List of characters in Madagascar

Alex the Lion

Madagascar character
Alex the Lion
Alex prepares for a show at the Central Park Zoo
Gender	Male
Species	Lion
Eye Color	Blue
Fur Color	Tan
Place of Birth	New York City
Portrayer	Ben Stiller

Alex is a fictional character who appears in the 2005 DreamWorks film, Madagascar. He is voiced by Ben Stiller.

He is a lion featured as a prominent attraction at the Central Park Zoo. He is vain (being the main attraction of the zoo and featured heavily in merchandise) and infatuated with steak, but sees his friends as the most important things in his life.

Alex's mane was made of 50,000 different animated hairs.

Alex is the main attraction of the Central Park Zoo, and his best friends with Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, and Gloria the Hippopotamus who also reside there. When the four end up on the island of Madagascar, Alex blames Marty for getting them transferred, but later apologizes, and actually begins to enjoy life in the wild. However, away from the zoo environment, Alex's killer instincts overtake him and he begins dreaming about eating his friends. After some reflection, Alex is able to snap out of his faze and rejoin the gang as they head back to the zoo (despite the fact that the boat was out of gas).

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

Marty the Zebra

Marty is a fictional character in the 2005 DreamWorks film, Madagascar. He is an anthropomorphic zebra voiced by Chris Rock. He likes his life in the Central Park Zoo but realizes, now he's 10 years old, that he longs to explore the world outside the zoo.

Marty is unsure whether he's white with black stripes, or black with white stripes. At one point in the movie, Alex says he's black with white stripes, as he has 30 black, and only 29 white.

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 fufilled. 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".

Melman the Giraffe

Melman Mankiewicz III is a fictional anthropomorphic giraffe, who appears in the 2005 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 played by David Schwimmer.

In the movie, Melman is nervous about leaving the zoo, along with Alex and Gloria, when their friend, Marty, has disappeared. Using Melman's help, they are able to track their way through New York City and flag Marty down at Grand Central Station. Then, the four friends are put on a ship to Kenya, but the penguins take control of the ship and the four friends are shipwrecked on the island of Madagascar (which Melman declares to be the San Diego Zoo with fake rocks).

Melman believes their situation on the island to be a disaster and writes his Last Will and Testament in the sand, where most of it is washed away by the tide.

Melman is seen at the beginning and end of the The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper, having been decorated to look like a Christmas tree by Alex, Marty, and Gloria.

Gloria the hipottamus

• Gender:Female
• Species:hippotamus
• colour of eye:black
• place of birth: New York
• portrayer: Jada Pinkett Smith

The Penguins

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Kowalski, Skipper, and Rico (with his dynamite)

The Madagascar Penguins, from the film, Madagascar, are a group of four penguins who believe they are spies. Though they all have different abilities, they are all skilled in gymnastics and martial arts. They also starred in The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper, a short film directed by Gary Trousdale and written by Michael Lachance.

• 
  Skipper, also known as Joe-The leader of the group, He seems to be rounder than the rest of the penguins. He is good at barking out orders, naming plans and slapping. He is voiced by the director of the movie, Tom McGrath, who said he based his portrayal of Skipper's voice on Robert Stack and Charlton Heston.

• Kowalski - The smartest and tallest of the penguins, sometimes referred to as "Lt. Kowalski" (usually in the commentaries with the penguins). He forms plans for the group and usually takes notes for Skipper. He is Voiced by Chris Miller.

• Private, also known as Ryan - Distinguishable by his googly eyes and soft British accent, he is the youngest of the group. Good at cracking codes, he is often slapped by the Skipper. Also take notes for the Skipper. He is voiced by Christopher Knights. In the Christmas Caper short, he was the one captured by the old lady. His name is probably a reference to his 'rank' among the group of penguins and a play on the movie Saving Private Ryan (also from DreamWorks). He is often viewed as the most expendable of the group as well.

• Rico - Psychotic knife wizard and explosives expert. Rico displays a certain talent for the Culinary arts. Rendering a raw fish to sushi in mere seconds. And carving a block of ice into the shape of a christmas tree. Can store various items in his stomach (like the dynamite stick in the Christmas Caper short). Also seems to be an excellent swimmer (he is the only penguin seen swimming). He has dark circles under his eyes. Had a mohawk and scar on his face in the Christmas Caper (which generates some inconsistency as the short took place before the actual movie as they are all still at the zoo, and he did not have any scar on the movie). The only real words known in his vocabulary are "Eggnog", "Hai" (Japanese) and "Ka-boom." Voiced by John DiMaggio.

Organization

The Penguins act like they are either spies, Special Forces or Navy SEALs. They are all skilled in combat of all kinds, though it is unknown where they learned it. They seem to think they are part of a secret government agency. How they end being in the zoo is summed up by the quote "We don't belong here, It's all some kind of wacked out conspiracy". Skipper and the rest of the crew want to return to Antarctica (though this goal is destroyed when they reach Antarctica and discover that it is a frozen wasteland with the quote "Well, this sucks."). According to "Penguin Chat" (a special feature, in which they show scenes with the penguins and commentaries by Skipper, Kowalski, and Private), they claim Madagascar "New Antarctica" and discussed a plan to take over by getting rid of the old regime and placing in a puppet government, which they would control. This seems to be a satire or a parody of the Central Intelligence Agency and of spies, who are often rumored to be involved in various plots and coup attempts.

Trivia

• The Old Lady who captures Private in The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper also played a cameo part in Madagascar as the lady who assaulted Alex the lion (and Melman the giraffe briefly) with her bag in Grand Central Station.
• Rico is the only penguin character that doesn't speak English in Madagascar - his only line is "hai" (a Japanese word that means "yes"), while cutting the fish. In The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper, Rico speaks English - saying "eggnog", and later "kaboom".
• Rico's scar & hair style in The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper short make him almost look like Dr. Drakken from Disney's Kim Possible, who is also voiced by John DiMaggio.
• On the Madagascar DVD, the penguins provide their own commentary on their scenes. When Private is struggling to operate a computer, Skipper comments, "You told me you knew Linux, Private!". This is a reference to Tux, a penguin who is the mascot for the Linux operating system.
• Skipper makes an appearance in the Shrek the Third video game located in Hook's Ship. If the player collects the second soveneir mug, he will need to destroy some crates. Skipper is hidden in one of those crates and will recite the same line he told Marty when the penguins were escaping from the zoo.

Quotes

• You didn't see anything... (Skipper)
• Hoover Dam! (Skipper)
• Grand Coulee Dam! (Skipper)
• Shiitake Mushrooms! (Skipper)
• No more Mr. Cute and Cuddly. (Skipper)
• Eggnog at 2100 hours, writing our names in the snow at 2105... (Skipper)
• He's one of us, men. You all know the penguin credo. (Skipper) ...Never bathe in hot oil and Bisquick? (Kowalski)
• [Eats some snow] Mmm... Adrenaline, sweat and sardines. These tracks are fresh, sir! (Kowalski)
• Captain's log, embarking in hostile environment. Kowalski, we need to win the hearts and minds of the natives. Rico, we'll need special tactical equipment. * We're gonna face extreme peril. Private probably won't survive. (Skipper)
• We've been ratted out, boys. (Skipper)
• Holy Butterball! (Skipper)
• You, higher mammal! Can you read? (Skipper)
• You, quadruped! Sprechen sie English? (Skipper)
• Can you keep a secret, my monochromatic friend? (Skipper)
• Cute and cuddly boys ...cute and cuddly. (Skipper)
• Skipper! Don't you think that we should tell them that the boat ran out of gas? (Private) Nah ...just smile and wave boys. Smile and wave. (Skipper)
• Where are the people? (Gloria) We killed them and ate their livers. (Skipper)
• We don't belong here, It's all some kind of wacked out conspiracy! (Skipper)
• Africa! That ain't gonna fly! (Skipper)
• Just smile and wave boys, smile and wave. (Skipper)
• The kitty loves the fishy! (Skipper)
• Let's get this tin can turned around! (Skipper)
• Well boys, it's gonna be ice cold sushi for breakfast! (Skipper)
• 10 o'clock men, Blend! Blend! Blend! (Skipper)
• What comes down must go up! (Skipper)
• [Crashing through window] Santa Claus has come to town! (Skipper)
• And me, Skipper? (Private)
• Quadruped, canine, 2 O'Clock! (Skipper)
• We're digging to Antarctica! (Private)
• Rico enough with the dynamite (Skipper)
• Hey, I know you two! Where's that pyschotic lion and our monochromatic friend? (Skipper)
• Hoover Dam! We're still in New York! Abort! Dive! Dive! Dive! (Skipper)
• Foosa Halt! (Skipper)
• Well this sucks! (Private)
• EGGNOG!!!! (Rico)
• Ha-da da, ha-da da. Doo-da, Dee-da! (rico)
• Ka-boom! (Rico)
• Hai! (Rico)
• Yes, Rico, Ka-Boom!! (Skipper)

The Lemurs

• King Julien XIII the Ring-tailed Lemur

• Voiced by Sacha Baron Cohen. According to a May 26, 2005 interview with Director Tom McGrath in the Seattle Post Intelligencer [1], "We had this two-line character, Julian [sic], and we got a tape of the show 'Ali G' with Sacha Baron Cohen. He came in and he invented this Indian accent. We gave him a couple of lines and he turned them into eight minutes of dialogue. We were just in tears on the floor and thought, 'This guy has to be the king.' So that was just a two-line part that he invented and it turned into that role." Self-proclaimed King of the Madagascar lemurs, Julien loves to sing, dance, and be the center of attention. He uses a crown made out of leaves, and later a larger crown that features a gecko to denote his royal stature. The other lemurs hang on his every word. He is slightly deranged and overly impressed by his modest intellect. He contrives to use Alex to protect the lemurs from their natural enemy, the fossa, as long as Alex doesn't overshadow his own glory. Julien speaks with a french accent (thus the name, Julien). Also, according to the song "I like to move it, move it" King Julien XIII is about 68 years old.

• Maurice, the Aye-aye

• Voiced by Cedric the Entertainer.
• Maurice is Julien's assistant and second in command. He is in charge of announcing Julien to his court, though he finds this task tedious. He is generally less impressed by Julien than the other lemurs. Maurice shows the most intelligence in Julien's court, and is the only one to recognize Alex as a potentially greater threat than the fossa.

Mort the Lemur -- rounded ears and a white stripe on his nose show him to be a Goodman's Mouse Lemur.

• Mort, the Mouse Lemur

• Voiced by Andy Richter.
• Mort is usually timid, but can become quite shrill and vocal when he opens up. The zoo animals find him adorable, but King Julien is highly annoyed by him, eventually shouting "Oh, shut up, you're so annoying!" in response to his inane chatter but Mort responds to this by giggling and looking flattered. In the commentary for the Film, the director mentioned that Mort was actually 35. Mort may be very cute, but the fossa almost ate him.

The Fossa

The fossas are pack-hunting predators native to Madagascar, who look like hyenas or half-cat half-dog creatures in appearance. They are the villains of the movie, and are constantly trying to kill and eat the lemurs. According to Julien, "they're always annoying us by trespassing, interrupting our parties, and ripping our limbs off". They are cowards, however, and always flee when confronted by a bigger predator, such as Alex. They also use foreign objects such as salt and pepper shakers.

Despite appearances, the pronunciation in the film ("foo-sah") is accurate, however the spelling (Foosa or Fousa) is not, as shown in one of the signs on the island.

Mason and Phil, the Chimpanzees

Mason and Phil are the sophisticated chimpanzees at the Central Park Zoo, preferring to "read" the newspaper and enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning; for them, freedom means attending a Tom Wolfe lecture to "fling poo at him." Mason (voiced by Conrad Vernon) speaks with an RP accent and plans the daily affairs for Phil and himself, but is unable to read. He is named for James Mason, whose voice inspired the character's portrayal. Phil doesn't speak, making him initially seem less intelligent, autistic, and more primitive than his comrade, but can read English and "speaks" American Sign Language which instills the idea that Phil is perhaps the more cerebral of the two. Both escape from the zoo in the beginning of the movie. They are also sent to the wildlife reserve along with the main characters. Unlike the main characters, they don't wash up on the shores of Madagascar, however they do appear in the background of the final scene in crates. They raid a wastebasket for leftover coffee and a newspaper, and their crate on the ship is full of aluminum cans (in the DVD, it is indicated that they contain root beer, not beer, likely implemented in order to make the film more family-friendly).
According to a May 26, 2005 interview with Director Tom McGrath in the Seattle Post Intelligencer [2], the chimp's "first scene was just deciphering the code on the shipping label. We got this girl who knew American Sign Language. We wanted (the gestures) to be really frenetic so she signed out, 'Tell the tiny pea-brained birds that the sign reads: Ship to ...' and it gave us enough hand gestures. Then we went back to 'I see that Tom Wolfe is speaking at Lincoln Center,' and she gestured, 'Can we throw our poo at his stupid white spit?'"

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