I'm in a mood but it is not on any streaming services, so here's more than you've ever wanted to know about Dreamworks' Madgascar franchise!
The entire franchise is powered by luck. None of what people liked was in the original script. Penguins? Improvised during storyboarding. Julien? Sacha Baron Cohen made that entire character for them (and I don't mean he gave him the accent, I mean that character did not exist, Cohen made up an entire character and showed off several minutes of improv for a side lemur with two lines because that's just what he does with his free time I guess, Maurice was the ruler). I Like to Move It Move It? I was supposed to be an instrumental version of the existing song, then Cohen started singing. Viral Afro Circus song? Chris Rock improv when they just wanted him to hum the circus tune. Dreamworks managed to wring four movies, three TV shows, and fuck if I know how many holiday specials from this.
...or maybe the penguins were from a canceled Beatles parody movie. Dreamworks can't seem to make up their minds on their origin.
If there's one specific lucky person on staff it might be Tom McGrath, director and voice actor for the penguin leader. He did scratch audio (quick vocals for story boarding) when their actual choice for the role died. While all of them are Dreamworks employees, he is the only penguin to reprise the role in the TV show and also does every video game appearance. Not that he doesn't do a great job, but this man got a popular character role and a bunch of paychecks he otherwise wouldn't have because the guy they actually wanted kicked the bucket at exactly the right time.
Whether Madagascar ripped off the Wild or the Wild ripped off Madagascar is unclear. The Wild released second but claims to have started production first. The Wild however has no luck that gave it good side characters or viral music and thus has faded into obscurity.
While Tom McGrath is the only penguin to keep the role in both movies and shows, the other character that's kept the same voice actor is Mort, voiced by Andy Richtor, and who has kept that baby sounding role for three movies, a TV show that lasted three seasons, and then another TV show that lasted 6 seasons. This man did that voice for 12 years and it cannot be good for him. Physically or mentally.
When making the first one they wanted to visit Madagascar to do research but the island was in the middle of a civil war and not safe to travel to. McGrath comments in the Art of Dreamworks book that the country ended up with a self proclaimed leader, who he compares to King Julien, which is something that might come off as insensitive if anyone from Madagascar ever bothered to read the Art of Dreamworks.
This means they knew Madagascar is a populated island despite the plot being they all land on an unpopulated island.
In the second film they show the New York City skyline in the 90s, which prompted a discussion on if they should include the Twin Towers. Ultimately they did, as they felt it would be disrespectful to act like they never existed. Tom McGrath would go on to direct Megamind, where this poor man that's just trying to make wacky cartoons would once again need to think about terrorist attacks a lot to avoid the villain throwing around skyscrapers causing people to think of 9/11. So far as I know there were no discussions about terrorism when he directed Boss Baby but as the person making a fun facts post about Madagascar it is beneath me to look into the making of Boss Baby. I have standards.