He is known for the DreamWorks animated film Madagascar, which he co-wrote and directed with Eric Darnell while voicing the character of Skipper the Penguin.

He studied Industrial Design at the University of Washington and graduated from the Character Animation program at Cal Arts.

[citation needed] McGrath also stepped in on Flushed Away by Aardman, the creators of The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, to help make improvements prior to its release.

[citation needed] McGrath made his film directing debut as the co-director and co-writer of Madagascar[4] along with Eric Darnell, where he also voiced the leader of the squad of penguin characters, Skipper.

[citation needed] He worked on The Penguins of Madagascar, a spin-off TV series, as a creative consultant and as the voice of Skipper.