This is a list of characters from the DreamWorks Animation franchise of Madagascar films and TV shows.

Concept and creation

Tom McGrath explained in an interview that the intention of Madagascar was not to take a political stance on whether "zoos are bad and the wild is better, or that the wild is bad", but to show "the most extreme 'fish out of water' story that (they) could do". McGrath stated "the basic irony to the story is that, you think animals do belong in the wild, but if they're so accustomed to civility, they wouldn't know where food even came from", and the animals were meant to "love the zoo and to love where they are because they've got" "right off Fifth Avenue".

McGrath also described, during the research of Madagascar, they "found these crazy, weird animals that were already cartoons in their own right."

Primary characters Animals of Central Park Zoo Alex

Alex (born Alakay; voiced by Ben Stiller in films and TV specials, Wally Wingert in first video game, spin-offs, Ride Attractions, Quinn Dempsey Stiller as a cub, Declan Swift as a cub, Crispin Freeman in second and third video games, All Hail King Julien, DreamWorksTV Animations, Ride Attractions, Commercials, and Tucker Chandler as cub in A Little Wild) is a male, happy-go-lucky African lion who is best friends with Marty, a Plains zebra. He is the star attraction at zoo but learns to adapt to the wild. A dancer by nature, Alex often impresses others with his aerobatic feats. He does tend to be a little self-absorbed, often not seeing the problems of others above his own.

As a cub, Alex was born on an African wildlife reserve, and was named Alakay. He was the only son of the alpha lion, Zuba, and was constantly given lessons on hunting, though he displayed no interest in the activity. During one of these lessons, Alex was captured by poachers, but the crate he was contained in fell into a river and eventually floated to New York City.

He is found by humans who renamed him Alex and took him to the Central Park Zoo. In Madagascar, after Marty, Alex's best friend, leaves in an effort to take a train to the wild, Alex, Gloria the Hippopotamus, and Melman the Giraffe pursue him and are shot with tranquilizer darts by humans. The animal-rights activists pressure the zoo into releasing them back into the wild, but on the ship to the preserve, Alex and his friends fall into the ocean. They wash ashore on Madagascar.

In Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Alex and the other animals arrive in Africa, where Alex reunites with his family. In Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, the group travels to Europe, where they join a traveling circus. Alex is the only character of the four to appear in the TV Series The Penguins of Madagascar, but as a guiding hallucination to Skipper only, and had a cameo in the last episode of All Hail King Julien.

Marty

Marty (voiced by Chris Rock in films and TV specials, Phil LaMarr in video games, Thomas Stanley as a foal, and Amir O'Neil as a foal in A Little Wild) is a male Plains zebra who used to live at the Central Park Zoo, and is a best friend of Alex. He once had an iPod before Alex accidentally broke it. Marty likes seaweed on a stick.

Marty is a hopeless optimist; he usually sees the brighter side of many things, taking every situation in stride. He strives to be unique, which proves difficult when he meets his own kind in Africa, who look and act almost exactly the same. Marty is best friends with Alex and the two are rarely at odds. His carefree lifestyle tends to get on the nerves of his friends, but mostly serves to impress them; he is the one who helps hold the group together when things seem to get down.

Melman

Melman Mankiewicz III (voiced by David Schwimmer in films and TV specials, Stephen Stanton in video games, Zachary Gordon as a calf, and Luke Lowe as a calf in A Little Wild) is a male reticulated giraffe. He sometimes pretends to be hypochondriac, having doses of medicine for meals and doctor's appointments frequently. He dreams of being a doctor and has a secret crush on Gloria.

Gloria

Gloria (voiced by Jada Pinkett Smith in films and TV specials, Bettina Bush in video games, Willow Smith as a calf, and Shaylin Becton as a calf in A Little Wild) is a female hippopotamus who resided in the Central Park Zoo as an attraction, all the while being good friends with Alex, Marty, Melman, and becoming the Melman's girlfriend as of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.

The Penguins

The penguins are a group of NYC adélie penguin (and maybe hybridized with royal penguins since adélie penguins lack white faces and orange beaks) spies. Skipper is a major character in the films, but Kowalski, Rico, and Private are supporting characters and don't talk much until The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper. All four penguins have major roles in the first sequel and supporting roles in the second sequel, then later get their own TV Series and film.

Skipper Skipper (voiced by Tom McGrath) is the leader of the penguins and is the main character in the TV show. His head is flatter than those of the other three penguins. Like the rest of the penguins, no idea what is expected of the penguin species, other than to "smile and wave."

Kowalski Kowalski (voiced by Chris Miller in films and other media, and Jeff Bennett in The Penguins of Madagascar) is second-in-command and the tallest of the penguins, forming plans for the group and usually taking notes for Skipper. When Skipper is absent, he takes charge and his rank is First lieutenant. He tends to overanalyze situations. Often formulating plans for the group, Kowalski is a loyal supporter of his leader, Skipper.

Rico Rico (voiced by Jeffrey Katzenberg in Madagascar, Fred Tatasciore in the second video game, John DiMaggio in The Penguins of Madagascar series, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, and Conrad Vernon in Penguins of Madagascar film) is third-in-command of the penguins. He's a mute penguin, usually communicating by making unintelligible vocals. He is similar in physical features to the other penguins in the movies, but he has a tuft of feathers shaped like a mohawk and a scar of unknown origin on his left cheek in the television series, which makes him easier to distinguish, particularly from Skipper. Rico is the greediest and fattest of the penguins (though he's third in the latter compared to Skipper and Private) - he will eat almost anything, and thinks constantly of food. Skipper describes him as "a world-class psychopath".

Rico is the team's weapons expert and his main function is to regurgitate any necessary tools that Skipper may need for a mission. His stomach operates as a hammer space, containing items as large or larger than himself, or that weigh much more than common sense would allow, with no ill effect on himself. He can swallow and regurgitate almost anything from paperclips and explosives, all the way to a running chainsaw and ground-to-air missile.

Private Private (voiced by Christopher Knights in films and video games, and James Patrick Stuart in The Penguins of Madagascar) is the youngest and shortest of the penguins. Private speaks with a British accent and has been known to be a rather curious penguin and is much nicer and down-to-earth than the others. In a way, he's much more childish, enjoying "Lunacorns" (pony dolls based on a show that teaches good morals and friendship) and often suggesting much nicer plans (such as asking for something instead of breaking into a habitat or simply telling the truth to others). He is often called inexperienced by the others. He has an addiction to Peanut Butter Winkies, first displayed in "Skorka" and further elaborated on in later episodes.

The Lemurs King Julien XIII

King Julien XIII (voiced by Sacha Baron Cohen in the mainline films, Danny Jacobs in TV series and specials, video games, Madagascar 3 soundtrack singing voice, Penguins of Madagascar, and Keith Ferguson in the first video game) is a ring-tailed lemur and the great king of the lemurs, Julien ruled over a great colony of lemurs in Madagascar using mostly his charisma and delegating, i.e. telling other animals what they should do since he certainly had very little ability to lead. Nevertheless, he shows more intelligence and calmness compared to the other lemurs (aside from Maurice), which is shown when the very word "Fossa" drives all of them, except himself and Maurice, into a state of panic.

He had parties for his Prisoners of Alcatraz with much frequency, the likes of which were interrupted constantly by the Vessels, which trespassed onto lemur territory, devouring all that they could catch.

In Julien's early life as seen in All Hail King Julien, he was depicted as the nephew of Julien XII, who banned all noisy things to keep the fossa from attacking. After Julien XII abdicated to evade a prophecy from being eaten by the Fossa, Julien XIII became the new King of the Lemurs and did things that were opposite his uncle's rules.

Sacha Baron Cohen, the original voice of King Julien, has stated he based the voice of King Julien on his Sri Lankan attorney.

Maurice

Maurice (birth name Bricky; voiced by Cedric the Entertainer in films and TV specials, John Cothran, Jr. in the first video game, Fred Tatasciore in the second and third video games, and Kevin Michael Richardson in television) is an aye-aye and King Julien's advisor - although Julien seldom listens to him - and often shows skepticism of his ruler's mad plans. Despite his wisdom usually going unheard, Maurice has a close bond with King Julien and is entirely loyal to him. He is supportive, intelligent, and somewhat uptight, but likes to cut loose and party just as much as the others lemurs.

Mort

Mort (full name Mordecai/Mortimer; voiced by Andy Richter in most media, Dee Bradley Baker in the first video game, and Matt Nolan in the second and third video games) is a Goodman's mouse lemur who is a resident of King Julien's kingdom and later a traveling companion of the zoo animals. He is King Julien's most loyal subject and has an unhealthy obsession with him, which annoys the king immensely. In All Hail King Julien, it is revealed that Mort is an immortal transdimensional being and that his alternate personalities are his alternate universe counterparts, who he defeated and absorbed. Although being over 400 years old he has a child like personality

Mason and Phil

Mason and Phil (voiced by Conrad Vernon as Mason, and unvoiced character as Phil) are two sophisticated common chimpanzees at the Central Park Zoo, who prefer to drink cups of coffee and "read" the newspaper in the morning. Mason speaks with a stereotypical British accent; Phil, by contrast, is mute and communicates entirely through American Sign Language, despite clearly not being deaf.

Tom McGrath explained that originally their "first scene was just deciphering the code on the shipping label". The crew "got this girl who knew American Sign Language" to give them hand gestures. They wanted gestures to be "really frenetic", and "she signed out, 'Tell the tiny pea-brained birds that the sign reads: Ship to.... Afterward, the crew returned to the scene where Mason notes Tom Wolfe's lecture, and she signed "Can we throw our poo at his stupid white suit?"

Introduced in Madagascar Nana

Nana (voiced by Elisa Gabrielli in films, and Marion Ross in the second video game) is an elderly Yiddish-accented lady who she is Mr. Chew's owner, Skipper's archenemy, and Alex's arch-rival.