Melman



Melman is a half-anthropomorphic giraffe, who appears in the DreamWorks film, Madagascar. He is somewhat of a hypochondriac, having doses of medicine for meals and doctor's appointments frequently. He even complains about having brown spots on his neck.

Melman had a residence at the Central Park Zoo, where he would receive constant medical treatment for problems that, oddly enough, were all a figment of his imagination. Melman would undergo MRIs, CAT scans, injections, flu shots, and be put into braces and crutches for no particular purpose at all. In the Central Park Zoo, Melman received treatment, and was so used to his cushy life taking pills and undergoing treatments. One night, however, Marty the Zebra escaped and Melman immediately informed Alex of this. (One of his doctors is/was Dr. Munish.)

In a flashback in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, there is a hint that he had a crush on Gloria as a child (as he seems uncomfortable when she comments that Alex is cute). When the animals nearly die trying to fly back to New York in a salvaged air plane, he screams that he is in love with Gloria, however she is asleep and does not hear this. In Africa, Melman is horrified to learn that once a giraffe becomes sick, it has no way to survive and therefore must simply wait in a hole to die. He takes the position of Witch Doctor (but introduces them to modern medicine) to cure sick animals, giving them longer and better lives. While he proves to be very good at this job, he is informed by another giraffe that Melman has a brown spot on his shoulder, one which the previous Witch Doctor seemed to have gotten and "was gone" two days later. Thinking he only has days to live, Melman initially waits in a hole but then takes King Julien's advice and goes to declare his love to Gloria. He finds her on a date and screams at her date what a wonderful girl Gloria is and to treat her right. When the watering hole dries up and King Julien decides to sacrifice an animal for the water gods, Melman offers himself. He is saved at the last moment, when Gloria tells him that she loves him back, it becomes apparent that the "brown spot" was not fatal (the previous Witch Doctor is found alive and well, the brown spot in fact being a natural giraffe spot), and that Alex is in need of rescue.