Of all the Madagascar movies, I still feel the first one was the most introspective. Don't misunderstand me; I still enjoy its sequels. On the other hand, the first Madagascar, at least to me, seemed the most dark in theme. Seriously, the struggle between free will and natural instinct...? Talk about hardcore.
And there's one question that's recently begun bugging me and that I'm surprised I haven't considered sooner: why have the sequels, aside from the "butt biting" joke (which we all have to admit is pretty damn funny—though only so far), never once alluded back to Alex and his momentary lapse into his darker, carnivorous instincts?
And there's another question: what about his parents...or Gia and the other circus animals? What would they think of the thought of Alex being something...so unhinged, no care for morals or who is who...lost in reckless abandon?
What if they found out that Alex, for a period of time, was once beyond a true animal—something that would have shocked even Vitaly or Zuba?
All characters and elements of Madagascar belong to Dreamworks Animation.
Alex swore he, Marty, Melman, and Gloria had gone past what had happened to them in Madagascar.
Not being shipwrecked, not falling into the potentially and inevitably futile scheme of King Julian, or even the overwhelming experience of confronting ruthless savages—the four New Yorkers had long since gone past being deeply affected by those trials—could go as so far as to even look back at those events with a sense of humorous nostalgia.
Not so with the hunger.
Alex could have smiled for the sake of the whole universe and until his face froze that way, the grin etched into his muzzle like writing chiseled into marble. Gleaming white teeth and a sparkling attitude can't hide secrets forever...especially not those about foul, snarling instincts that once threatened to swallow him until no semblance of his former self remained. Nightmares of screams, blood, and roars of savage pleasure haunted the lion only days after the defeat of the foosa. His soul-shredding shriek the following night testified that fact all too well.
Fish had only cured Alex of his hunger; they had accomplished virtually nothing against the hunger in the memories.
The dark dreams only for the time being (though the zoo animals had desperately hoped the duration to be forever) stopped after the gang's untimely arrival into Africa, much to the golden lion's relief. Alex could only assume the heartfelt reunion with his parents and reconciliation with his vague, faded early childhood memories proved strong enough to drive the thoughts of carnage and bloodlust away...
Again, the comfort could only last for so long.
The sequences, for a time, were always the same: up until the chase, all the events of the dream followed history perfectly...Alex would lose himself...everyone present would take flight...trying to escape the monster that had, only seconds ago, been their friend...
Until the worst part came: Alex catching Marty in his claws...canines searing into flesh...soul-shattering pleas and cries...tears of the prey mingling with its blood...Alex eventually leaving nothing behind but—
Dear God...Alex thanked all the spirits he knew about that Marty asked him to stop at that point after the zebra, while the gang had still been on Madagascar right after the ship gas mishap, coaxed out of the lion the reason for the nighttime scream-fests. Never would the lion forget the terror reignited within the depths of his best friend's emerald eyes, the need for escape no doubt as strong in Marty as the need to consume had been in Alex.
Melman and Gloria proved no different. Their sympathy and concern proved harder to take than any fear he ever instilled in them.
But they all knew he could control the part of himself the zoo had suppressed for so long and his parents, after having the situation explained to them, aided in helping him do just that.
And they were right—everyone had been right. Alex knew, now more than ever, he was more than a mere eating machine. He was beyond what the foosa were. He was an animal, yes...but he was also an animal of heart.
He had compassion.
He had hopes.
He had dreams.
Nightmares care nothing for those concepts. All they seek is fear...fear to feed off of...fear to encourage...fear to spread...
So they worsened.
They shifted—first from Marty being captured and consumed to Gloria and Melman...then the lemurs...then the penguins, Private's misty eyes the last sign of life before the last drop of blood spilled...
Then when the anger at being tricked by Makunga and the sense of failure and abandonment brought about by his friends and father added into the equation...Alex's parents became the next "victims." The Florrie in the dreams would beg for her "baby boy" to come back. Zuba would plead for his "Alakay" to stop and calm himself...
The moment his claws pierced into their chests was always the moment Alex would awake in a cold sweat.
No screaming those times, not like before...just cold, unforgiving terror...
"Eez dat it?" a rough, accented voice probed.
"Yeah," a smoother but quieter voice replied.
"Does Gia know?"
...
"Do you worry ov her reaction?"
...
"Vell?"
"...Is it okay if I don't answer that?"
Alex was sitting in a corner of Vitaly's box-cart, the striped owner of said cart sitting right next to him. Stefano, Melman, and Marty were seated around the two felines, all of them either too shocked or too solemn to have interrupted Alex's grim recollection.
Only Vitaly showed a different feeling: empathy. In spite of being a circus animal, he understood all too well how badly predatory instincts could get out of control, and how easily he could slaughter every animal in this circus—some of the reasons he took up knife-flinging—to channel his primal side.
Marty and Melman knew all too well how Alex felt as well. After all, they had been there, along with Gloria, when the instincts first overtook not just Alex but the rest of them as well...how its unheard silver tongue convinced them to abandon their best friend (or more specifically the shell of their best friend) for their own sakes.
For that reason, the two ungulates remained quiet not just out of respect for Alex but also for the sake of his mind...and his sanity.
Until now—now felt right.
"You know you can tell her anything, Alex." Melman had been in a relationship a piece longer than his lion friend had, so the giraffe had a fair idea about what he was trying to convey to the cat.
"Yeah, this ain't like when we lied about bein' circus animals." Marty stood up from the floor on all fours, the firm but comforting gaze in his eyes never wavering. "Gia's gonna get where you're comin' from, man."
Stefano did not understand as well as the others did, but he could at least grasp how this fear hung onto Alex like a ball-and-chain. The Italian seal gathered all of his courage and broke the silence next. "Do not-a take offense, but Vitaly and I have-a known Gia longer than you, Alice. We-a know she will not-a judge you harshly, just as-a Marty said."
He sounded supportive and positive, his flippers clasped in front of him, his face with his usual smile...but his effort didn't give him the result he wished for.
Alex suddenly looked away from the window he'd been paying attention to this whole time and shot to Stefano the most haunting stare the seal had ever seen. The others caught it as well; even Vitaly, in spite of his lack of expression, had to resist the urge to shiver.
The cause didn't lie so much in how suddenly Alex looked at Stefano. It lie in how utterly blank his eyes were. His blue eyes, usually warm and glowing, shone like a lone glacier in a cold ocean.
His voice was no different.
"I know. That's why I intend to ask for her hand tonight...right before we go to sleep."
Four heartbeats skipped in the dimness.
"You can say no to me all you want." Alex read Vitaly's lips before the tiger could even retort, the other cat too stunned by the lion's bluntness to speak out.
"She's the one who's helped me drive the nightmares away the most. Even if they come back, at least they'll wake me up to find myself in her arms. Sleep won't scare me anymore."
The honesty and sincerity in the lion's words killed off all of the rebukes Vitaly's protective instincts wanted to scream out. For the first time, Vitaly had just lost an argument with Alex. And the tiger did not regret that in the least.
Which was why Vitaly—so sure once upon a time that he would've sooner skinned Alex alive than give him his blessing—said something he never thought he'd ever say...
"Do what you must."
And for the first time today, Alex finally smiled...genuinely and happily. He pushed his hands against the wall to stand up. Once upright, he flashed his familiar grin to the four men who had just helped him confirm what he'd suspected all along: the nightmares didn't have a winning chance.
Not with Gia around...
Not with friends like these guys...
"Thank you...all of you."
Without another word, Alex walked to the door, slid it open, stepped into the forgiving coolness of the night, and shut the door behind him—his reborn hope reflected by the looks of admiration and pride in his friends'—his family's faces.
Never in his life had Alex felt so close to the light.
Short—yeah, I know. But it's a shortness well done in my opinion.