(Left to right) Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller), Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) and Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer) (Photo: © DreamWorks Animation SKG)

On May 27, 2005, there was a stampede heard all across the country! It wasn't a horse or buffalo stampede, but of moviegoers who couldn't wait to get their tickets and see the first mega-hit of the summer: Madagascar!

Laugh-packed and tons of fun, Madagascar is from DreamWorks, the same folks who produced the box-office smash Shark Tale. This time the animated stars are land animals who live in New York City's famous Central Park Zoo. Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller) is the king of the urban jungle as the main attraction at the zoo. He and his best friend Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer), and Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett-Smith) have lived their entire lives in blissful captivity, complete with lavish meals and their own park views.

The gang celebrates Marty's 10th birthday, but he is a glum zebra, itching for adventure. Not content to leave well enough alone, Marty allows his curiosity to get the better of him and, with the help of some zany penguins, makes his escape to explore the world he's been missing. Marty wants to go to the wild, which he thinks is Connecticut! Alex, Melman, and Gloria are shocked to find their friend missing in the morning and break out of the zoo to go after him and get him back to the zoo before anyone figures out they're gone. But even in New York, a lion, giraffe, and hippopotamus wandering the streets and riding the subway are bound to attract some attention. Alex, Melman, and Gloria track Marty and the penguins down in Grand Central Station, but before they catch the train home, they are darted, captured, crated and put on a ship to Africa by well-meaning humans who think they should be freed from the stress of New York life.

When those plotting penguins sabotage the ship, Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria find themselves washed ashore on the exotic island of Madagascar. Now these native New Yorkers have to figure out how to survive in the wild and discover the true meaning of the phrase, "It's a jungle out there."

Jada Pinkett-Smith recording her voice for the part of Gloria. (Photo: © DreamWorks Animation SKG)

Check out our rib-tickling, one-on-one interview with Jada Pinkett-Smith, the voice of Gloria the Hippo.

SN: Describe Gloria's inner-self, her personality, and what is important to her.
Jada: Well, Gloria's inner-self is always very hungry, and her personality is [that] she is very much the caretaker. She is very loyal to her friends and wants to make sure they are very taken care of. What is important to her is food. Food is very important—very— to Gloria, very important.

SN: What are Gloria's best and worst qualities?
Jada: I would say Gloria's best quality is that she is a warm and funny gal. Her worst quality is that she is kind of pushy at times. She can be really pushy.

SN: How much of you is in Gloria's approach in life?
Jada: I will tell you what, I am not a big eater like Gloria. We do not have that in common. I would say what we do have in common is our loyalty to our friends.

SN: Describe the process of doing a character voice for an animated film.
Jada: It's challenging because you don't have your co-stars there to read your lines with, you don't have your props, you don't have any sets, and you don't have a costume, so it is kind of you trying to make the project work and trying to make the scenes come to life. So I would not say that it is harder but I would say that it is very challenging versus live action.

SN: Do your kids ever ask you to talk like one of your animated characters?
Jada: No, my kids don't ask me to talk like my animated character. They haven't seen Gloria yet. The first time they will see Gloria is at the premiere. They wanted to wait to see the premiere before they saw the movie. Maybe they will after they see the movie. I don't know but they don't now.

SN: How long did it take for you to complete your part in Madagascar? Were you working on anything else at the time?
Jada: I actually started Madagascar not with Collateral but around that time. I was always doing something else with Madagascar. You know you go in for a couple of hours of work, four or five hours of work. Here and there they would call you in but it has been awhile. It takes a minute to get animation to get up and going. You have to be very patient.

SN: Who is your favorite Madagascar animal? Which one would you like as a pet?
Jada: I would have to say Gloria. I don't want to seem egotistical or anything, Gloria is my favorite character and I would love to have a hippo as cute as Gloria as a pet. She is just adorable.

SN: What was your favorite book as a child? Why?
Jada: I love Alice in Wonderland. I thought that she had such a great life because she had so many neat people to meet and such great adventures to go on.

SN: What book most impressed you in the last six months?
Jada: I haven't really been reading any kids' books except the ones that I read to my kids. There is a book called In Every Tiny Grain of Sand that the kids and I read. It celebrates all type of religious backgrounds and I think that is a great book for kids to have because no matter what your faith is, we all have to learn how to respect other people's religious interests. So I would say that is the book I have been impressed with within the last six months.

SN: Do you have an all-time favorite book?
Jada: My all-time favorite book is called Girls Hold Up This World. It is not just because I wrote it and it is a Scholastic book. It is because it's a book for all girls around the world. It is very rare that we get to have books about who we are as girls and empowering ourselves as girls and eventually helping us become the great women that we are meant to be. That is why it is my favorite all time book.

SN: Do you read to your kids? What are their favorite books?
Jada: I do read to my kids. My daughter likes spooky stories so I am always trying to find appropriate spooky stories for kids. I never do, so I always have to end up making up one to tell her. Jaden likes all different types of books. We just pull books from anywhere. They like Debbie Allen's books. Bell Hooks has a book that Willow really likes that is called Happy to be Nappy. That is one of her favorite books.