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Easter eggs
Hidden details in every movie and series: 21 in total. Tap a poster to see its eggs. Titles you haven't marked as seen stay locked so nothing gets spoiled.
- Referencenod to comics or other movies
- Cameoa familiar face shows up
- Setupplanted now, pays off later
- Behind the scenesproduction trivia
- ReferenceIt debuted with Wallace & Gromit
The short played in theaters on October 7, 2005, alongside Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. It then became a bonus feature on Madagascar's DVD and VHS on November 15.
source ↗ - CameoSkipper is voiced by the film's director
Tom McGrath, co-director of Madagascar, voices Skipper. Chris Miller plays Kowalski, Christopher Knights plays Private and John DiMaggio plays Rico. The short was directed by Gary Trousdale, who co-directed Beauty and the Beast.
source ↗ - SetupNana was already here
The old lady who grabs Private thinking he's a dog's chew toy is the same Nana who attacks Alex at the station in Madagascar and turns up in the middle of Africa in Madagascar 2. Here she also has a dog, Mr. Chew.
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- Behind the scenesThe penguins came from a different movie
In 1998, DreamWorks and PDI began a film called Rockumentary, with a Beatles-style penguin rock band, to be directed by Eric Darnell. It was shelved over music rights. With Madagascar already in production, Darnell revived the penguins as a commando unit.
source ↗ - CameoJulien had two lines
King Julien was a minor character with two lines. Sacha Baron Cohen auditioned with an improvised Indian accent and eight minutes of dialogue, and the filmmakers rewrote the script to give him a much bigger part.
source ↗ - ReferenceThe song that sticks
Sacha Baron Cohen's cover of "I Like to Move It" became a franchise theme. The 2005 DVD included the penguins' Christmas short and a music video of the song. In January 2026, for the film's 20th anniversary, it returned to US theaters.
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- ReferenceIt premiered on NBC
The special aired on NBC on November 17, 2009, running about 30 minutes. It's set between the first and second films.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesWritten by the people behind the films
Director David Soren wrote the script with Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath, the directors of the first two films.
source ↗ - SetupThe lemurs' Christmas monster is Santa
The lemurs fear the "Marauding Red Night Goblin" who shows up every year. Alex shoots it down and learns it was Santa, tossing coal at Julien for being naughty.
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- CameoDedicated to Bernie Mac
Bernie Mac voices Zuba, Alex's father. He died before release, and the film is dedicated to him. Ben Stiller's own son, Quinn, voices baby Alex, and Willow Smith, daughter of Jada Pinkett Smith, plays young Gloria.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesThe old subtitle was "The Crate Escape"
The first teaser, from March 2008, carried the subtitle The Crate Escape. The final title, Escape 2 Africa, arrived in June. The sequel had been in development since 2005, when the first film came out.
source ↗ - ReferenceThe credits use African-inspired cutouts
Los Angeles studio Duck Studios animated the end-credits scene with cutouts inspired by African art. will.i.am, who voices Moto Moto, contributed five songs to the soundtrack.
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- ReferenceA Valentine's short on DVD
Madly Madagascar came out straight to DVD on January 29, 2013, with a Valentine's Day theme and the series' main characters.
source ↗ - CameoJulien with a different voice
Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith return, but Julien is voiced by Danny Jacobs, not Sacha Baron Cohen.
source ↗ - SetupSkipper's doll girlfriend
Skipper and the penguins mount a rescue mission for Skipper's girlfriend, who is a doll. Meanwhile Melman tries to make his first Valentine's Day with Gloria special.
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- CameoFrances McDormand's first animated role
Frances McDormand voices Captain DuBois, Monaco's relentless animal-control villain. It was her first role in an animated film.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesNoah Baumbach rewrote 60 pages
By August 2010, writer-director Noah Baumbach had done sixty pages of rewrites to the script. The studio had said back in 2008 that it wanted to see the characters finally make it back to New York.
source ↗ - ReferencePremiere at Cannes and a rainbow wig
The film premiered at Cannes, out of competition, on May 18, 2012. It was the first DreamWorks Animation title to use UltraViolet, and the Blu-ray came with a rainbow wig. It's the series' top earner, at $747 million.
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- ChangeIt was meant to go straight to video
Since 2005, DreamWorks had planned a direct-to-video penguins film for 2009. Only in March 2011 did the studio announce it would go to theaters, directed by Simon J. Smith.
source ↗ - CameoCumberbatch and Malkovich joined in 2013
Benedict Cumberbatch and John Malkovich joined the cast in August 2013. Cumberbatch plays Classified, the wolf leading the North Wind, and Malkovich plays Dave the octopus. Lorne Balfe, who had assisted Hans Zimmer on the other films, wrote his first solo DreamWorks score.
source ↗ - ReferencePDI's last feature
It was the last feature made by PDI/DreamWorks, which closed on January 22, 2015. With Mr. Peabody & Sherman, it cost the studio a $57 million write-down. The release moved up from March 27, 2015 to November 26, 2014.
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