Animation has always been popular with viewers of every age group, and the Madagascar series of films is no different. The story follows Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria, a group of animals from Central Park Zoo, who leave the safety of the familiar New York City location and head out into the wild. With the help of four surprisingly capable penguins, they find themselves visiting different continents across three movies.
It's been a while since the lovable zoo animals made their big screen debut, so here's a guide to all their animated shenanigans, with every movie listed in order, along with where to stream them.
Madagascar (2005)
Madagascar begins by introducing viewers to some of the animals at Central Park Zoo. There's Alex (Ben Stiller), the slightly self-absorbed, lovable lion who is also the zoo's star attraction; Marty (Chris Rock), an energetic zebra who longs for adventure wild; Melman (David Schwimmer), a hypochondriac giraffe with a big heart; and Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith), a confident, sassy hippopotamus. On his 10th birthday, Marty decides to escape the zoo. So he hitches a ride to Antarctica with a group of penguins, Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private, who act like a covert military unit. His friends try to stop him, which eventually leads to them becoming stranded in Madagascar.
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)
The sequel, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, acts as a mini origin story for Alex while also chronicling the foursome's efforts to return to New York City. Unfortunately, the old airplane penguins Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private were planning to use in order to get back home runs out of fuel and crashes on a nature reserve in Africa. At first, Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria are excited to meet other animals of their own species. However, the novelty begins to wear off very quickly as Alex and his friends realize that fitting in with reserve animals is much harder than they expected it to be.
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)
Released in 2012, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted follows our favorite Central Park Zoo animals on a slightly different adventure. After spending some time in Africa, Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria go in search of the penguins who ventured off to Monte Carlo by themselves. The foursome eventually finds them in a local casino, but things go sideways when the head of Monaco's animal control service, Captain Chantel DuBois, sets her sights on Alex so that she can add him to her taxidermy collection. Desperate to escape, the group ends up on a circus train with new friends en route to London.
Madly Madagascar (2013)
A short film called Madly Madagascar was released directly on DVD in 2013. The Valentine's Day-themed story is set between the second and third films, with Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, and Jada Pinkett Smith reprising their roles as the famous Central Park Zoo foursome. The mini adventure begins when King Julien (voiced by Danny Jacobs) discovers a love potion. When he starts selling it to all the animals at the watering hole inside the African nature reserve, things get a little chaotic. Meanwhile, Skipper and the rest of the mischievous penguins devise a plan to rescue his bobble-head girlfriend.
Penguins of Madagascar (2014)
Although they were originally created as side characters, Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private became extremely popular, leading to the spinoff film Penguins of Madagascar. The story begins 10 years after the penguins helped their zoo friends defeat Captain Chantel DuBois. While celebrating Private's birthday, by attempting to steal snacks from a vending machine inside Fort Knox, the penguins get kidnapped by a Giant Pacific octopus named Dave, who was upstaged by penguins at every zoo he ever belonged to. After learning about his evil plan, the penguins must do everything in their power to save themselves and get back home.
Where To Watch The Madagascar Movies And Its Spinoff Online
All the Madagascar films are available to stream on platforms like Max, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and more. With a fourth film reportedly in the works, now is the perfect time to catch up on the intercontinental adventures of Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria, along with their epic penguin buddies.
