Movie References-Parodies

Have you ever noticed how some episodes will reference/parody a movie? Well, let's see if we can make a list of all the references/parodies.

Pre-Series/Films

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

A Christmas Caper[]

Midnight Cowboy (1969) -- Lines are quoted from it.
Jurassic Park (1993) -- One of the pictures of Mr. Chew in the end credits mimics the Jurassic Park logo.
The Matrix (1999) -- Hand gestures and slow-motion fight between Skipper and Mr. Chew.

Madagascar[]

Stalag 17 (1953) -- Escapees in both films are called Manfredi and Johnson.
The Flintstones (1960) -- When Alex divides the island Marty doesn't care and trots away singing parts of the theme to the Flintstones.
Lord of the Flies (1963) -- Dead pilots in parachutes; blowing on conch shells.
National Geographic Specials (1964) -- The Fanfare plays when Alex chases Marty in slow motion
Born Free (1966)
Star Trek (1966) -- Skipper says "Captain's Log."
Planet of the Apes (1968) -- Alex yelling on the beach when the rescue fire burns up.
Hawaii Five-O (1968) -- As Marty the Zebra comes to the island, he's surfing in to the theme from "Hawaii Five-O."
Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997) -- Kowalski opens like Randolph.
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) -- Alex hears "The Candy Man" by Sammy Davis Jr.: once in normal speed and other is in fast speed.
Chariots of Fire (1981) -- Running on the beach with "Chariots of Fire" playing.
101 Dalmatians (1996) -- Alex blurts out and poses like Gaspar.
Today (1982) -- Mentions Matt, Katie, and Al.
Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) -- Juxtaposes song "It's a Wonderful World" with scenes of violence.
Live with Regis and Kathie Lee (1988)
Batman (1989) -- When Skipper the Penguin quotes Jack Nicholson as the Jack Napier when he says "we've been ratted out, boys."
Dawson's Creek: Late (2001) -- Alex poses like Andrea.
The Madness of King George (1994) -- Skipper's quote "Smile and wave..."
Ravenous (1999) -- The way that Alex licks Marty when he's sleep is like Colqhoun in Ravenous licking the soldier.
American Beauty (1999) -- Alex is laying on the beach with steaks coming from above.
Shrek (2001) -- Mentions Donkey, Fiona and Shrek named by Alex in the beach (Latin Spanish only).
The Simpsons: $pringfield (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling) (1993) -- Melman uses tissue boxes in shoes like Mr. Burns.
Moulin Rouge! (2001) -- Gloria turns into a green fairy.
Napoleon Dynamite (2004) -- In the end credits, Melman dances the Napoleon.
Gettin' It (2006) -- Poster outside of movie theater.
Grave Decisions (2006) -- Movie poster when Sebastian walks down the street in the city wanting to buy a guitar.
Flushed Away (2006) -- Alex the lion doll in Roddy's owner's room.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Episode #7.49 (2008) -- Included in a $2,000 question.
QI: Film (#6.11) (2009) -- Listed as containing a Wilhelm Scream.
Jeopardy!: Episode #26.26 (2009) -- Reference in a $1,200 clue in the category "Stars by Movie Roles."
Monsters vs Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space (2009) (TV) -- Old woman resembling Nana from train station in "Madagascar" answers her door for B.O.B.
The Penguins of Madagascar: Zoo Tube/Snakehead! (#1.27) (2010) -- A cab driver discusses seeing a video of an old lady hitting a lion.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Episode #8.144 (2010) -- Subject of a $3,000 question.
Jeopardy!: 2010 Kids Week Game 1 (#26.211) (2010) -- Correct response in "Animated Films" category.
HBO First Look: Madagascar: Welcome to the Jungle (#12.11) (2005) -- Many clips shown.
Troldspejlet: Episode #34.2 (2005) -- Reviewed + footage used.
Troldspejlet: Episode #35.4 (2006) -- DVD release reviewed + footage used.
Madagascar 2 (2008) -- Scenes from the first movie are shown in the news report.
Beyoncé: Crazy in Love (2003) -- In the end credits, Alex dances the Crazy in Love.
Medium: Bring Me the Head of Oswaldo Castillo (#5.18) (2009) -- Maria watches the movie on TV.
Fantasia (1940) and Fantasia 2000 -- Alex conducts the masses at the zoo in an identical way to Mickey Mouse in the Sorcerer's Apprentice scene in Fantasia.
The Twilight Zone: To Serve Man (#3.24) (1962) -- One of the lemurs holds up a book entitled "To Serve Lemur" and says "It's a cookbook!".
Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom (1963) -- Plays the theme song and recreates the lion pouncing on prey scene from opening credits.
Planet of the Apes (1968) -- After Melman accidentally burns down the wooden Statue of Liberty we see Alex the Lion kneeling in front of it paraphrasing the famous Charlton Heston scene from the end of Planet of the Apes. Alex says "You maniac! You burned it up!"
The New Price Is Right (1972) -- The "do not spay or neuter your pets" quip.
Saturday Night Fever (1977) -- Marty is strutting down a NYC street to the Bee Gee's "Stayin' Alive."
The Mission (1986) -- Alex, the lion gets a cactus stuck to his back. The cactus is shaped like a cross. He then falls into the river and flows down a waterfall just like the movie "The Mission (1986)."
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) -- The penguins joke to the other animals that they killed the boat people and ate their livers, as did Hannibal in Silence of the Lambs.
Little Ghost (1997) -- "Smile and wave" is used in both.
American Beauty (1999) -- Plays the American Beauty & spoofs the rose petal scene when everything Alex sees becomes a steak.
Cast Away (2000) -- Volleyball named "Spaulding" with hand-print face.
Zoolander (2001) -- Alex posing at the zoo does Zoolander's "Blue Steel" pose.
The Matrix Reloaded (2003) -- The scene where the penguin hits a lot of fossas with a spinning wheel is a spoof with the scene where Neo hits a lot of agents Smiths spinning a stick.
The Wild (2006) -- Parodies the trek from a New York zoo into the wild.
Family Guy: Hell Comes to Quahog (#5.3) (2006) -- A man watches a parody of this in his Hummer.
Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals (2007) (VG) -- A secret animal, The Killer Penguin (Hannibal Lecter-like penguin you get if you get a low score in the cloning mini-game) is based on the Agent Penguins in Madagascar, with ability of killing any other animals. In the info panel, it mentioned that it lived in Madagascar.
Raging Bull (1980): When Marty And Alex Yell And Waking Everybody Up And Calling Names.
Ted 2 (2015): Marty Tells Other Animals Off And Telling Him To Knock His Turtle Off Then Alex Calls Them Cowards.
Shrek Forever After (2010): When Marty Tells Alex To Do The Roar He Does It.

Merry Madagascar[]

Casablanca (1942) -- Private says to Cupid, "If that sleigh leaves and you're not with Santa, you'll regret it."
Peter Pan (1953) -- Cupid says "think happy thoughts" while Private is trying to fly to land.
Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope (1977) -- As the penguins bring in Santa's sleigh for a landing, Skipper twice repeats the phrase "Stay on target!" in the same manner as Gold Five in the attack on the Death Star.
Rockman EXE Beast (Episode 1) -- At the end of Merry Madagascar, Melman is seen skating horribly as horrible as NumberMan.
The Secret Of NIMH (1982): When private is with the female reindeer which is similar to Mrs Brisby Meeting Justin.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa[]

West Side Story (1961) -- Music and choreography during Alex's rite of passage.
Lawrence of Arabia (1962) -- Julien riding on the flamingo wearing an Arabic headdress.
The Patty Duke Show (1963) -- Alex, confusing Marty with the other zebras, says, "They laugh alike and talk alike."
Get Smart (1965) -- Skipper says "That's the second biggest slingshot I've ever seen," one of Maxwell Smart's catchphrases.
Born Free (1966) -- Uses the Born Free theme when Alex et al first see the nature reserve.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) -- Uses GBU theme during the old-lady fight scenes.
Cool Hand Luke (1967) -- Nana's broken sunglasses on the ground, like those of the sunglass-wearing prison boss.
Planet of the Apes (1968) -- Monkey repeats "All right, but you're so damned ugly."
Roots (1977) -- Marty says "This is just like Roots."
Alien (1979) -- The penguins watch a TV showing an Alien ChestBurster coming out of Shrek.
The In-Laws (1979) -- Alex shouts "Serpentine! Sepentine!" to Marty just as Peter Falk did to Alan Arkin in "The In-Laws."
The Secret of Monkey Island (1990) (VG) -- Skipper refers to the launching slingshot as the "second biggest I've ever seen." Throughout the games, Guybrush always referred to anything huge using the exact same phrase.
A Wish for Wings That Work (1991) (TV) -- The opening scene in "A Wish for Wings that Work" was a plane crash dream sequence, the reason being that "Penguins can't fly." Skipper states, "Who says that penguins can't fly?"
The Lion King (1994) -- A lion defends his father's kingdom against the evil uncle.
Chicken Run (2000) -- The line the English penguin delivers in his safety speech on the plane is the same safety tip that the rat gives the chickens in the Aardman film.
Shrek (2001) -- The penguins watch a TV showing an Alien ChestBurster coming out of Shrek.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Episode #8.144 (2010) -- Subject of a $3,000 question.
Madagascar (2005) -- Scenes from the first movie are shown in the news report.
At the Movies: Summer Special 2008/09 (#5.42) (2008) -- Clips shown when this movie is reviewed.
Monsters vs Aliens (2009) -- In the scene where Gallxhar in "Monsters vs Aliens (2009)" is spreading his message around the world, a clip from "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)" can be seen playing in the background on a screen in Times Square.
81st Annual Academy Awards (2009) (TV) -- Clip shown during 2008 Animation montage.
This Morning: Episode dated 9 April 2009 (2009) -- Clip shown.
The Twilight Zone: Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (#5.3) (1963) -- Mort is on the wing of the plane; Alex sees him and think he's a gremlin.
Airplane! (1980) -- During the landing, Private talks down the pilot the same way Rex Kramer did to Ted Striker.
Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) -- Alex sees Mort on the wing of the plane and thinks that he's a gremlin.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) -- Melman is going to sacrifice himself to gods. When he does he is wearing a white dress and a crown made of white flowers. This is just like what Willie was wearing when she was being sacrificed to the Kali gods.
Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) -- Melman, believing he's going to die, agrees to have himself thrown in a volcano.

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted[]

Lots of movie references to keep you laughing in Mad 3! Star Trek (penguins warping out), Dirty Dancing (Melman and Gloria dancing two steps forward, one step back on the tightrope), Hair (Afro polka dot song)... Is that an Edith Piaf song sung by the mad animal control officer? And what movie is the lipstick smacking from (both the monkeys and the mad animal control officer do it)? Fun!

Penguins of Madagascar (2014)[]

The Avengers (2012) -- Battle stance in the climax.
Cheetos: Cheezy dibbles are a parody of this cheese favored snack
Madagascar Escape 2 Africa: at the end of the movie when the penguins are flying with the jet packs Private said, "who says penguins can't fly!" Which is what Skipper said after Air penguin crash-landed.
March of the Penguins: The Penguins marching in Antarctica at the beginning of the movie references this documentary.
Madagascar: The North Wind has a Madagascar Safehouse. The box the North Wind put the penguins in had a "ship to Madagascar" label. This is a reference to the "Ship To Africa" label on the penguins crate in the first movie.
Transformers: Dave's disguise Alias, Octavius Brine, could be a parody of Optimus Prime.
How to train your dragon: The sheep that classified had released from North Wind custody resembles the sheep from the isle of berk.
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted: Afro Circus/I Like To Move It is playing in the background at the beginning of the movie. The chimps in their King of Versailles disguise and one of the show-horses from the circus were suspected by the North Wind to be Dr. Octavius Brine.
Star Wars: Dave' swivel chair in his submarine's control room resembles the chair that Emperor Palpatine sat in on the Death Star II when he asked Luke to join the dark side before he began to fight against his father Darth Vader.

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