All Hail King Julien

Premise

In an uninhabited islet off the coast of mainland Madagascar, fearmongering "Uncle" King Julien XII runs a tyrannical monarchy in which lemurs must stay silent at all hours to avoid invasion by predator fossa. When spiritual advisor Masikura foretells that the King will be eaten by fossa at dawn, Uncle King Julien abdicates his throne to his nephew, anticipating his nephew's death. The Prince, a notorious party animal, ascends to become King Julien XIII, immediately legalizing noise and public events. After his near-death experience by fossa consumption, the new King embraces his leadership, ensuing an era radically different from his uncle's rule.

With the help of royal advisor Maurice; head of security Clover; and his obsessive lackey, Mort, nephew King Julien XIII leads the kingdom. He impulsively decrees a variety of changes, include sovereign audiences, opinion polling, water slides, trampolines, caffeinated beverages, art shows, interviews, electric technology, border walls, and other attempted improvements. Some are beneficial to animal society, while others end in catastrophic failure.

King Julien's haphazard schemes create a complex web of allies, political enemies, and love interests across the islets of Madagascar. All the while, his devious uncle enacts elaborate schemes to regain his throne.

Exiled

The Exiled season was a spinoff of the main series, featuring a strong overarching narrative. It takes place between season 4 and 5 and depicts the exile of Julien XIII by the tyrant Koto; the rebellion of the lemur prisoners of war; and Julien's battle to regain control of his kingdom.

Setup

At the conclusion of Season 4, King Julien barrels off of a waterfall, accidentally killing a giant snake and thereby rescuing Koto, a mountain lemur. Koto thanks King Julien and tells him he is forever in his debt, claiming to be the last of his kind. He tours King Julien's kingdom, noting its weak defenses, before leaving.

Soon, King Julien's kingdom becomes overpopulated with refugees of various species, including giant rats, crocodiles, and aye-ayes. The refugees reveal that Koto is actually the dictator of a militant mountain lemur autocracy.

Plot summary

King Julien learns that mountain lemur Koto's army has been systematically conquering and enslaving all other kingdoms on the island, and the lemur kingdom is next.

Before he can coordinate a response, Koto's army invades, seizing power in an immediate coup de main. With security chief Clover disempowered and his kingdom surrounded, Julien concedes to Koto's rule. As the new King, Koto deposes Julien, schedules his and Maurice's public execution, then imprisons all surviving lemurs in a POW camp. There, they engage in forced labor, and are euphemistically described as "unpaid interns".

After busting out of his bamboo prison, Julien and Maurice escape onto an abandoned Soviet submarine, where they are joined by sleeper agent lemur Pancho and the amiable lemur Ted. They engage in a variety of adventuring, including nearly being sacrificed to a space tentacle on an island of female Lotus-Eater-like lemurs; rescuing the Shark Lord from dolphins who intend to sell him as a pet to Russian oligarchs; and befriending an army of communist space monkeys, marooned on an island after being abandoned by the former USSR.

Loyal to Julien, Mort attempts to assassinate Koto via harpoon guns, poisoned beverages, and traps, but only manages to injure and maim himself. Amused by Mort's slapstick failures, King Koto employs him as his court jester. Meanwhile, the lemurs plan a clandestine uprising, employing Mort as their informant. All the while, Mort's dissociative episodes become more frequent and more intense.

Meanwhile, after her escape, Clover ensues a quest to achieve enlightenment, joined by Sage Moondancer (the pacifist brother of Koto). Their quest is guided by the wisdom of mudskipper Jarsh-Jarsh, Sage's mentor.

Mort recruits Timo to reactivate his Stargate-like multiverse portal, so they can enlist the army of Morticus Khan, an alternate-dimension version of Mort. Upon their arrival, however, Khan claims he has waited thousands of years to meet Mort. Khan reveals that, like himself, the main Mort is an immortal being, and his split personalities are various versions of himself whose "life essence" he has unwittingly consumed. Khan states his intention to consume Mort, thereby ruling over all Morts, then enter the portal and destroy everything he holds dear, starting with the feet of King Julien. After losing in physical combat, Mort defeats Morticus Khan by vomiting him into the air, then forcibly absorbing Khan's soul into his own body. However, in so doing, he explodes the portal back to King Julien's universe.

Aftermath

The fifth and final season takes place after Koto's demise; villains such as Karl and Uncle King Julien decide to give up their evil ways and start a new life. This all leads up to the arrival of Alex on Madagascar (setting the stage of the first film) just as Clover leaves with her husband, Sage Moondancer, on their honeymoon.

Cast

Danny Jacobs as:

King Julien XIII, a Ring-tailed lemur and the king of the lemurs.

Pancho, a crowned lemur.

Andy Richter as:

Mort, a small Goodman's mouse lemur who is the overeager lackey of King Julien, idolizing his leadership and, specifically, his feet.

Ted, a friendly and nervous golden bamboo lemur who moonlights as an actor.

Kevin Michael Richardson as Maurice, an aye-aye and Julien's royal advisor.

India de Beaufort as:

Clover, a crowned lemur who is Julien's bodyguard and Captain of the Ring Tail Guard.

Crimson, twin sister of Clover, who becomes villainous after King Julien XIII dumps her on their wedding day. She later betrayed Uncle King Julien to help her sister stop Julien's uncle from having both Clover and Julien killed by Vigman Wilderbeast. In the series finale, Crimson and Clover made amends after Crimson admitted that she was jealous of her because, despite being her parents' favorite, Clover was the one they were most proud of.

Henry Winkler as King Julien XII, the former lemur king and King Julien XIII's maternal uncle who constantly tries to assassinate his nephew.

Dwight Schultz as Karl, a fanaloka who also tried to kill Julien.

David Krumholtz as Timo, a tenrec mad scientist who invents things for King Julien.

Betsy Sodaro as Xixi, a toucan news reporter, talk show host, and partygoer.

Reception

Critical response

The series has garnered favorable reviews, receiving critical acclaim particularly for its cultural relevance. Additionally, Jacobs and the rest of the cast were praised for their voice acting in the series.

After the initial release of the first five episodes, Robert Lloyd of Los Angeles Times wrote in his review that the series "succeeds on matters of style, script, timing and performance, not the number of individual hairs rendered in a patch of fur. And Julien delivers on all the important accounts."