“Madagascar’s” 20th anniversary is being celebrated this upcoming week! This popular children’s movie originally premiered on May 27, 2005, but it was recognized back in January of 2026 with a special re-release in theaters. Throughout its lifetime, the “Madagascar” franchise became a huge success, earning a combined total of over $500 million in box office sales!
Although the target audience may be children, this movie is beloved by people of all ages and will continue to remain a widely known pop culture reference for generations!
“Madagascar” follows the four main characters: Alex the lion (voiced by Ben Stiller), Melman the giraffe (voiced by David Schwimmer), Marty the zebra (voiced by Chris Rock), and Gloria the hippo (voiced by Jada Pinkett Smith) as they navigate life outside the confines of the Central Park Zoo in New York. Throughout their adventure, the group meets many interesting characters and perseveres through many twists and turns that are thrown at them.
The movie starts off with Marty the zebra realizing that he does not want to live locked up in a confined area; he wants to be free in the wild with other animals. So, after a daring escape that results in him and the other animals getting shipped to a wildlife sanctuary in Kenya, they must learn to adapt from a lush and cozy zoo life, to their new feral lifestyle.
However, this comes with one small problem. While getting shipped off, a band of mischief-making penguins take over the ship and cause a raucous. In all the commotion Alex, Melman, Marty, and Gloria fall overboard and onto the tropical island of Madagascar!
From this point on, the four meet different exotic creatures and come to learn that life out in the wild is not so easy. In the middle of all the action, songs break out, including the iconic “I Like to Move it” sung by King Julian, who is the leader of the lemurs. This song in particular has continued to remain a huge part of pop culture and is known all over the world!
As you can tell, the unique plotline, comedic timing, and funny dialogue of this animated movie allowed it to be a huge success. DreamWorks Animation even released three more movies in this franchise, including: “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa,” “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted,” and Penguins of Madagascar!” The company even went on to produce a television show and musical!
So, if you want a chance to watch this action-packed and hilarious movie, check out streaming services such as Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. Don’t miss out on the movie that changed the course of mass media and entertainment!
