Anyone who has followed DreamWorks animated Madagascar comedy films fondly remembers the lion, zebra, giraffe, hippo, and penguins. These characters made the adventures in the films among the funniest, most memorable, and one of the highest-earning series over the years. The first film tells the story of Alex the lion, Melman the giraffe, Marty the Zebra, and Gloria the Hippo escaping the New York Central Park zoo with the accidental help of Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private – the four runaway penguins.
Granted, the characters' incredible adventures that lead them to Madagascar together with King Julien, Maurice, and Mort are hilarious. Still, some of the facts you might want to know about the set of the popular film series will leave you quite amused.
The Lead Characters Were Formerly to Be A Lion, A Hippo, A Zebra, And an Okapi
The okapi, known as the ‘forest giraffe’ is a close relative of the giraffe, but looks more like a hybrid of a deer and a zebra. Okapis are rare and only found in Congo’s rainforest. As a result, the character, Melman, was changed and played by a giraffe which is a more familiar animal.
Moreover, as the Madagascar Wiki narrates, Melman’s character better matched that of a giraffe, and hence the transformation into the taller animal. Nevertheless, a female Okapi who strikes Marty’s fancy features in Madly Madagascar, further along in the movie series.
The Penguins Almost Got Left Out from The First ‘Madagascar’ Movie
Owing to their short-lived feature in the first Madagascar movie, the penguins almost got cut from the film. Their scene was brief, although this helped the film producers expand the penguins’ personalities and stories through the other Madagascar movies.
Besides, fans of the birds got to see the four penguins who became the world’s most famous spy penguins, get their own movie through the spin-off of the film series, ‘Penguins of Madagascar.’ The penguins have become some of the most loveable characters in the world of animation films.
Initially, King Julien Was to Be A Less Prominent Character with Only Two Lines
Undoubtedly, King Julien, a lemur, is a renown character in the Madagascar movies, and the movie series would not be the same without the ostentatious King Julien.
It may therefore be surprising to know that King Julien was intended to be a minor character in the series. However, when the filming crew cast Sacha Baron Cohen for the part, Sacha came up with an Indian accent and an eight-minute dialogue for his recording.
This created King Julien’s sound and character as viewers know him and love!
None of The Animals Are from The Zoo in Central Park, NYC
The Madagascar movies feature the Central Park Zoo in New York City, yet none of the animals are found in the real-life zoo - apart from the penguins.
It means you will not find Alex the Lion and Marty the Zebra, or Melman the giraffe and Gloria the Hippo at the zoo. For this reason, visiting the Central Park zoo can be a tad disappointing because the quartet is living in Madagascar now. Or perhaps somewhere in Europe or another continent?
Melman Dons Tissue Boxes on His Feet
Melman is anxious about his health, a thing that causes him to display extreme health-related behaviors. In Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Melman is freaking out about a brown spot he found on his shoulder as if giraffes do not usually have brown spots.
About wearing tissue boxes on his feet, Melman is doing it to avoid catching germs and illnesses. Melman is a hypochondriac giraffe with countless irrational fears. A nod to Howard Hughes, an American business owner, and film producer, who later in life walked around wearing tissue boxes as his footwear to keep germs at bay.
Madagascar Is A Real Country
In the movie, King Julien tells foreigners that no people live in Madagascar. In real life, however, Madagascar is an island country in Africa and home to over 26 million people.
Granted, it is easy to think that Madagascar is only a Disney film set. Yet, this island off the eastern coast of southern Africa is a place that does exist. Important to note, however, Madagascar movies are not films about Madagascar, but rather, films about the adventures of four animals from the Central Park zoo.
Sources: bbc.com, netflix.com, madagascar.fandom.com, dreamworks.com, npr.org, nationalgeographic.com.