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Madagascar Spinoff's Pride Episode Introduces Nonbinary Character
Odee the Okapi is voiced by nonbinary actor Ezra Menas.
Madagascar: A Little Wild, Hulu's spin-off of the popular Dreamworks film franchise, has introduced a non-binary character voiced by a non-binary actor.
Season 3 episode “Whatever Floats Your Float” introduces Odee the Okapi to the adolescent gang. Okapis are Central African animals that are often thought of as zebra giraffes.
The episode takes "place in the lead up to the habitat’s annual Animal Pride Parade. When Marty meets the habitat's newest resident Odee, Marty can't decide what float Odee should join. Are they a zebra? Or a giraffe? In Marty's personal mission to define what kind of animal Odee is, he is missing out on celebrating all the wonderful things that make Odee who they are."
Odee is voiced by non-binary actor Ezra Menas. "If I would have seen this when I was a kid, I don't even know what I would've done," Menas said in a statement. "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."
As them points out, "The Okapi is also an endangered species and, when considering the full-fledged attack on trans and non-binary kids overtaking state legislatures across the country, this feels like an intentional and apt metaphor."
Madagascar: A Little Wild is available to stream on Hulu now. Watch a clip below:
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Taylor Henderson is a PRIDE.com contributor. This proud Texas Bama studied Media Production/Studies and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he developed his passions for pop culture, writing, and videography. He's absolutely obsessed with Beyoncé, mangoes, and cheesy YA novels that allow him to vicariously experience the teen years he spent in the closet. He's also writing one!
Taylor Henderson is a PRIDE.com contributor. This proud Texas Bama studied Media Production/Studies and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he developed his passions for pop culture, writing, and videography. He's absolutely obsessed with Beyoncé, mangoes, and cheesy YA novels that allow him to vicariously experience the teen years he spent in the closet. He's also writing one!
