“I like to move it, move it.” That line really only works if it is said by an eccentric royal lemur going by the name of King Julien the 13th.

And it certainly went down a storm at Bournemouth International Centre where a packed crowd found themselves in the only place they could at the end of the two-hour show – on their feet, dancing along to the song that has become the anthem of the phenomenally successful Madagascar films.

To add to the trilogy of movies the original Dreamworks film has now been made into a stage show which is currently on tour in the UK.

Staying faithful to the original tale with all the classic lines that made the film such a success, the stage version makes for easy family entertainment.

With imaginative use of staging, the show tells the story of Marty the zebra’s quest to live in the wild via a break-out from New York Zoo, a boat trip to Africa and a shipwreck that lands them in Madagascar.

The energetic cast, who work hard to personify their animated namesakes, manage to get through much of the narrative in the fast-paced first half with the penguins, unsurprisingly, stealing the show.

With much of the dialogue out of the way it sets up the second half of the show for loads of fun courtesy of the afore mentioned King Julien who was an absolute joy.

All of the characters gave solid vocal performances with the catchy and entertaining original score but Julien was a stand out favourite. His lullaby to Alex was both vocally superb and hilarious, summing up just why he was the star of the show.

It is a daunting task following in the paw prints of the character made famous by Sacha Baron Cohen, but it was done with aplomb.

The front section of the audience had their share of the spotlight as the penguins made a regular foray into the aisles on their repeated secret missions.

All in all it was an entertaining show that never departed far from the original.