'Madagascar' prequel series set for Netflix

Netflix announced Monday a pre-Christmas prequel to the family-friendly hit movie "Madagascar," as part of its original programming deal with DreamWorks Animation.
The online video service will premiere the first five episodes of "All Hail King Julien" in North America, Latin America and some European markets, including Britain and France, on December 19, it said in a statement.
More 22-minute episodes will follow in 2015, with Danny Jacobs providing the voice of hard-partying lemur King Julien -- a job filled by Sacha Baron Cohen in the original 2005 movie.
Henry Winkler, star of the 1970s cult TV sitcom "Happy Days," will voice the ring-tailed monarch's predecessor.
"King Julien knows how to throw a great party, and we expect families around the world will enjoy spending their holidays with him," said Netflix vice president for original content Cindy Holland.
DreamWorks Animation signed a multi-year deal with Netflix in mid-2013 to provide 300 hours of original programming inspired by some of its biggest big-screen cartoon movies.
Last December the collaboration bore fruit with the Netflix premiere of "Turbo: FAST," inspired by the movie "Turbo," about the adventures of a high-speed snail.