Netflix subscribers will soon lose access to a beloved animated trilogy featuring the voice of Sacha Baron Cohen. It is one of DreamWorks Animation’s most popular franchises and has cumulatively grossed $1.89 billion at the global box office.
The Madagascar trilogy is leaving Netflix soon
The entire Madagascar trilogy—Madagascar, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, and Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted—will exit Netflix’s library on Wednesday, July 1, 2026. Additionally, the streamer is removing the spin-off Penguins of Madagascar: The Movie on the same day.
The films follow four zoo animals: Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, and Gloria the Hippo. In the first film, the animals escape New York’s Central Park Zoo and get stranded on the island of Madagascar. They learn to survive in the wild with the help of lemurs led by King Julien.
In the sequel, Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria attempt to return to New York. But their plan goes awry after their plane crashlands in Africa. There, Alex discovers his roots. And in the final film, the animals join a European circus in the hope of finding a way back to New York. Meanwhile, a relentless animal control officer hunts them.
The trilogy features the voice cast of Sacha Baron Cohen, Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, and Christopher Knights, among others.
The original film debuted in theaters on May 27, 2005. The reviews for it were mixed to moderately positive, especially compared with some of DreamWorks’ biggest hits. It has a 55% score on Rotten Tomatoes from 192 critic reviews and a 67% score from over 50K user votes.
The sequel, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, received higher scores from critics when it opened in theaters on November 7, 2008. It currently holds a 64% score from 154 reviews, with a slight dip in users’ score to 66%. The final film, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, debuted on June 8, 2012. It has the highest score of the trilogy. Based on 132 critics, its score is 78%, while the user score is 72%.
