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Mort (Madagascar Franchise)

Mortdecai (or Mort for short) is a side character in the Madagascar (franchise) and one of the main protagonist in All Hail King Julien--one of the franchise's spin off television shows. Mort, a Mouse lemur, is often depicted as innocent, cute, and comical; however, in All Hail King Julien (AHKJ) and the subsequent show, All Hail King Julien: Exiled (AHKJE) Mort's character is expanded upon dramatically Making him both more dynamic and mysterious.

The development of Mort's character in these shows, juxtaposed against how Mort was first introduced in the main film series, has inspired a Fandom surrounding Mort dedicated to explaining and theorizing his character's traits, motives, and origins.

Mort in the Main Madagascar Trilogy

Madagascar

In the franchise's first film Madagascar (2005 film) Mort first appears being prepared as a dinner item by the fossa. After being rescued, Mort is depicted as an anxious lemur with a fetish for King Julien’s feet. He also appears inattentive, as Maurice, another member of the lemur kingdom, tells Mort that King Julien has told him not to touch his feet several times. When Mort meets Alex the lion for the first time, he makes the super anxious "Mort cry." Gloria the hippopotamus cheers Mort up, and he warms up to them. Mort is called annoying by King Julien, even though he appears to just be overly enthusiastic. When Alex almost eats another protagonist, Marty the zebra, Mort is the only one that claps; later, Mort even agrees that he’s a piece of steak during Alex's delirium from starvation. However, moments later, Mort fears that Alex is going savage. At the end, Mort is served to Alex as Plan B, and Mort seems okay with the idea.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

In Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Mort tries to go with the Zoosters and King Julien on an airplane, but King Julien views him as extremely annoying and kicks him off mid-flight. Nevertheless, Mort manages to make his way onto the plane and is chewing on the wires when Alex sees him. Then, Mort waves at Alex from outside the plane and jumps off. We later see Mort wash up on the shores of Africa, only to be chased around by a rabid shark. He laughs during all of this, and even questions why he’s laughing which raises questions about Mort's competency and comprehension of his surroundings. Mort appears in the volcano almost an hour later, still being chased by the rabid shark, and inadvertently makes Julien think he has saved Africa when the shark falls into the volcano, thereby “sacrificing” itself to the water gods.

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted

n Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, Mort pops out of Alex’s birthday cake (and then barfs up some of the cake after eating a good portion of it). Mort is later used as a clock to time when the power needs to be cut out (and is later seen playing with the power). Even though Mort has been mistreated by King Julien throughout the series, Mort saves Julien’s life when Captain Dubois shoots him with a tranquillizer dart. When it appears Julien fell to his death, Mort is very crestfallen, but overjoyed when Julian appears unharmed. Mort serves as a distraction to cause Dubois to fall from the plane. When the plane crash lands, Mort runs off, anxiously searching for King Julien. After the events of the third film, it appears that Mort has become closer with Maurice. Near the end of the movie, Mort shoots Chantel (the villain) with her own tranquilizer pistol, saving the Zoosters.

Mort in Other Media

Penguins of Madagascar (2014 film)

In addition to his role in the main Madagascar films, Mort is also a recurring character in several of the spinoff movies and television shows in the Madagascar franchise. Mort has a very minor role in Penguins of Madagascar, a spin-off film that was released in 2014. While he does not have nearly the screen time as he does in the previous three movies, his character does have a significant role in a scene that plays during the end credits of this movie. Here Mort is plugged into a ray where his cuteness is used to restore one of the penguins back to his normal self. He then exhibits side effects from being plugged into the ray as he swallows King Julien. Right before the scene ends, Mort is shown smiling after consuming King Julien.

The Penguins of Madagascar (TV series)

In The Penguins of Madagascar, a spin-off series that aired from 2008 to 2015, Mort was a major character. While the penguins are the main focus of this series, Mort plays a recurring role and appears regularly throughout the show. Alongside King Julien, Mort’s character often contributes to problems that the penguins end up needing to fix. One example of this is when Mort gets in the way of a laser beam that the penguins are about to use, and the penguins then have to figure out how to undo the side effects this caused to Mort’s appearance.

All Hail King Julien

One of Mort’s most significant roles is in AHKJ--the television series that is a prequel to the original Madagascar films. As a close associate in King Julien’s inner circle, Mort is a main character throughout this entire series. Mort is enthusiastic in his admiration for King Julien and serves as a loyal companion. However, this admiration is very much one-sided as Mort often gets on King Julien’s nerves. This leads to Mort not being treated very kindly by Julien throughout most of the series.

Merry Madagascar and Madly Madagascar

Mort makes brief appearances in the two Madagascar holiday specials: Merry Madagascar (2009) and Madly Madagascar (2013).

Common Characteristics of Mort Across Media

Deceivingly Harmless

Even when Mort is acting violently, he is often represented as a funny and harmless character. An example of this is in the episode “The Strife Aquatic” when Mort makes several attempts to kill another character, Koto. His attempts are so ineffective that they were almost comical, so Koto makes him the court jester as punishment.

Popular

There are a couple of instances throughout The Penguins of Madagascar where Mort appears to be a very popular character. This causes some jealousy among others at the zoo. Mort’s popularity at the zoo can likely be attributed to his cuteness. In “Operation: Plush & Cover”, the plush toys made to resemble Mort become very popular at the zoo souvenir store. Although this does make some of the other animals jealous, the penguins still care for Mort’s safety and lead a rescue mission when he finds himself in a dangerous situation. There is another example of Mort’s popularity in “The Penguin Stays in the Picture” Mort is chosen to be on the cover of the newest edition of the zoo’s brochure. Again, this causes some jealousy and one of the penguins is very upset not to be chosen. Despite this jealousy, Mort once again finds himself the center of concern for the penguins.

Multiple Personalities

In King Julien: Exiled, it is explained that Mort has the ability to consume the essence of other Morts, essentially taking their souls to live inside himself. These other Morts are displayed as Mort having multiple, alternate personalities. For example, Smart Mort comes out whenever Mort drinks coffee. Smart Mort is extremely intelligent and a bit arrogant. This personality of Mort’s is used to help solve problems that are too complex for regular Mort.

These alternate personalities also are exhibited as Mort talking to voices inside of his head. These voices help Mort. brainstorm and give him instructions on what to do. In “The Strife Aquatic” these voices are what give Mort the idea to kill Koto Given the background of how these personalities came about, many in the fandom assume that Mort must have fought and consumed the souls of several others in the past. However, Mort seems to have no memory of this. Because of this, Mort’s character is still portrayed as cute and innocent.

Obsession with Feet

Across all the major IP in the Madagascar franchise, Mort's obsession with feet is made central to his character. Although Mort has preference to King Julien's feet, in AHJK and AHJKE Mort also extends this obsession to other character's feet and to feet in general. Although most of the character's, including King Julien, are put off by this characteristic of Mort, members of the fandom have argue Mort's obsession with feet in actuality is a curse given to him by the Sky-Gods.

Mort's Major Relationship to Others

King Julien

One of Mort’s more significant relationships is with King Julien. Although King Julien does not like Mort or treat him very well, Mort is still a dedicated member of his inner circle. Mort will do anything for King Julien. Julien often blames things on Mort and does not really seem to care much about him. Mort, however, does not seem to mind this mistreatment, and is vocal about his love for Julien. He even has an obsession with Julien’s feet that leads to Mort saving Julien’s toenail clippings and hanging a picture of his foot above his bed. This foot obsession is one of the ways that Julien is bothered by Mort. Despite Julien's mistreatment of Mort, Mort also helps the Lemur King on several occasions. Mort also often appears to want to appease Julien, such as when Julien offers the little lemur to the Zoosters as a potential food option.

Maurice and Clover

Mort has lots of interaction with the other two members of King Julien’s circle – Clover and Maurice. Together the three of them look out for Julien and work together to help solve any problems he faces. Clover and Maurice do not seem to fully understand Mort and his quirks.In one episode of All Hail King Julien, Mort refers to Clover as one of his best friends, but later, it is suggested that Mort thinks their relationship is more than it actually is.

Zora

Mort gets married to Zora in the final episode of All Hail King Julien: Exiled; however, he does not seem to truly love her and their marriage is short-lived ending in Season 5 when Zora leaves Mort for Uncle King Julien. After Zora leaves him, Mort is shown laughing and acting relieved as he says he “Dodged that bullet!"

Adaptations Descriptions and Reinterpretations of Mort across the Fandom

The internet fandom that has centered around Mort is filled with a variety of different theories, opinions and justifications for Mort’s behavior in the franchise. Across multiple sites, posts, and users, understanding of Mort is debated and Mort’s character has been used in support of a range of identities and beliefs including LGBTQIA+ affirming posts. The Theorizer on YouTube has created a 26 part, 9-hour series arguing for a particular understanding of Mort that extends beyond the franchise of which many others’ in the fandom have adopted. The next sections will explore beliefs about Mort in The Theorizer’s video essays and other material that represent the Mort fandom broadly.

Genome and Biology of Mort

Age

Mort in AHKJ S2 E8 “Daddy Julian” is confirmed to be older than King Julian, and older than the age of 35. In other episodes of AHKJ, depictions of Mort are scene in history books about the Lemur Kingdom dating him much older than 35 years old; however, fans of the show have argued that Mort is immortal and his age is not an effective way to identify him.

DNA

A medical doctor tests Mort’s DNA in another episode of AHKJ to confirm that mort is only 40% lemur. Mort at the time mentions his father was a bear, and the results from the test suggest that Mort’s DNA is composed of other, unrelated species. Fans speculate those other species may include starfish and spider.

Sex and Gender

Mort’s sex and gender is understood as more fluid in the fandom compared to the animators’ description. Although only represented as a male/man in the show, the fandom has created several memes and post that identify mort as female, a girlfriend to King Julian, or argue Mort’s behavior in a clip is feminine.

Race (and Religion)

In another episode of ALKJ, “Lord of the Fruit Flies” Mort recalls a memory of celebrating Hanukah with his grandfather. Members of the fandom use this scene as evidence that Mort is also Jewish, or, more abstractly, Mort represents a larger commentary on Judeo-Christian values. The Theorizer also compares Mort to the four horsemen of the apocalypse described in the book of Revelations further associating Mort with religious allegory.

Morality of Mort

Fan-made picture of Mort as eldritch horror

Some members of the fandom believe mort is an evil, demented antihero in the franchise In the fandom, the morality of Mort is heavily contested. For some, Mort is comparable to an eldritch horror that consumes all life, purpose, and joy from the world around them. Others see Mort as a benevolent God-like hero that is attempting to reclaim their history, identity, and spread goodness to others. And still, some argue Mort is amoral in the truest sense: having no affinity toward good or evil, and merely exists as a dynamic character willing to change according to circumstance.

In AHKJ “The Big Squeeze” the origin of Mort’s name is confirmed to be derived from the Latin root Mortem, meaning death. This fact has inspired many in the fandom to agree that mort is more sinister than his incompetency suggests in the franchise.

Mort’s marital history also has been used to justify his evil nature. Mort canonically has been married 12 times over; however, 10 of the previous marriages are dismissed by Mort himself. In an episode of AHKJ: Exiled, “King Julien is Watching You” Mort marries another character, Zora, and subsequently tricks her into falling in love with King Julien's uncle to break off the marriage. Mort is shown rubbing his hands together as Zora leaves their relationship suggesting to viewers that Mort manipulated Zora to do what he wanted.

Mort-God and Mortiverse Theories

In The Theorizer’s video essays, the creator explains that Mort is an interdimensional being who can consume the souls of others into his body. Most notably, this premise is proven in the AHKJ episode, “Close Encounters of the Mort Kind” when Mort faces off with an identical looking mouse lemur from another dimension named Morticus Khan (referencing Genghis Khan). The two battle and Mort, in victory, consumes the body and soul of Morticus Khan into his belly. Morticus Khan can be seen briefly trying to escape from inside Mort’s stomach, still conscious he is trapped, to no avail.

In other episodes of AHKJ and AHKJ: Exiled too, Mort has internal dialogue with other mouse lemurs including his grandmother and Smart Mort. Smart Mort exists as a character outside Mort, much like Morticus Khan, until Mort travels to Smart Mort’s alternate dimension and consumes him. Thereafter, Mort can channel Smart Mort through his body—and this action often is misunderstood as a type of personality disorder by those outside the fandom.

The Theorizer develops a compelling case to believe that these different variations of Mort (Morticus Khan, Smart Mort, etc.) are all aspects of Mort that have been divided and dispersed across dimensions to subdue Mort’s true power. The different aspects of Mort that have been scattered throughout different dimensions is referred by the fandom as the Mortiverse.

The Sky-Gods, are introduced in the franchise as deities that are worshiped in Madagascar. According to the Mort-God theory, Mort was once a member of this pantheon as a Sky-God. Similar to Greco-Roman Mythology Mort was envied by the other Sky-Gods for his power and ultimately cast out and cursed by the other Sky-Gods to exist as a mouse-lemur in the mortal world. The Sky-Gods divided Mort’s power into different bodies like Smart Mort and Morticus Khan to disempower Mort and erase any memories Mort had of having those powers before.

Mort’s Character in this Mort-God interpretation is motivated to find and reclaim the different aspects of his being scattered by the Sky-Gods by consuming and reabsorbing them into his being in an attempt to reclaim his original power and place as a Sky-God.

Mort's Likeness in Support of Ideological Values

LGBTQ

Among the fandom, Mort’s likeness has been show in support of LGBTQ rights through memes and post on websites like TikTok that adapt the context of the series and reimagine the relationship between King Julian and Mort to be romantic.

Feminism

Mort’s character has also been used to support modern feminism through memes that clip scenes in which Mort affirms women’s rights or is preferential to behavior associated with women from the show

Fandom Explanations for Mort's Personality

Obsession with Feet

The foot fetish Mort has is central to his character—even in his appearance in the originally trilogy as an ancillary character. Writers of AHKJ in particular joke about Mort’s fascination with feet constantly. In the Theorizer’s video, he argues that this fascination is a curse bestowed upon him by the Sky-Gods of Madagascar to distract and disempower Mort from reclaiming his place in the pantheon and from discovering the other Morts.

Mort's Cute Rhetoric

Mort’s cute, child-like behavior to many fans is one of the most appealing aspects of the character; however, members entrenched in the fandom speculate that Mort uses his cuteness as a rhetorical strategy to disarm his victims and misdirect onlookers from extreme, questionably moral actions on his quest to reclaim his former power. Mort is often portrayed in memes among the fandom as a type of trap that lures people in with his cute antics and snaps close with calculated, unempathetic purpose.

Mort and Voraphillia

As a result of AHKJ focus on Mort consuming the body of other Morts, some in the fandom have used this behavior to argue Mort is obsessed with consuming the bodies of others for pleasure; however, this does overlook more encompassing theories like the Mort-God theory that provides a more detailed motivation for Mort to consume the bodies of others.