Dreamworks' Madagascar: A Little Wild Introducing Nonbinary Character in Pride-Themed Episode

DreamWorks' Madagascar: A Little Wild will be making history in its upcoming third season, with the introduction of the franchise's first nonbinary character. The character, an Okapi named Odee, will debut in the Pride-themed episode "Whatever Floats Your Float", which will debut as part of Season 3 on both Hulu and Peacock later this week. Odee will be voiced by nonbinary actor Ezra Menas, who uses zie/hir/they pronouns, and is best known for hir work on Broadway's Jagged Little Pill and the upcoming film remake of West Side Story. The episode will also feature an original song called "Be Proud", the full version of which will be available to stream on Friday.

In "Whatever Floats Your Float", as the gang prepares for the big Animal Pride Parade, Marty the Zebra (Amir O'Neil) struggles to find a float that fits Odee, given their zebra and giraffe attributes. None of the floats feel quite right for their new friend, leading Odee to realize, "It doesn't matter what we are as long as we're proud of who we are."

"If I would have seen this when I was a kid, I don't even know what I would've done," Menas revealed to Entertainment Weekly. "This kind of acceptance and love and celebration, I think, is the biggest takeaway from this episode. It's just a beautiful thing. Makes me cry."

"We're so indoctrinated with the gender binary and gender stereotypes. If you're a man, this is your path. If you're a woman, this is your path," Menas added. "I think seeing Odee and the care from Odee's friends would have made me not feel so isolated. At times, I felt so isolated in my experience. I didn't know I was nonbinary as a kid. I didn't even have that language as a kid."

"Whatever Floats Your Float" was reportedly consulted on by GLAAD, with one of the organization's executives calling the representation in the episode "beautiful."

"The 'Whatever Floats Your Float' episode of Madagascar: A Little Wild shows kids and parents that there's a place for everyone to 'Be Proud' of who they are," Jeremy Blacklow, GLAAD's director of entertainment media, said in a statement. "The writers have crafted a beautiful episode about identity at a time when LGBTQ inclusion in kids and family programming is rapidly growing and more industry leaders like DreamWorks Animation are working with GLAAD to ensure that all families are represented on-screen. We can't wait for kids and parents around the world to fall in love with Odee, the same way that we have!"

Season 3 of Madagascar: A Little Wild will debut on Hulu and Peacock this Thursday, May 27th.