All Hail King Julien

All Hail King Julien, centered around three of the lemurs Julien, Maurice and Mort on their adventures around Madagascar, became the third TV series from DreamWorks Animation and on Netflix after Turbo F.A.S.T. and Veggietales in the House before The Adventures of Puss in Boots in 2015. Since the show still has it's fan base after it ended, I really agree with them that this is a really solid prequel to the Madagascar franchise.

Not only does it deliver on the characterization and complexity of Julien and his antics that we know and love, but his interactions with Maurice, Mort, and everyone else in Madagascar including Clover, who steals the show due to her combination of bad*** and funny, along with his determination to protect the throne from his evil Uncle King Julien. Speaking of which, the villains are interesting, especially Karl, who is by far one of the best characters in the entire show due to his rivalry with Julien. Dwight Schultz, known for his roles in The A-Team, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: First Contact, and Ben 10 as Dr. Animo, did a great job providing a mixture of evil and funny to the character. Also, it provided some social commentary on important topics including coffee addiction, social media, election votes, modern music, and more and they all work without feeling heavy-handed.

Everything else is neat too. The music score is nice, the comedy is well-done thanks to the line-delivery of Danny Jacobs, who did a great job impersonating Sacha Baron Cohan's voice from the movies, and the rest of the cast members including Andy Richter who returned to voice Mort from the movies. And last but not least, the animation and by golly is it gorgeous. The backgrounds, the movements, the expressions, and the cartoony-ness. Oh, and the characters are likeable especially Julien, Maurice, Mort, and Clover.

If there's one nitpick that I do have with this show is that it did started out a little bit childish in the first couple of seasons until the rest of the show got better. That's all I have to say, though.

Overall, as a prequel to one of DreamWorks' Animation's successful franchises, All Hail King Julien is definitely the exact Netflix show that everyone else should check out. It's funny, it's clever, and it's really worth your time. Recommended! :)

Arguably a prequel to the Madagascar movies. This show is set in Madagascar before the penguins arrive and center entirely around the lemurs, in particular King Julien and his somewhat crazy exploits.

You could consider this an upgrade of the penguin series. The format is doubled in length and the result is more complex story lines. The writing is very creative and over the top hilarious with the obvious.

New characters are introduced, chief among which is King Juliens new security adviser. A paranoid female lemur by the name of clover. Leaving Maurice with more fires to put out than normal. I fear for his blood pressure.

Mort has been somewhat sidelined but seems to be a lot more accident prone than usual. Often at the hands of the king himself. Which seem fitting as he is often super annoying.

King Julien is still voiced by Danny Jacobs and he never disappoints. Making this one of the most hilarious shows in years.

I do from time to time miss Skippers frustration. So I must deduct a star. 9/10

This show has recently ended, and while it didnt have as long a run as other shows, I think it should be remembered. It was easily the best Dreamworks film to Netflix adaptation, and it is also in my opinion one of the best cartoons in years. I could go on and on about why I liked this series but Ill narrow it down to the main things I appreciated.

First, the show is itself very funny. It has slapstick, yes, but the real humor of the show is through the written dialogue and consistent character writing, something that few cartoons are able to achieve. The humor is not just funny, it is smart and sometimes surprisingly timely. It does a great job of poking fun at stuff we see these days like media bias, gun control, religion etc. And instead of taking sides of these issues it makes fun of the fact that they are issues in the first place and the characters take it from there. A very high level of funny that most cartoons choose not to attempt.

Now, the characters. Julian, Mort and Maurice weve seen before. They are still great, as always. Mort in particular is used much more effectively than in Penguins of Madagascar. But the standouts for this series are its background characters, which are fantastic. Many times background/recurring characters will be written to fit the episode or situation, but not this show. Every single lemur that is named in the series is consistently and carefully, and because of that their personalities are what makes them funny, rather than what they do. My personal favorite is Horst. Never seen without an ambiguous coconut drink in his hand, his semi-vain persona and strange affection towards a Foosa is the cause for much hilarity. And thats just one example, there are may others like him and you will remember all of them my shows end,

I want to talk about Clover, who was a brand new character created for this show. Alot of times with tv prequels to movies, the extra main character that is added just plays off of everyone else exists purely to add so e jokes. Clover, though, is a very tightly written, funny and *important* character. I dont want to give away too much but it is also perfectly explained why she isnt in the films. She is a standout and I actually wished she was in the films now. She is also masterfully voice acted by India de Beaufort, and actress I am not familiar with but that I will give my kudos to and follow from this point.

That brings me to the voice talent of the series,which is just absolutely top notch. Cartoons usually do a pretty good job of this but these actors go above and beyond in this series. Danny Jacobs is honestly more Julian to me than Sasha Baron Cohen. His little mannerisms and slight voice ticks suit Julian so well, its almost uncanny. Morts voice actor(I believe it is Andy Richter) is fantastic as well, ranging from cute to creepy instantaneously. Kevin Michael Richardson is great as Maurice as usual, fitting the mold of the character perfectly. You can almost feel the fun these guys have doing this. I already mentioned de Beaufort, but the background characters are all voiced exceptionally as well. Jeff Glenn Bennett, a veteran voice actor plays several characters in this show and he is as great as ever. His instantly recognizable voice is used so many different ways and to great effect Richter also plays many characters including a masterful voice of Ted, a flamboyant, and emotional unstable lemur with many different voices. I could go on and on, even the guest stars do great work.

The animation is excellent as well. Cartoons these days usually have this down pat but this series incorporates texture, color, and fluid movement like no other. It is surprisingly high grade for a TV show and while it can be seen where budgets were made, it is very well integrated and the jungles of Madagascar are depicted beautifully, dare I say better than the films.

A show of this nature doesnt really incorporate plot as its main draw, but unlike most comedy cartoons like this, AHKJ actually keeps continuity throughout the series. This is something that is rarely seen but much appreciated and shows the effort out in. Not only the plot threads run throughout many episodes, even seasons(Season 6 or the Exiled season is particularly strong in this category), but what happens to the characters continues to effect them and the jungle for the entire series. Yes, even for the background characters. Top notch quality.

Overall, I cannot recommend this show enough. I dont care how old you are, you will not regret watching this show. It is funny, gives you a good feeling and through it all you can feel the effort and care that went into every facet of this show. It stands out from other cartoons in this regard. No expense is spared. You may wonder why I talk so little about Julian and its because, while he is the shows main character, this series is really about how he truly loves his kingdom and is a worthy king to them. Inept and vain as he may be, he always puts his kingdom first went it comes down to the wire. With the help of his advisors and friends he always comes out on top. Honestly I was very sad to see this show go, but now you, reading this, get to watch the entire thing in one fell swoop. I had to vent my appreciation but you have just yet to discover it for yourself. So what are you still doin here? Watch it, your king commands you!

Well... I would not really say that about the first couple seasons (which were still pretty good). Still, throughout the series the humor is actually, well, real humor compared to that raunchy garbage in about half of every comedy in the last decade. Real humor is clean in my opinion, and All Hail King Julien is always clean no matter what. Of course I am not 17 yet and my parents will not let me watch R-rated movies but I do not personally think I am missing out on much of anything. The characters are hilarious (some more than others) and always very fun to watch. The show's screenwriters and character designers actually acknowledge that there is such thing as amusing characters that do NOT hook up, drop F-bombs, or smoke weed. In fact, no form of sex, drugs, or swearing ever occur. The story as well as Julien's kingdom are pleasantly surprising in their complexity, but of course never so complex that the kids would get confused. The first couple seasons are kind of childish but it quickly gets a lot more clever in the third season and beyond. The kingdom is always changing and there is even social commentary every so often, critiquing such topics as coffee addiction, fads, currency, social media, etc. Bottom line: great Netflix show that is recommended to anyone who is NOT annoyed by the characters' voices

Like me, if you're an animation fan you'll love what they have done with the show! Every episode comes with a different trouble created by our beloved King Julien. The show is very entertaining throughout, and casual, full of life lessons, for instance there are episodes portraying bad habits adults often stuck on. In a sentence, the show is a mix of children theme with dirty jokes for adults. So even if your kids are around you can watch and have a laugh together.