A king, well and truly stripped of his kingdom.
- First and foremost, the group of friends being captured by human forces and then transferred to a wildlife preserve in Africa. They are essentially ripped from the only home that they ever knew and may never see it again!
- They eventually do make it back by the third film, although this is a sad moment as well given their situation, plus the fact that as of now, Nothing Is the Same Anymore since they've spent so much time away from the zoo.
- Although it happened at the same time as the Penguins taking over the ship, Alex and Marty's argument while shoving at each other inside their crates is nevertheless hard to watch, given that these two are life-time friends, and this is probably one of the first times in their lives that they've ever seemed to fight and argue in such a way.Alex: I was the star in the greatest city on Earth! A king, loved by my people! And you've ruined EVERYTHING!
Marty: "Loved"? If the people loved you, it's only because they didn't know the real YOU!
Alex: I thought I knew the real you! And Marty, your black and white stripes? They cancel each other out! You're NOTHING!- It doesn't help that while this is taking place, Gloria is trying to calm them down and Melman is covering his ears with his hooves and is repeatedly pleading for Alex and Marty to stop! Oh jeez...
- Afterwards, Alex calling out to his friends when their crates are set adrift at sea. Marty calls out to Alex twice before his, Melman's, and Gloria's crates disappear out of sight and Alex desperately screams, "No! Wait! Come back, Marty!" before helplessly saying "Don't go..."
- It gets worse when you remember in the second film when it was revealed he had previously ended up in a crate floating out to sea as a cub after being separated from his parents. Alex was probably suffering severe PTSD in this moment.
- The first time Alex snaps out of his lion instincts, shaking off the impact of a coconut to the head and seeing Marty run instead of a steak with zebra-striped marbling:Alex: (to himself) Marty...? I'm so sorry, Marty... (stands up and grasps his head in frustrated fear) What is wrong with me?! (quivers in pain since his claws cut into his head beneath his mane before he notices them) Oww...! Oh no... What have I done? It's true. I'm a monster! (looks around frantically) I gotta get out of here...
- What follows is a Sad-Times Montage set to "What a Wonderful World" as Marty, Melman, and Gloria become unfortunate victims of witnessing small animals being eaten by predators and discovering that, while yes, the wild is indeed full of beauty and life, but it is also full of danger, and Marty's rather glorified view of the wild was more one-sided and maybe a little too fantastical, which is understandable, given the fact that they all grew up and lived only in a zoo for most their lives up until now. The sequence ends with Marty realizing the whole thing was his fault, since if he had never run away from the zoo in the first place, they wouldn't be in this situation.
Marty: What have I done? This is a nightmare! And it's all my fault... Now, because of me, we've lost Alex. - Marty goes back to help Alex and convince him to come back with the others, but Alex feels so ashamed of trying to kill Marty that he's built a cage for himself, to protect his friends from his hunger. Marty tries to remind his pal that they're a team, only for Alex to snarl and lunge at his old friend. Marty just stares, his lower lip quivering, while Alex remarks "I don't wanna hurt you," in a heartbroken tone.
- And after that when Alex hides in his hut, Marty just comes into the cage and says, "Alex, I ain't leaving without you", causing Alex to put his head over his paws.
