A year after DreamWorks released Madagascar, Disney released its own animated movie with a near-identical plot, The Wild. Released in 2005, Madagascar stars Chris Rock as Marty, an ambitious zebra at the Central Park Zoo who dreams of leaving behind his enclosure and exploring the outside world. The cast is rounded out by Ben Stiller as Alex the egocentric lion, Jada Pinkett Smith as Gloria the confident hippo, and David Schwimmer as Melman the hypochondriac giraffe, who all escape with Marty and end up stranded on the titular island.

Madagascar was a big hit with audiences and ended up launching a blockbuster franchise. Madagascar was followed by two sequels and a spinoff, and ended up becoming a lucrative property for DreamWorks. Just one year later, Disney tried to replicate that success by releasing a movie so similar that it could’ve been a remake. Unfortunately for the Mouse House, their version...