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This is a list of characters from the DreamWorks Animation franchise of Madagascar films and TV shows.
![]() | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021) |
Tom McGrath explained in an interview that the intention of Madagascar was not 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". [1] McGrath stated "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 the animals were meant to "love the zoo and to love where they are because they've got" 5,000 square feet (460 m2) "right off Fifth Avenue". [1]
McGrath also described, during the research of Madagascar, they "found these crazy, weird animals that were already cartoons in their own right." [1]
Alex | |
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Madagascar character | |
First appearance | Madagascar (2005) |
Created by | Mark Burton Billy Frolick Eric Darnell Tom McGrath |
Voiced by | Ben Stiller (films and TV specials) Wally Wingert (first video game, spin-offs, Ride Attractions) Quinn Dempsey Stiller (cub) Declan Swift (cub) Crispin Freeman (second and third video games, All Hail King Julien, DreamWorksTV Animations, Ride Attractions, Commercials) Tucker Chandler (cub; A Little Wild) |
In-universe information | |
Species | African lion |
Alex (born Alakay) is a male, happy-go-lucky African lion who is best friends with Marty (voiced by Chris Rock). He is the star attraction at zoo but learns to adapt to the wild. A dancer by nature, Alex often impresses others with his aerobatic feats. He does tend to be a little self-absorbed, often not seeing the problems of others above his own.
As a cub, Alex was born on an African wildlife reserve, and was named Alakay. He was the only son of the alpha lion, Zuba, and was constantly given lessons on hunting, though he displayed no interest in the activity. During one of these lessons, 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 who renamed him Alex and took him 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 the Hippopotamus, and Melman the Giraffe pursue him and are shot with tranquilizer darts by humans. The animal-rights activists 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 after almost killing Marty in hunger, in a moment of lucidity, he goes into self-imposed exile, barricading himself in fossa territory. 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 2 , Alex and the other animals arrive in Africa, where Alex reunites with his family. In Madagascar 3 , the group travels to Europe, where they join a traveling circus. Alex is the only character of the four to appear in the TV Series The Penguins of Madagascar, but as a guiding hallucination to Skipper only, and had a cameo in the last episode of All Hail King Julien.
Marty | |
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Madagascar character | |
First appearance | Madagascar (2005) |
Created by | Mark Burton Billy Frolick Eric Darnell Tom McGrath |
Voiced by | Chris Rock (films and TV specials) Phil LaMarr (video games) Thomas Stanley (foal) Amir O'Neil (foal; A Little Wild) |
In-universe information | |
Species | Plains zebra |
Marty is a male plains zebra who used to live at the Central Park Zoo, and is a good friend of Alex. He once had an iPod before Alex accidentally broke it. Marty likes seaweed on a stick.
Marty is a hopeless optimist; he usually sees the brighter side of many things, taking every situation in stride. He strives to be unique, which proves difficult when he meets his own kind in Africa, who look and act almost exactly the same. Marty is best friends with Alex and the two are rarely at odds. His carefree lifestyle tends to get on the nerves of his friends, but mostly serves to impress them; he is the one who helps hold the group together when things seem to get down.
Melman | |
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Madagascar character | |
First appearance | Madagascar (2005) |
Created by | Mark Burton Billy Frolick Eric Darnell Tom McGrath |
Voiced by | David Schwimmer (films and TV specials) Stephen Stanton (video games) Zachary Gordon (calf) Luke Lowe (calf; A Little Wild) |
In-universe information | |
Species | Reticulated giraffe |
Melman Mankiewicz is a male reticulated giraffe. He sometimes pretends to be hypochondriac, having doses of medicine for meals and doctor's appointments frequently. He dreams of being a doctor.
He is skittish most of the time, but often has moments of profound clarity. His experience being medicated has given him insight regarding how to treat sick or injured animals who might otherwise give up hope and dig a hole, waiting to die in it. His love for Gloria is deep, and is always a gentleman to her; to Marty and Alex, he's just another one of the "awkward" guys.
Melman had a residence at the Central Park Zoo, where he received constant medical treatment for problems that were all psychosomatic. He would undergo MRIs, CAT scans, injections, flu shots, and be put into braces and crutches for no particular purpose at all.
Gloria | |
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Madagascar character | |
First appearance | Madagascar (2005) |
Created by | Mark Burton Billy Frolick Eric Darnell Tom McGrath |
Voiced by | Jada Pinkett Smith (films and TV specials) Bettina Bush (video games) Willow Smith (calf) Shaylin Becton (calf; A Little Wild) |
In-universe information | |
Species | Common hippopotamus |
Gloria is a female hippopotamus who resided in the Central Park Zoo as an attraction, all the while being good friends with Alex, Marty, Melman, and becoming the latter's girlfriend as of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. Gloria comically serves as the height and weight of the gang, both intentionally and in situations she accidentally falls into. She is often serious with what she is talking about and the guys are careful not to get on her nerves.
The Penguins | |
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Madagascar character | |
First appearance | Madagascar (2005) |
Created by | Mark Burton Billy Frolick Eric Darnell Tom McGrath |
The Penguins are a group of NYC adélie penguin (and maybe hybridized with royal penguins since adélie penguins lack white faces and orange beaks) spies. Skipper is a major character in the first film, but Kowalski, Rico, and Private are supporting characters and don't talk much until The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper . All four penguins have major roles in the first sequel and supporting roles in the second sequel, then later get their own TV Series and film.
Skipper | |
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Madagascar character | |
First appearance | Madagascar (2005) |
Created by | Mark Burton Billy Frolick Eric Darnell Tom McGrath |
Voiced by | Tom McGrath |
In-universe information | |
Species | Penguin |
Skipper is the leader of the penguins and is the main character in the TV show. His head is flatter than those of the other three penguins. Like the rest of the penguins, he has no idea what is expected of the penguin species, other than to "smile and wave."
Although Skipper's plans and theories often serve as jokes, his most unorthodox theories are sometimes proven true; the Blowhole existence is the most extreme example of this. Doctor Blowhole is first mentioned in "Eclipsed", when Skipper brings up his plan to extinguish the sun; this is because the sun was covered by a solar eclipse and, before Mason, Phil, and Kowalski mentioned it, Skipper believed he finally succeeded. Skipper being paranoid often comes up due to his theories, and whether or not he's right depends on the episode. Often, those around him refuse to follow along, mostly Marlene because she believes Skipper overreacts. He often comes up with theories without basis on new arrivals, usually flying piranha or being a spy for Doctor Blowhole. According to him, there are actually 8 continents, since he counts Atlantis as one (and appears to believe it is off the coast of Brazil). He once tells Maurice that if he had Skipper's security clearance, he would believe it too. In the episode "Launchtime", when he asks Kowalski to search for a place where nearly no lemurs can be found, he states that he cannot set foot in Denmark; when Private questions him on this, he replies by saying "Well, that's private, Private, between me and the Danes." It is later revealed that the incident in question was caused by Hans the Puffin, revolving around a fish fight and top-secret documents that made them both public enemy number one.
Kowalski | |
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Madagascar character | |
First appearance | Madagascar (2005) |
Created by | Mark Burton Billy Frolick Eric Darnell Tom McGrath |
Voiced by | Chris Miller (films and other media) Jeff Bennett (The Penguins of Madagascar) |
Kowalski is second-in-command and the tallest of the penguins, forming plans for the group and usually taking notes for Skipper. When Skipper is absent, he takes charge and his rank is First lieutenant. He tends to overanalyze situations. Often formulating plans for the group, Kowalski is a loyal supporter of his leader, Skipper.
Kowalski is the technician of the group and always has his notepad (and, every now and then, an abacus). While being able to formulate plans and invent things (such as a rocket ship out of a trashcan and fireworks, a futuristic rotary saw blade made of energy and multiple random objects, or an intelligence manipulator from just a cardboard box and a magnet and a vacuum).
Rico | |
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Madagascar character | |
First appearance | Madagascar (2005) |
Created by | Mark Burton Billy Frolick Eric Darnell Tom McGrath |
Voiced by | Jeffrey Katzenberg (Madagascar) Fred Tatasciore (second video game) John DiMaggio (The Penguins of Madagascar series, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted ) Conrad Vernon (Penguins of Madagascar film) |
Rico is third-in-command of the penguins. He's a mute penguin, usually communicating by making unintelligible vocals. He is similar in physical features to the other penguins in the movies, but he has a tuft of feathers shaped like a mohawk and a scar of unknown origin on his left cheek in the television series, which makes him easier to distinguish, particularly from Skipper. Rico is the greediest and fattest of the penguins (though he's third in the latter compared to Skipper and Private) - he will eat almost anything, and thinks constantly of food. Skipper describes him as "a world-class psychopath".
Rico is the team's weapons expert and his main function is to regurgitate any necessary tools that Skipper may need for a mission. His stomach operates as a hammer space, containing items as large or larger than himself, or that weigh much more than common sense would allow, with no ill effect on himself. He can swallow and regurgitate almost anything from paperclips and explosives, all the way to a running chainsaw and ground-to-air missile.
Private | |
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Madagascar character | |
First appearance | Madagascar (2005) |
Created by | Mark Burton Billy Frolick Eric Darnell Tom McGrath |
Voiced by | Christopher Knights (films and video games) James Patrick Stuart (The Penguins of Madagascar) |
Private is the youngest and shortest of the penguins. Private has been known to be a rather curious penguin and is much nicer and down-to-earth than the others. In a way, he's much more childish, enjoying "Lunacorns" (pony dolls based on a show that teaches good morals and friendship) and often suggesting much nicer plans (such as asking for something instead of breaking into a habitat or simply telling the truth to others). He is often called inexperienced by the others. He has an addiction to Peanut Butter Winkies, first displayed in "Skorka" and further elaborated on in later episodes.
King Julien XIII | |
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Madagascar character | |
First appearance | Madagascar (2005) |
Created by | Mark Burton Billy Frolick Eric Darnell Tom McGrath |
Voiced by | Sacha Baron Cohen (mainline films) Danny Jacobs (TV series and specials, video games, Madagascar 3 soundtrack singing voice, Penguins of Madagascar ) Keith Ferguson (first video game) |
In-universe information | |
Species | Ring-tailed lemur |
As great king of the lemurs, Julien ruled over a great colony of lemurs in Madagascar using mostly his charisma and delegating, i.e. telling other animals what they should do since he certainly had very little ability to lead. Nevertheless, he shows more intelligence and calmness compared to the other lemurs (aside from Maurice), which is shown when the very word "Fossa" drives all of them, except himself and Maurice, into a state of panic.
He had parties for his subjects on Madagascar with much frequency, the likes of which were interrupted constantly by the fossa, which trespassed onto the lemur territory, devouring all that they could catch.
In Julien's early life as seen in All Hail King Julien, he was depicted as the nephew of Julien XII, who banned all noisy things to keep the fossa from attacking. After Julien XII abdicated to evade a prophecy from being eaten by the Fossa, Julien XIII became the new King of the Lemurs and did things that were opposite his uncle's rules.
Sacha Baron Cohen, the original voice of King Julien, has stated he based the voice of King Julien on his Sri Lankan attorney. [2]
Maurice | |
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Madagascar character | |
First appearance | Madagascar (2005) |
Created by | Mark Burton Billy Frolick Eric Darnell Tom McGrath |
Voiced by | Cedric the Entertainer (films and TV specials) John Cothran, Jr. (first video game) Fred Tatasciore (second and third video games) Kevin Michael Richardson (television) |
In-universe information | |
Species | Aye-aye |
Maurice, birth name Bricky, is an aye-aye and King Julien's advisor - although Julien seldom listens to him - and often shows skepticism of his ruler's mad plans.
Mort | |
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Madagascar character | |
First appearance | Madagascar (2005) |
Created by | Mark Burton Billy Frolick Eric Darnell Tom McGrath |
Voiced by | Andy Richter (most media) Dee Bradley Baker (first video game) Matt Nolan (second and third video games) |
In-universe information | |
Species | Goodman's mouse lemur |
Mort (full name Mortdecai) is a Goodman's mouse lemur who is a resident of King Julien's kingdom and later a traveling companion of the zoo animals. In All Hail King Julien , it is revealed that Mort is an immortal transdimensional being and that his alternate personalities are his alternate universe counterparts, who he defeated and absorbed.
Mason and Phil | |
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Madagascar character | |
First appearance | Madagascar (2005) |
Created by | Mark Burton Billy Frolick Eric Darnell Tom McGrath |
Voiced by | Conrad Vernon (Mason) Phil is an unvoiced character |
In-universe information | |
Species | Common chimpanzees |
Mason and Phil are two sophisticated common chimpanzees at the Central Park Zoo, who prefer to drink cups of coffee and "read" the newspaper in the morning. Mason speaks with a stereotypical British accent; Phil, by contrast, is mute and communicates entirely through American Sign Language. In the 3rd film of the franchise, Phil does some Monkey/Chimpanzee noises at the Casino when he wins some money, that means Phil can do Monkey/Chimpanzee sounds similar to Miss Simian of The Amazing world of Gumball .[ citation needed ]
Tom McGrath explained that originally their "first scene was just deciphering the code on the shipping label". [1] 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...'". [1] 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?" [1]
Zuba | |
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Madagascar character | |
First appearance | Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) |
Created by | Mark Burton Billy Frolick Eric Darnell Tom McGrath |
Voiced by | Bernie Mac (second film) |
In-universe information | |
Species | African lion |
The animals of Circus Zaragoza are trained circus performers that Alex's group had met while on the run from Chantel DuBois. Among the animals of Circus Zaragoza are:
Vitaly | |
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Madagascar character | |
First appearance | Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) |
Voiced by | Bryan Cranston (film); John Mariano (video game) |
In-universe information | |
Species | Siberian tiger |
Vitaly is a muscular no-nonsense Siberian tiger, former leader and retired circus-performer in Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted .
Vitaly once jumped through hoops similar to how Alex showcases his dance moves, constantly pushing himself to the limit by jumping through smaller ones that seemed impossible for his size. After failing to jump through a ring-sized hoop that is additionally set on fire, Vitaly loses his wife, popularity and confidence. When Alex and his friends plead with the circus to let them escape on their train, Vitaly is the most resistant, only to be overruled by Gia. When the zoo animals purchase the circus, Vitaly remains the most hostile to their changes to the business, even as the rest of the crew becomes inspired. He is especially antagonistic to Alex, showing jealousy for his backstory on how popular he was back in New York.
In London, Vitaly decides to give up and prepares to leave just before the circus' newest performance there. Alex confronts Vitaly and reminds the tiger of his love of performing, while suggesting he uses hair conditioner as a safer lubricant before regaining his courage to jump through the hoop from all that time ago. As a result, Vitaly's stunt is pulled off without a hitch to open the successful show and he later befriends Alex. Even after Alex and company are exposed and estranged from the circus, Vitaly is the first to support Gia's proposal to rescue their new friends from DuBois and plays a key role in that operation.
Gia | |
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Madagascar character | |
First appearance | Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) |
Voiced by | Jessica Chastain (film); Julianne Buescher (video game) |
In-universe information | |
Nationality | Italian |
Species | Jaguar |
Gia is an Italian-accented jaguar who is part of the traveling circus in Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted . She is Alex's love interest who is always on the lookout to discover something new and gets her chance when she convinces a reluctant Alex to teach her the trapeze – "Circus Americano" style- and the duo soon becomes romantically involved. Her only role in the circus before Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria came around was doing normal cat tricks (sitting, standing and rolling over) but when Alex teaches her the trapeze, she performs with him and they move closer. Later on, she and the other circus animals save Alex and the gang from Dubois. They soon become an item.
Stefano | |
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Madagascar character | |
First appearance | Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) |
Voiced by | Martin Short (film); Danny Jacobs (video game) |
In-universe information | |
Nationality | Italian |
Species | New Zealand sea lion |
Stefano is an Italian-accented New Zealand sea lion. He is part of the traveling circus in Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted and is a happy go-lucky and fun-loving individual who always looks on the brighter side of things. A true entertainer at heart, he is up for any challenge to save the circus, even convincing Alex that the show must go on.
Sonya | |
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Madagascar character | |
First appearance | Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) |
Voiced by | Frank Welker |
In-universe information | |
Species | Eurasian brown bear |
Sonya is the circus' ferocious, yet playful Eurasian brown bear who appears in Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted . Her tricycle riding act is only topped by her ridiculous tutu, but her biggest trick of all would be making King Julien smitten with her. Unlike most of the animals in the film series, she is a mute, but only Julien understands her.
While they are in Rome, she and Julien travel to Vatican City where they steal the Pope's ring after Julien pretentiously kisses and uses it to buy her a Ducati motorcycle after her tricycle is inadvertently destroyed, which she uses in her subsequent performances.
The Andalusian Triplets Esperanza, Esmeralda and Ernestina | |
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Madagascar character | |
First appearance | Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) |
Voiced by | Paz Vega |
In-universe information | |
Species | Andalusian horses |
Esperanza, Esmeralda and Ernestina are three of the new characters in Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted . They are a trio of Spanish-accented Andalusian horse triplets who like Marty and are part of the circus. All of their names start with "E" and end with "A". When Alex's group improved Circus Zaragoza, the Andalusian Triplets bounced on the trampolines during their act while wearing butterfly-themed outfits.
The Dancing Dogs Frankie, Freddie, Jonesy and Shakey | |
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Madagascar character | |
First appearance | Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) |
Voiced by | Nick Fletcher (Frankie) Vinnie Jones (Freddie) Steve Jones (Jonesy) Adam Buxton (Shakey) |
The Dancing Dogs are a sextet of performing British Cockney-accented dogs as members of the circus in Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted . They tend to fight and argue with each other and they hate being called cute and cuddly. The Dancing Dogs consist of Frankie (voiced by Nick Fletcher), Freddie (voiced by Vinnie Jones), Jonesy (voiced by Steve Jones), Shakey (voiced by Adam Buxton), Bobby and Sammy. Only the first three are credited.
Manu and Maya are a pair of performing Indian elephants as members of Circus Zaragoza in Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted . They also appeared as extra zoo animals in Madagascar and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa .
For an all-animal circus, the elephants do an aerial silk act with flaming trunks.
Ted (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke) is a polar bear who lives in the Central Park Zoo. He first appeared in The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper where he was depressed due to being alone on Christmas. This caused Private to want to give him a present. When Skipper denied his request, Private snuck into the city to find Ted a gift only to be kidnapped by Nana. After getting Private back, the other penguins decided to invite Ted to their Christmas party where the polar bear had invited the rest of the Zoo as the animals present sing their rendition of "Jingle Bells".
Moto Moto (voiced by will.i.am in the film and Greg Eagles in the video game) is a big, strong and muscular hippopotamus with a deep masculine voice, who is very attracted to 'big and chunky' female hippopotamuses. In Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa , he falls in love with Gloria. However, Melman the Giraffe shows up and divulges romantic feelings for Gloria. This causes Gloria to break up with Moto Moto.
An unnamed female Okapi (voiced by Taraji P. Henson) appears in Madly Madagascar , whom Marty finds himself in love with. She is not interested until he uses a love potion on himself, causing her and all the other female animals to begin pampering him. She and the other animals lose interest in him after he jumps into a lake to hide from them, causing the potion to wash off.
North Wind is an Arctic elite undercover interspecies task force that helps in protecting animals. They're the equivalent of the Penguins, who help them stop Dave from wiping out their species. Among the members of North Wind are:
Classified (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) is a courageous yet slightly arrogant British wolf and the team leader of North Wind. [3] He is at loggerheads with Skipper. Skipper calls him Classified, who states his name isn't really "Classified". His name is classified (as in "top secret") because he is the leader of the team. He is the North Wind's counterpart of Skipper.
Short Fuse (voiced by Ken Jeong) is a Bulgarian harp seal. He is the North Wind's explosive and demolitions expert. He is the North Wind's counterpart of Rico.
Eva (voiced by Annet Mahendru) is a Russian snowy owl and North Wind's intelligence analyst whom Kowalski falls in love with. Coincidentally, she is the North Wind's counterpart of Kowalski.
Corporal (voiced by Peter Stormare) is a Norwegian polar bear and the muscle of the North Wind team. He seems to like penguins and he freaks out when other penguins are taken. He is the North Wind's counterpart of Private.
Nana (voiced by Elisa Gabrielli in the films and Marion Ross in the second video game) is an elderly Yiddish-accented lady and the archenemy of Alex.
Nana's personality changes over her appearances. Initially, she appears as a very aggressive old lady with incredible martial arts skills. In The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper, she is shown to be aggressive with anyone, no matter how courteous people are with her. But in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, she appears to be kinder than before, even leading the New Yorkers when she notices that they are in panic, only being aggressive with wild animals; which she sees as no different from domestic animals. She is also shown to be a soft and grandmother figure to the New Yorkers.
Mr. Chew is a small, white poodle, fond of chewing (hence his name) and tearing various items apart. Chew is owned by Nana, and lives in her apartment on the top floor in an apartment complex. Nana purchased Private, mistaking him for a squeaky toy, while he was attempting to find a gift for Ted, and reveals him to be a Christmas present for Mr. Chew. After that, Private gets stuffed in a Christmas stocking, whilst he gets nearly mauled by Chew. Nana was watching a football game on her TV and was too busy to realize that Chew was trying to kill Private. After that, Chew was defeated by Skipper, Kowalski and Rico, who had set out to rescue Private. Nana does not hear the fight, but after she sees the damage, she blames Mr. Chew for destroying her apartment and puts him on a big "time out".
The Fossa (voiced by Tom McGrath and Eric Darnell in the film and various voices in All Hail King Julien ) appear as medium-sized weasel-like creatures, closely related to mongoose, and rarely speak, instead usually growling and yelping.[ citation needed ] 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."
The fossa are recurring characters in All Hail King Julien. During his reign, King Julien's uncle King Julien XII had kept the lemur kingdom quiet in order to keep the fossa from attacking them. His uncle gives Julien the crown after learning that the king of the lemurs will be eaten by the fossa. But Julien only got bitten on the butt, while saving the lemurs and his scream sent boulders falling down and the fossa run away. Throughout the first movie and the two TV series, there have been male fossa. In the fifth episode of All Hail King Julien there is a fossa girl who flirts with Julien and Maurice in a fossa suit. She is seen in the end cuddling the suit with Julien's uncle in it who is being punished and sparred by Julien, for sending his nephew to the territory and trying to reclaim the throne. Julien is, at one point, able to tame a fossa girl named Mary Anne who later becomes a partial leader of the fossa.
Makunga (voiced by Alec Baldwin in the film and John Cygan in the video game) is a male lion with a large black mane styled in a pompadour and has green eyes. He is Zuba's rival and wants to take his place as alpha lion. 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". Makunga usually acts like he thinks he is smart and has good leadership, but he only is trying to become alpha lion because he wants to be in charge. Makunga often looks at other characters while making an evil unnoticed face where he crosses his arms in front of his chest and makes a big smirk, usually when he is planning to do something that is not good.
Teetsi (voiced by Fred Tatasciore) is Makunga's henchman and the strongest lion in his group who hides his true nature in a laid back appearance. Makunga tricked Alex by suggesting that he goes up against Teetsi. Alex ended up defeated by Teetsi, who placed the Hat of Shame on him on Makunga's orders.
Captain Chantel DuBois (voiced by Frances McDormand) is a Monacan animal control officer. She is a big-game hunter and has extraordinary tracking skills, as well as superhuman strength and a habit of mounting the heads of every animal she has caught on her wall. Throughout the third film, DuBois pursues the animals in hopes of having Alex's head as a trophy.
DuBois' Men are four men of Captain DuBois' animal control officers. They are prone to getting hurt, unlike their boss. However, even when they do get hurt, DuBois can heal them instantly simply by singing "Non, je ne regrette rien", thereby appealing to their patriotism. One is short, one is tall and skinny with a mustache, one is overweight with a goatee and sideburns, and one is also overweight and has a mustache.
Dave (voiced by John Malkovich) is a purple giant Pacific octopus who appears in Penguins of Madagascar as the main antagonist. He disguises himself as a human professor under the alias of Dr. Octavius Brine. Dave used to be one of the top attractions at the Central Park Zoo, in which time he entertained children with his clever and funny tricks. However, when Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private arrived, they unknowingly stole all his glory due to their cuteness and he was forcibly removed from his home. Afterwards, Dave was shipped to every major Zoo in the world, but the same thing happened again and again and again: penguins getting all the attention while Dave was shunned, ignored and neglected. Embittered, Dave now seeks revenge on the penguin species, becoming a mad scientist in the process.
At the end of the film, Dave's plan for revenge is foiled and he is shrunk by his own ray and trapped in a snow globe, where he is admired by a little girl.
Dave's Henchmen are octopuses. They are evil minions who work for Dave and assist him in his plans to rid the world of all penguins. They don't speak, but they make a bubbling "octopus" sound that Dave understands. Each henchman share the first names of famous celebrities. Whenever Dave ordered them to do something, he would say the actor's first name and an action word that spells out the actors' full names.
Marlene (voiced by Nicole Sullivan in normal form and Dee Bradley Baker in wild form) is an Asian small-clawed otter residing at the Central Park Zoo. Marlene is shown to be both playful and kind towards others, which often conflicts with Skipper's serious and safety-cautious attitude. Though this is true, the two still share a very strong friendship with one another and still have the ability to keep that certain bond exceedingly strong, making it rather difficult to break.
In "Otter Gone Wild", it is revealed that Marlene was born in captivity. When she sets foot in the outside world, she becomes wild. In the episode "Littlefoot", Marlene is temporarily separated from her feral personality and gains greater control after reuniting with it.
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 does not understand what people enjoy about watching animals on their computer, saying that they do not do anything interesting. Alice is involved in several aspects of the animal's well-being. It's hinted that deep down Alice cares for the zoo animals and only wants what's best for them as she hates it when people feed the animals popcorn, and posts several signs throughout the zoo after catching a child feeding Marlene a kernel.
Pervis McSlade (voiced by Gary Cole) is the commissioner of the Central Park Zoo.
This unnamed doctor (voiced by Brian George) works as a veterinarian with an Asian-Indian accent at the Central Park Zoo. He works in the "animal care" building. Unlike Alice, he seems to be quite fond of animals. He is bald and wears a white lab coat. Skipper often voices dislike of him because of his use of needles and when injured, he has been known to try and downplay the injury rather than visit the vet.
Chuck Charles (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is a newsman who works at Channel-1.
The Rat King (voiced by Diedrich Bader) is a genetically enhanced, muscular lab rat who resides in the sewer. He constantly torments the penguins and never learns his lesson when he's defeated each time.
The Sewer Rats (voiced by Jeff Bennett and Kevin Michael Richardson) are countless small sewer rats who are friends and minions of Rat King.
Officer X (voiced by Cedric Yarbrough) is a New York animal control officer who has a single-minded focus on removing stray animals from the streets. Officer X is shown to have a superhuman level of strength, crushing a small metal cage with his bare hands and defeating Joey, who even the penguins could not easily beat, head on, and Mason even suspects Officer X cannot be human.
Joey (voiced by James Patrick Stuart) is a bad-tempered and hostile Australian-accented red kangaroo that always refers to himself in the third person who loves beating up anyone who steps foot in his habitat, especially Skipper and Julien. He first appeared in the season one episode, "Assault and Batteries" and later on in "Cat's Cradle" when he tried to beat up Officer X but was badly hurt instead. He also appeared to have a big role in "Skorca!" In the season two episode, "Kanga-Management", the Penguins accidentally destroy the Koala habitat, forcing Leonard to temporarily live with Joey until the pen is re-built, much to their dismay. Eventually, the two settle their differences and become friends, agreeing on their shared hatred for the penguins.
Weirdly, he has a pouch even though he's male.
Leonard (voiced by Dana Snyder) is an extremely paranoid and nervous koala. He was shown to be very afraid of the penguins. After being accidentally launched into the city due to Kowalski's evacuation launcher, the penguins come save him and bring him back to the zoo.
He appears again in "Kanga Management" in which the penguins accidentally destroy his enclosure, forcing him to temporarily live in Joey's enclosure. He and Joey eventually become friends due to their shared hatred for the penguins.
In "Nighty Night Ninja", he watches a martial arts film with the penguins while he waits for his home to air out, due to a fish bomb. This causes him to start attacking the other animals in a sleep-walking state the next day. The penguins cure him by making him watch The Lunacorns, and save him from vengeful sewer rats, whom he had attacked earlier.
Hans (voiced by John DiMaggio) is a puffin with a past history with Skipper that involves a mission in Denmark that somehow resulted in Skipper being declared Public Enemy Number One in the country in question. During "Huffin & Puffin", he appeared in New York, initially apparently wanting to make peace with Skipper, before his true agenda was revealed to be his attempt to take control of the Penguins' lair for revenge. With Skipper having infiltrated the lair and defeated Hans, he was then shipped to the Hoboken Zoo.
He appeared in "The Hoboken Surprise" and helped the penguins defeat the animal androids who had taken over the Hoboken Zoo.
He appeared in "The Return of the Revenge of Doctor Blowhole", working with Doctor Blowhole as part of a plan to take Skipper's memories away.
Dr. Blowhole (voiced by Neil Patrick Harris) is an evil, mad bottlenose dolphin scientist and supervillain, who plans to take revenge on the human race: In the past, Blowhole was known as "Flippy", and was forced by humans to perform tricks at Coney Island for their own amusement. Blowhole gets around by the use of a Segway-type vehicle while on land, which also projects a glass dome around it.
Rhonda (voiced by Kathy Kinney) is a very rude, unhygienic, lazy and obnoxious walrus. She is transferred into Marlene's habitat. At first Marlene is excited to have another girl to hang out with, but gets annoyed by Rhonda very quickly due to her disgusting and obnoxious behavior. She asks the penguins to ship her out overnight, but stops the shipment after hearing she is getting taken to a polar bear reserve. Instead they send her to the Hoboken Zoo. At the end, we see that she is one of Dr. Blowhole's agents and stole Kowalski's plasma cutter.
She appears again, as an ally this time, in "The Hoboken Surprise" where she, Hans, Clemson, Lulu and Savio help the penguins fight off animal androids in the Hoboken Zoo.
Bada (voiced by John DiMaggio) and Bing (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) are giant Brooklyn-accented eastern lowland gorillas. Bada is a gray-furred gorilla and Bing is a brown-furred gorilla. They served as thuggish bodyguards for Maurice, but they have been seen displaying softer sides upon other occasions, such as when they looked after Mort in "The Penguin Stays in the Picture" while a photographer was there as an unrequested favor to Private, who wanted to be on the cover of the zoo brochure.
Burt (voiced by John DiMaggio in the TV series and Fred Tatasciore in the video games) is an Indian elephant who was just an extra zoo animal during the beginning of the series, but then evolved into a character of greater focus as the series evolved.
Burt is shown to be obsessed with peanuts, and when he does not eat them, he goes insane as shown in "Jungle Law". He nearly eats Julien when he mistakes him for a peanut.
Roger (voiced by Richard Kind) is the penguins' American alligator friend who lives in the sewer. In the episode "Gator Watch", Roger is captured by animal control and transferred to the Central Park Zoo. He has dreams of becoming a star at the Broadway.
Max (voiced by Wayne Knight) is the penguins' stray tabby cat friend who lives in an alley near Central Park. He first meets the four penguins in the episode "Launchtime" when the penguins end up on a rooftop across the street from the zoo instead of on the moon. At first, the penguins thought he was a "mooncat", but at the end they figure out he was just a stray cat. Max is skinny and hopes to catch a bird in his life. He at first wanted to eat the penguins, but was so touched when he was given a can of fish by them that he became their friend instead.
The Duck Family are a family of ducks that live in a pond in Central Park.
Fred (voiced by Fred Stoller) is a dimwitted squirrel that lives in Central Park and takes everything said literally and has a slow, unemphatic speech pattern. Kowalski met Fred briefly in the "Otter Gone Wild" episode, while the full penguin group met him in "Mask of the Raccoon" where he is friends with Archie despite the fact that Archie is no good.
Roy (voiced by Danny Jacobs) is a short-tempered white rhinoceros, appearing predominantly as an extra zoo animal for the majority of the series. When given more of a role, he often appears to have little-to-no patience for any animal that provokes him, usually responding with threats.
Pinky (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) is a sassy American flamingo, who usually only appears as an extra zoo animal in the series. Her only main role, so far, is when she was used for aerial support when the penguins wanted to take fish from a fish delivery truck. Somehow she wound up getting all the fish for herself by the end of the episode.
In the episode "Operation: Good Deed" the penguins need one of Pinky's feathers so that Julien would let Maurice massage Mason. She agrees to give them one after they got her peanuts through a series of additional tasks.
Darla (voiced by Grey DeLisle) is a very tough, unfriendly, aggressive, tomboyish, determined but also kind-hearted, sweet and caring Western-accented Guinea baboon. She appears mainly as a background zoo animal. Carol and Jillian (voiced by Grey DeLisle) are Darla's baboon friends who are often seen with her.
Shelly (voiced by Melissa McCarthy) is an ostrich who lives in the Central Park Zoo. For most of the series, she only appears as a background zoo animal.
Her first major role and her first speaking role so far is in the episode "Love Takes Flightless". In this episode she falls for Rico after he saves her from being frozen in cement by demolishing it. She tries to get Rico's attention by hiding his doll in the dumpster. After seeing how upset Rico was about it, she helps the penguins get it back from the garbage truck. At the end, Shelly gets herself a muscular male doll and becomes happy with it.
Despite her gender, she has the colors of a male ostrich.
Becky (voiced by Jennette McCurdy) and Stacy (voiced by Victoria Justice) are two American badgers that are residents of the zoo. They are prone to having to put up with badger stereotypes.
Private was initially fearful of badgers, but Becky and Stacy won his heart by giving him Peanut Butter Winkies. After Private left, Becky and Stacy started badgering Marlene into doing wild and crazy things with them. Marlene, annoyed, tells them to stop badgering her. They ended up attacking Marlene due to the use of badger stereotypes. They were eventually defeated when Marlene fell outside the park and went into her wild state. After that incident, Becky and Stacy appear to respect and fear Marlene since they all have a picnic with the penguins in the park with the two of them being held in between wild Marlene's arms.
Randy (voiced by Will Friedle) is a sheep who lives at the Children's Zoo at the Central Park Zoo. Children are constantly coming to pet him. Many of them have sticky hands due to eating too much candy, causing him to bite one.
Muffy, Buffy and Fluffy (voiced by Kristen Schaal) are three adorable, cute, and cuddly rabbits who reside in the Central Park Children's Zoo. As shown in the show they appear to be cute and innocent but they happen to be very good fighters.
Clemson (voiced by Larry Miller) is a very descriptive and exuberant bamboo lemur who made his first appearance in the episode "Right Hand Man". After being transferred to the Central Park Zoo, Clemson tried to replace Maurice as Julien's right-hand man by constantly pampering him. Mort found out that Clemson was planning to ship Julien to the Hoboken Zoo so that he could take over as king. The Penguins later turn the tables on him by pushing Clemson into the crate to be sent off himself.
Lulu (voiced by Jane Leeves) is a female chimpanzee. She was staying at the Central Park Zoo while her habitat in the Hoboken Zoo was being repaired. Once she showed up, Phil fell in love with her. When Mason tries to set the two up, she thinks Mason is asking her out. After several failed attempts by the penguins and King Julien to show off Phil's skills, Phil explains the whole situation to her in American Sign Language and she agrees to go out with him before she has to leave.
Doris (voiced by Calista Flockhart) is a dolphin and Dr. Blowhole's sister. Kowalski has a crush on her who is spoken of in several episodes. As shown in "Hot Ice", Kowalski sees her as a love interest, though it appears to be unrequited. Her first and only appearance was in "The Penguin Who Loved Me".
Savio (voiced by Nestor Carbonell) is a large Spanish-accented green anaconda who attacked the animals on three occasions. When he was initially transferred to the zoo in "The Big Squeeze", the penguins suspected him of being the cause of the disappearance of the lemurs and Marlene, but his cage appeared inescapable; the only means of departure was a vent that Savio could have used when unfed but would have been unable to access when returning. Skipper realises that he was instead using the vent to access the keypad that controlled his cage locks with his tail, allowing him to open his cage. He was defeated on this occasion when the penguins lured him into Burt's habitat, with Burt throwing Savio around and squeezing him through the bars to expel his previously-eaten victims. Alice later had Savio transferred to the Hoboken Zoo.
The Vesuvius Twins (voiced by Atticus Shaffer) are two schoolboys from a very wealthy family. They are disliked by all of the animals of the zoo because of how nasty they are. Even though they are repeatedly banned from going near the animals, they usually get around the ban because of their parent's wealth, e.g. purchasing all of the tickets for an event at the zoo. Private often encourages others to show kindness to the boys, choosing to believe that they are secretly good.
Their name is derived from the volcano Mount Vesuvius.
Cecil (voiced by French Stewart) and Brick (voiced by John DiMaggio) are two criminals that have occasionally run afoul of the Penguins.
Archie (voiced by Rob Paulsen) is a raccoon with a Robin Hood-like motive and a friend of Fred. He has been going around stealing from the zoo and supposedly giving to the poor. His plot was exposed by the Penguins upon learning about him from Fred and ends up having to give to the poor for real.
In "The Big Move", Archie appears as a property agent where he tries to sell Rico a house. In this appearance, he is not in his Robin Hood costume and not using a French accent.
The Amarillo Kid (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is a nine-banded armadillo.
A long time ago, the Amarillo Kid challenged Private to a game of mini golf, back when Private was one of the best mini golf players and was known as Mr. Tux. Private quit after the game, which ended in a tie, because he had to hit a little possum girl's ice cream cone to tie it up. Though Private admitted that the pressure made him quit after all. Several years later in "Mr. Tux", he arrived at the Central Park Zoo to challenge Private to a game to prove he's the best. At first, Private refuses to fight him. Enraged by this, the Kid locked down the entire zoo and threatened to blow it up with a thermonuclear reactor. Private battles him, and though the game is close, Private wins with the help of a cricket he had saved earlier. Ashamed, the Amarillo Kid leaves.
Miss Perky (voiced by Tara Strong) is Rico's doll girlfriend. While not alive, Rico does treat her as if she was.
Granny Squirrel (voiced by Debbie Reynolds) first appeared as a granny of Fred in "The Lost Treasure of the Golden Squirrel", but then the gang believed she is a ghost.
Frankie (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is a homing pigeon.
The Red Squirrel (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is an evil red squirrel.
The Broches are a trio of cockroaches: Mike (voiced by Zand Broumand), Duane (voiced by Brian Posehn), and Eddie (voiced by Jerry Trainor).
Frances Alberta (voiced by Megan Hilty) is the presumptive head zookeeper at the Hoboken Zoo who was first shown to be a cheerful zookeeper who had worked to clean up the zoo's poor conditions, gaining the respect of resident animals Rhonda, Hans, Clemson, Savio, and Lulu. Frances also afforded the animals under her care many amenities, such as fine cuisine, massage chairs, and a fountain of cheese. It is later revealed that Frances never had the respect of her animals, whom she had simply sealed away under the ground and replaced with android look-alikes, all in an effort to meet her demanding standard for cleanliness and to get the attention of Parks Commissioner Pervis McSlade. At the end of the episode, Commissioner McSlade fires her and the Hoboken Police arrests her for making android look-alike animals and assault of a Bartender.
Kitka (voiced by Kari Wahlgren) is a female peregrine falcon whom Skipper falls in love with.
Shawna W. Smith (voiced by Joanna Garcia) is a zoo nurse that Private once had a crush on.
Special Agent Buck Rockgut (voiced by Clancy Brown) is a crazy rockhopper penguin.
Hunter (voiced by Ciara Bravo) is a young female leopard seal who doesn't eat penguins.
Uncle Nigel (voiced by Peter Capaldi) is Private's uncle, who works as a spy for MI6, and comes to New York to visit his nephew and to find The Red Squirrel.
When around the penguins (minus Private), Nigel acted like a "posh nancycat". This was all part of his cover story. When captured by The Red Squirrel, Nigel was forced to tell Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico that he actually was a spy. It is unknown if Nigel really is Private's uncle in blood or not. Though it is possible that he is either an honorary uncle or perhaps one of Private's parents was the same species of penguin Nigel is and he is their brother whilst the other parent was the same species as Private.
Blue Hen (voiced by Audrey Wasilewski) is a chicken who is a mute animal with psychic powers. Kowalski, being a sceptic, records her and sends the video on internet, hoping someone will figure out that Blue Hen is faking her powers, only for her to gain popularity.
She is then revealed to just be extremely intelligent rather than psychic, being able to figure out what's going to happen with analytical thinking. She can also talk and becomes an enemy of the penguins after they find out that she was waiting for someone like Kowalski to expose her so that she can gain popularity and power. Unable to defeat her rationally or by fighting, Kowalski sets up a plan to distract her by singing and dancing seductively, leading her to choose the wrong option. While she starts holding a grudge against Kowalski, she compliments his dancing ability and kisses him.
Manfredi (voiced by James Patrick Stuart) and Johnson (voiced by Danny Jacobs) are penguins who were former members of Skipper's team. They are typically cited for the nature of their demise or a mistake they made as an example of what can happen if one lets their guard down or neglects their training. The exact method of their demise varies in each instance and in some cases are contradictory: killed by an exploding trap, killed by flying piranhas, losing vital internal organs, etc.
They are finally seen in "The Penguin Who Loved Me", in an enclosure in Seaville both with bruises and injuries, but very much alive. However, they have somehow injured their eyes. Manfredi has lost his left foot now replaced by a stick while Johnson broke his right flipper and seems to have a burn on his body. Johnson noticed the penguins and Doris "flying out" of Seaville and banged on the glass panel for help. Unfortunately for them, the penguins never noticed their desperate pleas and swam away saying they were never going to come back ever again.
Parker (voiced by Ty Burrell) is a platypus who was in a relationship with Doris, and he was hired by her to bring Kowalski in so that she could convince him to help free her brother, Francis. However, after Francis turned out to actually be Dr. Blowhole, Parker also reveals that he was hired by the lobsters to bring the amnesiac Blowhole back to them so that they could restore his memory. Afterwards, Parker double-crosses them in order to complete his mission.
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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". [4] 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." [4]