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Madagascar poster

Movies that feel likeMadagascar (2005)

Four animal friends get a taste of the wild life when they break out of captivity at the Central Park Zoo and wash ashore on the island of Madagascar.

If you loved Madagascar, the closest films we have are Antz (1998), Penguins of Madagascar (2014) and The Lion King 1½ (2004). All three share Madagascar's whimsical and witty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005).

🍅 55% Rotten Tomatoes★ 6.9 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Eric Darnellepicwhimsicalwittyplayfulwarmcozy
9 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Hulu

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If Madagascar hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) · Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)

Antz poster
Antz
1998 · dir. Eric Darnell
🍅 92%★ 6.5animation · comedy · familyNetflix

The same director's earlier misfit bucking his assigned place

The difference: Talkier and more adult — satire over slapstick safari

A neurotic worker ant in love with a rebellious princess rises to unlikely stardom when he switches places with a soldier. Signing up to march in a parade, he ends up under the command of a bloodthirsty general. But he's actually been enlisted to fight against a termite army.

Penguins of Madagascar poster
Penguins of Madagascar
2014 · dir. Simon J. Smith
🍅 74%★ 6.6family · animation · adventure

The scene-stealing penguins promoted to their own caper

The difference: Nonstop spy spoofery — the found-family core is thinner

Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private join forces with undercover organization The North Wind to stop the villainous Dr. Octavius Brine from destroying the world as we know it.

The Lion King 1½ poster
The Lion King 1½
2004 · dir. Bradley Raymond
🍅 76%★ 6.5adventure · animation · comedyDisney+

Wisecracking sidekicks loose on the African savanna

The difference: A direct-to-video retread — jokes recycled from a better film

Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog are best pals and the unsung heroes of the African savanna. This prequel to the smash Disney animated adventure takes you back -- way back -- before Simba's adventure began. You'll find out all about Timon and Pumbaa and tag along as they search for the perfect home and attempt to raise a rambunctious lion cub.

Zootopia poster
Zootopia
2016 · dir. Byron Howard
🍅 98%★ 8animation · adventure · familyDisney+

Animal-city gags with real bite, and mismatched partners learning to trust

The difference: Built as a detective story — plotted mystery over loose slapstick

Determined to prove herself, Officer Judy Hopps, the first bunny on Zootopia's police force, jumps at the chance to crack her first case - even if it means partnering with scam-artist fox Nick Wilde to solve the mystery.

Ice Age: The Meltdown poster
Ice Age: The Meltdown
2006 · dir. Carlos Saldanha
🍅 56%★ 6.8animation · family · comedyHuluDisney+

Bickering companions dragged through peril they never signed up for

The difference: Sequel comfort food — less culture-shock premise, more chase and gags

Diego, Manny and Sid return in this sequel to the hit animated movie Ice Age. This time around, the deep freeze is over, and the ice-covered earth is starting to melt, which will destroy the trio's cherished valley. The impending disaster prompts them to reunite and warn all the other beasts about the desperate situation.

Moana poster
Moana
2016 · dir. John Musker
🍅 96%★ 7.6adventure · comedy · familyDisney+

The pull of the ocean and an island that changes who you think you are

The difference: Sincere and mythic — songs and destiny, not deadpan comic chaos

In Ancient Polynesia, when a terrible curse incurred by Maui reaches an impetuous Chieftain's daughter's island, she answers the Ocean's call to seek out the demigod to set things right.

Mulan II poster
Mulan II
2004 · dir. Darrell Rooney
★ 5.7animation · comedy · familyDisney+

A comic road trip with bickering, mismatched companions

The difference: A bargain-bin sequel — RT sits at zero for a reason

Fa Mulan gets the surprise of her young life when her love, Captain Li Shang asks for her hand in marriage. Before the two can have their happily ever after, the Emperor assigns them a secret mission, to escort three princesses to Chang'an, China. Mushu is determined to drive a wedge between the couple after he learns that he will lose his guardian job if Mulan marries into the Li family.

Over the Hedge poster
Over the Hedge
2006 · dir. Karey Kirkpatrick
🍅 75%★ 6.7adventure · animation · comedyRent or buy

Fast-talking critters, human comforts, and a found family that squabbles

The difference: Suburbia rather than the wild — satire aimed at people, not instinct

A scheming raccoon fools a mismatched family of forest creatures into helping him repay a debt of food, by invading the new suburban sprawl that popped up while they were hibernating – and learns a lesson about family himself.

Cars poster
Cars
2006 · dir. John Lasseter
🍅 75%★ 7.3animation · adventure · comedyDisney+

Pampered star yanked out of his comfort zone and forced to grow up

The difference: Slower and sweeter — a small-town detour instead of madcap escape

Lightning McQueen, a hotshot rookie race car driven to succeed, discovers that life is about the journey, not the finish line, when he finds himself unexpectedly detoured in the sleepy Route 66 town of Radiator Springs. On route across the country to the big Piston Cup Championship in California to compete against two seasoned pros, McQueen gets to know the town's offbeat characters.

Flushed Away poster
Flushed Away
2006 · dir. David Bowers
🍅 72%★ 6.6adventure · animation · comedyNetflix

A sheltered creature dumped into a grubby underworld and improvising fast

The difference: Denser British wisecracks and a sewer palette, not tropical sun

London high-society mouse, Roddy is flushed down the toilet by Sid, a common sewer rat. Hang on for a madcap adventure deep in the sewer bowels of Ratropolis, where Roddy meets the resourceful Rita, the rodent-hating Toad and his faithful thugs, Spike and Whitey.

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit poster
🍅 95%★ 7.5adventure · animation · comedy

Common ground: villain

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

Cheese-loving eccentric Wallace and his cunning canine pal Gromit run a business ridding the town of garden pests. Using only humane methods, which turns their home into a halfway house for evicted vermin, the pair stumble upon a mystery involving a voracious vegetarian monster that threatens to ruin the annual veggie-growing contest.

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie poster
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
2004 · dir. Stephen Hillenburg
🍅 68%★ 7.2adventure · animation · comedyPrime VideoParamount+

One thread runs through both: villain

The difference: Leans harder into fantasy than Madagascar does

There's trouble brewing in Bikini Bottom. Someone has stolen King Neptune's crown, and it looks like Mr. Krab, SpongeBob's boss, is the culprit. Though he's just been passed over for the promotion of his dreams, SpongeBob stands by his boss, and along with his best pal Patrick, sets out on a treacherous mission to Shell City to reclaim the crown and save Mr. Krab's life.

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The best-reviewed films that share Madagascar’s defining feeling.