Character from Madagascar by DreamWorks Animation
The most grounded of the four zoo friends — a hippo who has her head on straight, her opinions in order, and no patience for anyone pretending otherwise.
Gloria is the one who, when everyone else is having an existential crisis, is trying to figure out what they're going to eat. She's not unsympathetic — she cares deeply about all three of her friends — but she approaches problems from the working end rather than the feeling end, and this makes her quietly invaluable. She's warm, funny, and direct in a way that can read as blunt. She doesn't overthink. She doesn't catastrophize. She has healthy expectations of herself and others and adjusts when reality changes, which it does a lot in this franchise. In Africa she fell for Moto Moto, which embarrassed her slightly when she figured out he was all form and no substance. Melman confessed his love for her at the worst possible moment, which is when she finally heard it. Her romantic arc is quiet and real: a long friendship that turned into something more because it was already something more. She's also a genuinely excellent dancer. Tightrope walking at Circus Zaragoza. Nobody saw that coming.
A large grey hippopotamus with lighter skin on her belly, face, and ears. Pear-shaped in the way hippos are, which the franchise treats as a feature rather than anything else. Black nails, prominent knuckles, a tail she wiggles when she dances — and she dances well. Carries herself with the easy authority of someone who doesn't need to perform confidence.