie-talkie at the end of "Roomies" after she stole Kowalski's new invention, but still Dr. Blowhole is not seen. Skipper's plans and theories serve a lot as comic relief (however sometimes his most out there theories are proven true, where in "Roomies" his theory was right at the fact that the walrus was a spy, and none other than to Dr. Blowhole), such as to him there are aren't 7 but "8" continents as he counts Atlantis (and appears to believe it's off the coast of Brazil), stating that others would too, if they had as "high clearance" as he does, as well as thinking the new arrivals to the zoo could be flying piranha (likely a reference to Piranha 2: The Spawning, which featured flying piranha). He takes his missions very seriously and is highly skilled in hand to hand combat as he fought an angry walrus with a wing and another wing (both of his arms). It was mentioned that he can't step foot in Denmark for unknown reasons, when Private questioned him on this, he replied that it was "between me and the Danes."

Note: When Skipper mentioned his previous encounter with "Flying Piranhas" in "The Hidden" he mentioned that in the past there were two more Penguins on the team, (Manfredi and Johnson), but they weren't prepared for the Flying Piranhas(as if anybody would be), as said by Skipper "We had to bury what was left of them with a tea spoon." However, later on he lists the same names in different instances that seem to be fatal-sounding at first glance (in "Roomies," "Roger Dodger," and "Monkey Love").

Kowalski

The smartest (but usually does not know what he is doing) and tallest of the penguins, Kowalski formed plans for the group and usually took notes for Skipper. Being the smartest, he may be the team's medic. He is voiced by Chris Miller in the movies and Jeff Bennett in The Penguins of Madagascar.

Kowalski was part of a cadre of devious penguins who had made it their goal to escape captivity in the Central Park Zoo and leave for Antarctica. Often formulating plans for the group, Kowalski was a loyal supporter of his leader, Skipper. Kowalski had escaped the zoo with the other penguins, but was promptly captured and put into a crate for transferring with his comrades. The crates were all placed on a ship bound for Africa, where all the creatures from the zoo would be kept in a wildlife preserve. While in the crate, Kowalski confessed that he could not read (he said the words on the side of the box were an "older code", in slight reference to Star Wars VI) and asked another transferee, a chimpanzee named Phil, to read the words on the crate. As soon as this was done, the four penguins headed to the ship's bridge, knocked out the crew and captain, bound them up, and Kowalski plotted the ship's course to Antarctica. He is the technical one of the group and always has his notepad. While being able to formulate plans and invent things (such as a rocket ship out of a trashcan and fireworks, or a rotary saw blade made of energy and multiple random objects) he is shown to have a bit of difficulty deducing simpler machines. An example is on the plane he notices that the out of fuel indicator is indicating said problem, but he doesn't realize there is a problem until he notes that one engine has cut off and the other 'is no longer on fire'. Another example is in the Nickelodeon series when he tries to re-connect the power lines for the zoo habitats, he states that he "has no idea what any of these do", referring to the buttons (although he does succeed). At the end of "Needle Point", it is revealed that he has an irrational fear of dentists, which is peculiar in that, as Private soon states after Kowalski runs off, penguins don't have teeth. He also has a crush on the zoo's dolphin named Doris, though according to Skipper, she just sees him as a friend.

In the series he is shown to be intelligent but in the films he is not much as he is shown in the series (e.g in Madagascar he does not know how to read and in Madagascar Escape 2 Africa he states that the paper plane would help them fly back to NY and he does not understand that the fuel indicator was indicating that fuel is finished) and he thinks out every thing too much and does not uses his instincts.

Private

Private is the youngest and shortest of the penguins. He is voiced by Christopher Knights in the movies and by James Patrick Stuart in the "The Penguins of Madagascar." Private has been known to ask question's like why can't Skipper step foot in Denmark. He was overprotective of the egg in the episode "Paternal Egg-Stinct", though given how his team mates were treating it (Skipper put it through a dangerous obstacle course, Kowalski tried to use a machine to increase its intelligence with a painful shock, and Rico was flying it with a hang glider), this was (somewhat) rational. Private is very good at cracking codes. Private is the shortest and least experienced in the group.

Private has been known to give life lessons like in "Mort Unbound" when he told Mort "There is a natural order of things" but then he was thrown all the way to the penguins HQ and became giant. Private is emotionally sensitive. Private has been known to say "Is it... Safe?", "Goodbye... telly old chum," and "Oh, dear!" Private looks like a smaller version of Skipper except he has bigger eyes and a bit of a more rounded off head like the other two penguins (Skipper's is almost rigid/flat, probably to draw reference to a flat top). Despite his sensitive nature, he is often portrayed as more observant than the others or down to earth (noticing that Skipper's ankle tag hadn't been taken off, indicating that he didn't get his shot or suggesting that Maurice had stumbled back because of being blinded by a camera flash, which Skipper quickly labeled as preposterous though he nevertheless told Kowalski to go ahead and run that scenario) as well as having fighting skills slightly below or at least on par with Rico and Skipper, as he was able to block rapid strikes from Skipper and disarm him with his feet while spinning on his head, all while blindfolded. On the wall of the Penguin's house is a stuffed fish with a sign "Private's First Prize".

Rico

Rico, voiced by John DiMaggio, doesn't really talk much. Skipper describes him as a "world-class psychopath." He communicates through various grunts and squeals or with the use of a Speak & Spell. Rico is also very fond of, and possibly in love with, a doll. When taking his Mohawk into account, he is the tallest of the penguins. Of the four penguins, he is the only one born in Antarctica rather than in captivity. His main function is to regurgitate any necessary tool that Skipper may need for any particular mission. In one notable episode, "All Choked Up", the penguins attempt to destroy a robotic zoo guide that has recently been installed. Assuming that they will be replaced by robotic animals, Skipper tries to get Rico to regurgitate a weapon that they can use to destroy the robotic guide. Rico eventually regurgitates a time bomb that Skipper then activates. Meanwhile, Alice the zookeeper, upon noticing that Rico is constantly regurgitating, forces him to drink a liquid medicine as a remedy. The penguins then must try to get him to regurgitate the bomb before it explodes inside Rico. After numerous failed attempts, including forcing Mort down Rico's throat, the penguins give up and say their goodbyes. Among the many substances Rico ingests to induce vomiting is a combination of monkey feces, raw eggs, and other undesirable substances, which causes a loud rumbling in his abdomen which helps, in the end, Rico finally regurgitating Mort and the bomb. Mort is uninjured but the bomb lands in the robotic zookeeper's hands, and explodes, destroying the robot. Rico is then praised and heralded as the hero.

It is revealed that Rico has little tolerance for "mushy" stuff, and often becomes sick when Private gets overly emotional and "lovey-dovey" about something. Another characteristic of Rico is that he might be incredibly superstitious, as, after receiving a rather dismal sounding fortune cookie, Rico was a victim of pranks by King Julien who was trying to prove that he was right. Even after revealing that Julien was behind the accidents, Rico still needed to have him "take away the curse." He is also insanely skilled with knives and bladed objects, able to make sushi in a matter of seconds and destroy bowling pins with a toy chainsaw while blindfolded. His constant regurgitation of tools and weapons might be the reason for his lack of really trying to speak, as the action may have damaged his throat. However, this theory is now doubtful since Rico and Roger the alligator had to switch bodies, and Roger is able to speak just as well and even sing.

Skipper once mentioned that all the members of his team had to take a psychological evaluation test, he also mentioned that he doesn't know how Rico got through it, watching him stuck inside a TV hitting his beak on the glass.

King Julien

King Julien is a conceited, fun-loving Ring-tailed Lemur. In the movies he is voiced by Sacha Baron Cohen. In The Penguins of Madagascar he is voiced by Danny Jacobs. Self proclaimed "Lord-of-the-lemurs", Julien ruled over a great colony of lemurs in Madagascar with charisma and certainly little ability to lead. It's a goof for Julien to be a king since male ringtails are not leaders (although in the movie Maurice said he was "self-proclaimed" lord of the Lemurs). But then, he's not really a very good king. His main skill lies in delegating; telling other people what they should do.

Julien had parties for his people on Madagascar with much frequency, the likes of which were interrupted constantly by the fossa, which trespassed onto the lemur villages, devouring all that they could catch.

The day Alex and his friends came to Madagascar, King Julien and his subjects were enjoying one of their parties when it was invaded by Fossa. When the Fossa were scared off by Alex, Julien and his people were hiding in the trees and saw this scene, thinking Alex and his friends were giants from some faraway land, with Julien coming forward and presenting himself as the king of the lemurs.

When asked where the people were, Julien pointed to a skeleton of a man caught in a parachute hanging from a tree. Later that night, Julien had a meeting of the lemurs and other creatures of the jungle in the plane. Julen insisted that if they could make friends with Alex and his friends, the Fossa would be scared away for good. Maurice was skeptical about this plan but Julien insisted that, being king, his ideas were the best.

When Alex and his friends were ready to go back to New York, Julien gifted them his crown; however he had already made himself a bigger, better one.

In Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Julien, along with Maurice and Mort, accompany Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman to New York on the plane built by the penguins. He is in the first class, ordering constant refreshments, and amusing himself with plane crash videos. As the plane crashes down to Africa after running out of fuel and momentum, Julien takes utter pleasure in the feeling of weightlessness caused by the high speed descent. By being in First Class, he escapes the crash with a parachute.

Upon arriving in Africa, Julien at first believes they are in New York, and makes himself a new crown. Later, when the reserve watering hole dries up, Julien suggests that they make a sacrifice to 'his good friends, the water gods' at the volcano to replenish the water. At first Julien suggests Melman as the sacrifice, who believed he was going to die soon anyway. But after Melman realized he was going to live, he gave up on being a sacrifice, leaving Julien disappointed at his plan's failure. However, Mort arrives soon after, followed by a persistent shark that had been attempting to eat him. This shark then falls into the volcano, and as Julien comes out of the volcano, he sees the water coming back to the reserve (due, in fact, to a dam constructed by Nana being destroyed by Alex and Zuba), and is convinced of his plan's success.

Julien appears in The Penguins of Madagascar regularly, often noisily and unintentionally annoying Skipper and pretty much everyone. He is the self-proclaimed "King of the Zoo" no doubt due to his former king status on Madagascar. Only Mort and Maurice truly believe and respect him as their king, everyone else just humors him, showing up to his royal decrees. Julien hates having anyone touch his feet, such as passing a royal decree that anyone who touches his feet would be banished from his kingdom (the zoo). When the sewer rats went to the zoo and tricked the Penguins out of their home, Julien decided to play for the Penguins in a game of Hockey to try and win their home back. They were losing until one of the rats touched his feet, after that he lost it and beat all of them on his own. In the episode "Crown Fools", Julien panics when he loses his crown and obsessively longs for it until it is revealed that he had a spare crown all along. Despite his desire for everyone to listen and do what he wants, he hates and ignores Mort, his most loyal follower, who treats him like a god. Mort responds to everything Julien tells him to do as "I like..." followed by whatever Julien said. In the episode "Haunted Habitat" he mentioned that he had a dream that he was "The last Mammal on Earth". Mort was just happy to be in the dream despite that he was "road kill" in it.

A recunning gag in The Penguins of Madagascar series is the Julien behaivor and believing in Supernatural Beings, thing that anoyed everyone around himself.

Maurice

Maurice is an Aye-aye lemur voiced by Cedric the Entertainer in the movies and Kevin Michael Richardson in The Penguins of Madagascar.

Maurice is King Julien's advisor - not that Julien ever listens to him - and is highly skeptical of his ruler's mad plans. He has a long squirrel-like bushy tail. He lived alongside a tribe of other lemurs and witnessed newcomers to their home: a quartet of zoo animals. Maurice was suspicious of Alex, a lion among them, thinking him to be somewhat dangerous. Maurice expressed this concern during a meeting of the other lemurs and animals of the jungle, but was ignored by Julien. The next day, Maurice took part in the festival in the honor of the newcomers, and shortly after explained the trouble with having Alex the lion around. He knew that Alex was a meat-eater and that he would need to eat steak. It was then that he opted for Alex to leave and go to the carnivore side of the island.

Shortly after, Maurice witnessed Gloria, Melman, and Marty working with a group of penguins overtaking the fossa that were attacking the lemur tribe. Maurice had to concur that King Julien's plan had worked and that fossa would no longer be of any worry. Maurice saw the newcomers out when they decided to leave and was obligated to wave King Julien's arm for him, as the king was tired of waving it.

In the sequel "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa", Maurice does not have much of a prominent role, basically agreeing to whatever King Julien says. He acts like a strict big brother to Mort. He paints well and hates dancing.

Mort

Mort, voiced by Andy Richter, is a small Mouse lemur. Though quite timid, Mort can also be shrill and vocal in confrontations. Julien finds Mort incredibly annoying, and does not hesitate in proclaiming so. Despite this, Mort does not show any lasting unhappiness, and his expression changes within the same scene. Mort has an obsession with Julien's feet for reasons never stated, which Julien despises. In his anger, Julien once banished Mort from their habitat at the zoo, forcing Mort to seek a "cure". Mort makes his first appearance in Madagascar, wherein he lives among the other native lemurs under Julien. Julien uses him as a test to see if Alex and the others eat lemurs, and Mort quickly decides that he likes them. Later, Julien notes that if Alex does not like fish and still hungers for steak, Mort is "Plan B". Mort is last seen in the film with the other lemurs wishing the zoo animals farewell, and Julien uses him as a make-shift footrest. The film's DVD commentary reveals that Mort is very well-loved in Japan.

In Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Mort attempts to follow Julien and Maurice on the penguins' plane, but Julien goes to extremes to keep him out of the plane, declaring that Mort had "scissors and hand cream" (he did in fact, have a pair of scissors). Mort, however, succeeds in attaching himself to the outside of the plane, and promptly falls into the ocean shortly before it crashed. After reaching a shore at Africa, Mort is pursued by a persistent shark, which follows him onto the African preserve. Mort (still followed by the shark) find Julien at a volcano where Melman had just decided that he would not sacrifice himself to return the preserve's water. The shark accidentally falls into the volcano just as Alex and Zuba destroy the dam blocking the river, thus leading Julien to believe that his plan to give a sacrifice to bring back the water was successful. Mort makes appearances through The Penguins of Madagascar, along with Julien and Maurice. At one point, stuffed "Mort" dolls became very popular, and out of jealousy Julien throws them into the skunk habitat. Mort is accidentally shipped back to the factory with the dolls, and must be rescued. In the episode, King Julien also reveals that the only reason he allows Mort to stay with them is so he can express for his dislike for Mort in front of him, and keep himself entertained. Mort is also shown to be unhappy with his past self after growing in size and muscle mass due to an invention from Kowalski. However, after being turned back into his regular self, Mort expresses that he is happy with who he is. In the television series, whenever an animal or object is falling it almost always lands on Mort. Despite the fact that Mort is often treated poorly by King Julien, the other characters show concern for him as Maurice tries to (if with limited success) make saving Mort when he may be in danger to be King Julien's biggest concern, and Skipper, who refers to Mort as "sad-eyes", dived in the way of the mutant rat overlord to save Mort.

Marlene

Marlene, voiced by Nicole Sullivan, is the Central Park Zoo's only resident otter and is exclusive to The Penguins of Madagascar. She has primarily brown fur, with a white chest and right foot. Marlene is shown to be both playful and kind towards others, which often conflicts with Skipper's serious and safety-cautious attitude. She attempts to find and bring out the best in others through kindness, though is not immune to feeling anger towards Rhonda, a rude walrus apathetic to others, and works to have her transferred (however, she does regret the decision after learning Rhonda would be sent to a polar bear reserve, and works doggedly to send her elsewhere). Despite having doubts on the penguins' ways of dealing with issues, Marlene still believes that they can accomplish very difficult tasks. Marlene is known to snore while asleep, which invokes fear in an alligator residing in the sewer system beneath her enclosure. Like other residents at the zoo, Marlene is shown to love both popcorn and candy. In order to get candy, she is bribed by Maurice to celebrate King Julien Day and participate in several tasks to keep Julien content. Marlene has also revealed that she won the internet popularity contest at her past zoo three years in a row (though was unable to compete at the Central Park Zoo due to a scandal) and that she considers Christmas in July "the biggest holiday of the year". In "Otter Gone Wild," it is revealed that Marlene was born in captivity. When she sets foot out to the outside world away from the zoo, she becomes wild. Also, in her primal state, she becomes infatuated with King Julien.

Mason and Phil

Mason and Phil are the sophisticated chimpanzees at the Central Park Zoo, who prefer to drink cups of coffee and "read" the newspaper in the morning. Mason is voiced by Conrad Vernon and speaks with an RP accent, while Phil communicates through American Sign Language. While Mason is unable to read, Phil can and is used to decipher writing while Mason translates the ASL. Both escape the zoo after Gloria breaks through its outer wall; Mason mentions Tom Wolfe giving a lecture, and they plan to attend to "throw poo at him." Along with other characters, Phil and Mason are captured and sent to a wildlife reserve. However, their crates are not thrown off the boat, and they are not seen until a final scene, in which they are still in crates waving farewell to the Madagascar natives. In Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, the chimps call upon chimpanzees living in Africa to help rebuild the wrecked plane that was supposed to fly them back to New York. They later go on strike, asking for maternity leaves and breaks; eventually, they blackmail Skipper into agreeing. In The Penguins of Madagascar, Mason and Phil have sporadic appearances throughout the series, and are shown to be annoyed by Julien's partying. They attempt to rid him of his ways by tricking Julien into thinking a solar eclipse was a sign that the "sky spirits" disapproved of his behavior. They also frequently mention throwing poo and are used to read the English language. Phil may be the most temperamental or "potty mouthed" of the two, as after being told there is no checkmate in checkers, he makes several signs which Mason responds with "You groom your mother with those hands!?" Phil and Mason may also sometimes lose things in the translation of what they are made to read. While translating the fortune of Rico's fortune cookie (which is not shown on camera and was also regurgitated by Rico) the duo deduced that it said "foul end" while the show ended with Rico actually meeting a 'fowl end'. Whether this is a mistranslation on part of the chimps or because the text of the fortune cookie was damaged is not known.

McGrath explained that originally their "first scene was just deciphering the code on the shipping label". The crew "got this girl who knew American Sign Language" to give them hand gestures. They wanted gestures to be "really frenetic", and "she signed out, 'Tell the tiny pea-brained birds that the sign reads: Ship to ...'". Afterward, the crew returned to the scene where Mason notes Tom Wolfe's lecture, and she signed "Can we throw our poo at his stupid white suit?" Mason is named after James Mason, who his voice is styled after.

Supporting characters

Fossa

Fossa are the pack-hunting predators native to Madagascar, the antagonists of Madagascar, and collectively voiced by Tom McGrath and Eric Darnell. They appear as medium-sized weasel-like creatures and rarely speak, instead usually growling and yelping. Throughout Madagascar, they are shown to terrorize the lemurs and attempt to eat them. According to Julien, "they're always annoying us [the lemurs] by trespassing, interrupting our parties, and ripping our limbs off." However, the fossa are fearful of Alex, and run away when they suspect an attack from him, as well as allow him to take their prey. The fossa are defeated by Alex, Marty, Gloria, Melman, and the penguins and driven into their territory.

Fossa is pronounced Template:Pron-en in the film, though written as "foosa" or "fousa" on the territory sign. The animators and writers decided to spell it differently than its actual spelling on purpose, to keep people from pronouncing it incorrectly. McGrath noted that the relationship between the fossa and lemurs, which the fossa mainly prey on, was "a little microcosm for predator-prey relationships."

Nana

In the first movie, Nana is an elderly human female who encounters Alex the Lion in Grand Central Station, where she assaults him and calls him a "bad kitty." She hits Alex again, when the four friends are surrounded, and she gets arrested. She has a larger role in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, when she becomes the leader of an army of tourists left stranded by the penguins' schemes. She gets into another fight with Alex, and wins again, although Alex puts up much more of a fight this time. She often hits Alex and loves her handbag. At the end of the film, Alex the Lion gives Makunga Nana's handbag. When she sees Makunga holding it she starts kicking/stepping/hand whacking/wet willing/arm burning/spanking him before taking him away. She is voiced by Elisa Gabrielli.

Nana seems to be incredibly resistant to injury, as she was able to have a short fight with Alex right after being tugged out of the back of a speeding tour jeep as well as being thrown out of it a second time by the penguins, who reversed over her in the jeep after noticing that she didn't die. However, despite this evident resilience, she is still portrayed as a 'little old lady'; she has a waddling gait and is knocked onto her back when firing a rifle.

Zuba and Florrie

Zuba is Alex's father. Voiced by performer Bernie Mac, for whom Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa was one of his last films, Zuba was the Alpha Lion of a pride in the reserve where Alex was born. At first he gets the impression that Alex has come to take over, but luckily his wife notices that they both have the same birth mark and realizes that Alex is their son Alakay. Zuba is a proud father, but he is somewhat confused as to why his son is interested in dancing. After many events in the movie, including Alex failing the rite of passage and shaming his family, Zuba finally accepts Alex for what he is, and even uses one of Alex's acts on him in the last scene of the movie.

Despite Bernie Mac's death, DreamWorks Animation states that "Zuba will still be in Madagascar 3"; it is currently unknown who will replace him.

Florrie is Alex's mother and Zuba's wife. The alpha lioness of the pride, she is voiced by Sherri Shepherd. Florrie, unlike Zuba, accepts Alex for what he is. She isn't disturbed at all by the fact that Alex prefers to dance instead of fight. Due to this, she acts as the voice of reason and tries to encourage Zuba that it is better that Alex came back to them, dancing or no dancing, as a king.

Note: Florrie is never addressed by her name in the film and in the movie's end credits, she is credited as "Mom".

Makunga

Makunga is a male lion with a large, black, and hairdo-style mane, which is similar to Alec Baldwin's hairstyle, who plays him, and similar to Elvis Presley's hair, and green eyes. He is Zuba's rival and wants to take his place as alpha lion. He is the antagonist of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and is portrayed by Alec Baldwin. He also calls Alex, Zuba's son, a 'pathetic excuse of a son'. When asked why he wants to become alpha lion, he replies 'I'm better looking, I have better hair, I'm deceivingly smart; and I want everyone else to do what I say." He is also very similar to Scar (The Lion King).

Makunga then used Alex, years later, to finally reach the rank of alpha lion. However, he is not a very good leader, saying the only solution to the fact that the local water hole was nearly dry was that they all would "Have to fight for it." This causes doubt about his role as alpha lion, and almost every animal on the reserve wants Zuba back.

Makunga eventually meets his downfall when being tricked into angering 'Nana', who was originally mad at Alex (and consequently treated him like she does Alex). He is believed to be killed and eaten by the stranded New Yorkers, right after Nana drags him out of the reserve. However, the DVD commentary reveals that "Nana brought Makunga to New York in a kitty cage".

Moto Moto

Moto Moto is a fat, handsome, muscular hippopotamus with a deep voice who very easily gets girls to flip over him. Moto Moto is not extremely bright, but he's sweet and is a ladies' man. He is voiced by will.i.am and is described by him as being "aggressive but friendly," and is the way the standard male hippo should look. He falls in love with Gloria and Gloria is delighted, but later on he confesses that the only reason he loves her is because she is "huge and chunky." Gloria accepts this until Melman shows up to confront him by telling him everything Gloria likes and hates. Gloria and Moto Moto may be over, but still remain friends. Moto Moto means Hot Hot in the English language (Melman frequently mispronounces his name, mostly on purpose to annoy or insult him).

Stevie

Stevie is a voiceless gecko who first appeared at the end of Madagascar and resides on Julien's second crown. When Julien attempts to give Alex his crown as a parting gift, Alex declines, but Julien insists, stating that he has an even larger one with a gecko on it. In Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Julien proclaims that while he goes to New York, Stevie will take his place as king, leaving the other lemurs speechless. Julien appears to understand Stevie's constant flickering of the tongue; in one instance, Julien responds to him by laughing and saying "Oh you did not just say that, how is it even possible?!", before translating that Stevie said "Let them eat cake!".

Ted

Ted, voiced by Bill Fagerbakke, is the only residing polar bear at the zoo and a character exclusive to The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper. During Christmas, Ted is shown to be very lonely because he has no one to spend it with. Noticing, the young penguin Private attempted to convince his teammates allow Ted to spend Christmas with them. The team rejects the idea, citing that there aren't enough presents, and Private left to find Ted one himself. Though he almost succeeds, Private is unable to get a gift and, after explaining his reasoning for leaving the zoo to Skipper, Ted is allowed to join the penguins. However, to Skipper's annoyance, Ted reveals that he invited several friends from neighboring enclosures to the penguins' party.

Mr. Chew

Mr. Chew, voiced by Frank Welker, is a small, white Poodle fond of chewing and tearing apart various items, including beheading an Alex the Lion stuffed animal. He is owned by Nana, and lives in her apartment on the thirteenth floor in an apartment complex. Nana purchased Private, mistaking him for a toy while he was attempting to find a gift for Ted, and reveals him to be a Christmas present for Mr. Chew. He nearly mauled Private while Nana was busy watching a game on the television, but is defeated by Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico who had set out to rescue the captured Private. Nana does not hear the battle, but after seeing the damage blames Mr. Chew for destroying her apartment.

Alice

Alice, voiced by Mary Scheer is a zookeeper exclusive to The Penguins of Madagascar. She seems to dislike aspects of her job, and is happy to have a voice-automated robot guide give directions so she can avoid "annoying tour group questions". She also doesn't understand what people enjoy about watching animals on their computer, saying that they don't do anything interesting. Alice is involved in several aspects of the animal's well-being. She hates when people feed the animals popcorn, and posts several signs throughout the zoo after catching a child feeding Marlene a kernel. Alice is also in charge of gathering the penguins for visits to the veterinarian, and later remarks that they have a dentist appointment (Private then confusedly states that they don't have teeth). Alice and the penguins have a mutual dislike for each other, and she believes that they are scheming (though she is actually correct in this assumption). Though another zookeeper can be heard over her walkie-talkie, voiced by John DiMaggio, Alice is the only one ever seen on-screen. Unintentionally, Alice won the zoo's internet popularity contest when a camera documenting the animals was accidentally pushed toward her dancing and slapping her buttocks in a kitchen.

Zoo inhabitants

Several characters in The Penguins of Madagascar live in the Central Park Zoo, often making sporadic appearances throughout the series.

• Roger, an alligator from Tampa, Florida is introduced as residing in a sewer system under the zoo, and is frightened by Marlene's snoring.
• Joey is an aggressive and territorial red kangaroo who hates other animals in his enclosure.
• A group of chameleons also reside in the zoo; they have the ability to change color, which is also their method of communication.
• Bada and Bing are two strong gorillas, who are hired by Maurice as bodyguards when he takes control of the zoo.
• Rhonda was a walrus that occupied Marlene's habitat as a roommate, but due to her grotesque nature, Marlene works with penguins to have her transferred; it is soon after revealed that Rhonda was a spy sent by Dr. Blowhole, Skipper's arch-enemy, and that she stole a new device created by Kowalski.
• Lulu was a female chimp that had been transferred from the Hoboken zoo while her habitat was being cleaned, and had started a relationship with Mason, followed by Phil.
• An Asiatic elephant named Darnell was among the zoo inhabitants, along with a female elephant.
• Two camels, one named Nick, were among the creatures on display, and are, apparently Jewish, as they were seen with a lit menorah around Christmastime.
• Two macaws and two toucans also reside in the zoo.
• Flocks of flamingos are among the animals on display.
• At least four ostriches reside in the zoo as well.
• A rattlesnake that had been wrapped around King Julian's head like a turban is also present.
• One rhinoceros named Reggie resides in the zoo.
• Skunks also reside in the zoo, as they had been used by Julian to discard of stuffed toys in Mort's image.
• Baboons, porcupines, and spider monkeys all live in the zoo as well.

Other creatures

Several small sewer rats led by their giant, seemingly anti-bird mutated king rat (apparently a former lab rat) make appearances, on one occasion winning against the penguins in hockey and claiming their ice (though they are later defeated by Julien).

"Moon Cat" or Max is a local stray cat that has befriended the penguins in several episodes

Bobby

A dik-dik that was with others on the reserve, Bobby was called "Shirley" sarcastically a few times by Makunga.

Masakuro

Masakuro was a chameleon that resided on Madagascar.

While he lived among birds, lemurs and many other animals in the forests, Masakuro acted as a stenographer for the meetings that took place with the lemur tribe, taking notes and blacking out that which needed to be erased with his long, sticky tongue. He also was a recruit to the penguins.

Teemo

A young giraffe, Teemo was among the inhabitants of the reserve. He receives a splint from Melman and is among those who sees how bad Makunga's leadership is. He isn't seen afterwards.

Willie

A lemur, Willie was present at the meeting of the animals of Madagascar to discuss the four animals that had come to the island, Willie saying that he liked them.

Reception

Sean Axmaker of Seattle Post-Intelligencer praised the characters, noting the "marvelous character animation" and "the palpable camaraderie between animal buddies" kept Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa "rolling". Axmaker also commended the voice of Zuba, played by Bernie Mac, saying "his vocal makeover is so complete that you may not recognize his voice, but you will appreciate the warmth and vivid personality of his creation."

References

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