All HailKing Julien is an American computer-animated3D web television series. It stars King Julien, Maurice, and Mort from the DreamWorks Animationanimated filmMadagascar franchise and takes place in Madagascar before the events of the first film making it a prequel. It is the second DreamWorks Animation show to be based on the Madagascar franchise. The series debuted on December 19, 2014, on Netflix when the first five 22-minute episodes were released. Season 2 was released on October 16, 2015. Season 3 was released on June 17, 2016, Season 4 was released on November 11, 2016, while the fifth season, subtitled Exiled, was released on May 12, 2017. The sixth and final season was released on December 1, 2017. The series is currently showing reruns on Universal Kids and ABC Me.
Premise
When King Julien XII, a very strict and cowardly ring-tailed lemur is foretold to be eaten by fossa, he abdicates his throne in favor of his nephew, who becomes King Julien XIII, a fun, notorious party animal, who now has an entire kingdom of lemurs to lead on his own. While Uncle King Julien is gone, the new King Julien gets into various troubles in the company of his adviser Maurice, his head of security Clover the crowned lemur, and his biggest fan Mort. All the while, his devious uncle returns and tries to get rid of his nephew to reclaim the throne. Aside from Uncle King Julien and the foosa, Julien deals with other threats like the mad fanaloka Karl, and Clover's twin sister Crimson. At the end of the fourth season, King Julien is dethroned and forced into exile by King Koto and his army but successfully defeats Koto and regains his kingdom in the fifth season, subtitled Exiled. The sixth 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 just as Clover leaves with her husband, Sage Moondancer, on their honeymoon.
Episodes
''All Hail King Julien: New Year's Eve Countdown'' (2014)
All Hail King Julien: New Year's Eve Countdown is a three-minute computer-animated film about celebrating New Year on the Madagascar.
''All Hail King Julien: Happy Birthday to You'' (2017)
All Hail King Julien: Happy Birthday to You is a one-minute computer-animated special, which could be used for a birthday of Julien's fan.
The series was announced in March 2014 as part of an agreement between Netflix and DreamWorks Animation, under which the studio will develop more than 300 hours of exclusive programming for the service. The series is based on the characters from Madagascar, but is a prequel, set prior to the events of the film series. Danny Jacobs, Andy Richter and Kevin Michael Richardson reprised their roles from previous Madagascar media, while Henry Winkler, India de Beaufort and Betsy Sodaro joined the cast.
Reception
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."
