Madagascar: A Little Wild takes the Madagascar heroes back to their earliest days, before the big screen made them famous. It follows Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe and Gloria the Hippo as children in a rescue habitat at the Central Park Zoo. The series, created by Dana Starfield, premiered on Hulu and Peacock on September 7, 2020, and serves as a prequel to the 2005 film.
Trailer, via Hulu.
The Zoosters and Their Home
Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria live in a special part of the zoo set aside for animals that need help. The show centers on their daily life, their friendships and the small dramas of childhood, all told through animation that keeps the tone light even when the subject turns serious. Tucker Chandler voices Alex, Amir O’Neil voices Marty, Luke Lowe voices Melman, and Shaylin Becton voices Gloria.
The Zoosters on Their Own
Where earlier Madagascar spinoffs kept Alex in a guest role, A Little Wild gives all four heroes main roles from start to finish. Charlie Adler voices Murray, Jasmine Gatewood voices Kate, Candace Kozak voices Pickles, Eric Petersen voices Ant’ney and Johanna Stein voices Millie. The series does not bring in the Penguins, the Lemurs or the Chimps at all.
The Rescue Habitat Setting
The habitat at the Central Park Zoo serves as the series’ home base. It gives the characters a shared space for play, trouble and quiet moments alike.
What the Show Gets Right
The series works best when it leans into the characters’ bonds and the small worries of growing up. The voice cast sells the warmth of the relationships, and the writing avoids the trap of turning the children into miniature versions of their adult selves. Instead, it finds humor and pathos in the ordinary moments of childhood.
Where It Falls Short
The absence of the Penguins, the Lemurs and the Chimps is not so much a flaw as a limit. Fans of those characters will miss them, and the show’s focus on just the four leads keeps the world smaller than earlier Madagascar series. This is a deliberate choice, not a failure, but it narrows the scope of the story.
Comparing the Madagascar Spinoffs
| Series | Main Characters | Guest Appearances |
|---|---|---|
| Madagascar: A Little Wild | Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria | None |
| The Penguins of Madagascar | Penguins, Alex in guest roles | — |
| All Hail King Julien | Lemurs, Chimps, Alex in guest roles | — |
The table shows how the franchise splits responsibility for its characters across series, with A Little Wild serving as a direct prequel that lets the four heroes carry the story without support from other groups.
Verdict on Madagascar: A Little Wild
Madagascar: A Little Wild succeeds because it respects its characters. It gives Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria a childhood worth seeing, rooted in a habitat that feels real rather than cartoonish. The writing stays tender when it needs to be and funny when it needs to be, without losing the core of each character’s personality.
It is not a perfect series. The absence of the Penguins, Lemurs and Chimps will disappoint fans who wanted a fuller Madagascar world. But as a story about these four animals before they became famous, it delivers.
The series holds a TMDB audience score of 7.0/10, based on 264 votes, which backs up what the paper has heard from viewers.
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