Christopher Plummer

In the middle of the winter holiday season, Miss Clavel gets called away from the Old House to care for her ailing aunt. Lord Cucuface replaces her with Mr. Grump, who is more of a drill sergeant than headmaster.

Pepito becomes frustrated when an old lamp from the Embassy attic fails to produce a Genie, and he throws the lamp in the trash. That night a frayed old Magic Carpet comes to Madeline's window and asks her help in finding the discarded lamp, because it does indeed have a Genie inside.

When the girls go for pony rides in the park, Madeline's pony, Gallop, (the smallest) does all sorts of fancy tricks and finally takes off, trotting across Paris! Soon they are discovered by Buffalo Ben, who invites them to appear in his touring Wild West Show.

To raise money to buy Miss Clavel a birthday present, Madeline starts a detective school. Meanwhile, Miss Clavel is receiving mysterious gifts of great value - jewels, a painting, etc. Inspector Moreau discovers they are stolen by the infamous cat burglar Le Chat and arrives to question Miss Clavel.

For their entry in the Science Exhibition, Madeline and the girls create a magnificent scale model of a hot air balloon. During the exhibition, Genevieve falls asleep in the balloon's basket and the balloon inadvertently takes off. With Genevieve floating over Paris, Madeline and Pepito enlist the aid of Professor Windbag, a hot air balloon "expert" who is more full of hot air than knowledge.

Madeline convinces the young Prince of Monaco to remove his crown so he can spend an afternoon as an ordinary boy. But when the children return from the park, the priceless crown is missing. Using her superb detective skills, Madeline launches a citywide search that eventually implicates Pepito!

Madeline, Pepito and the girls take the famed Orient Express to Istanbul to compete in the International Spelling Bee. When a snake charmer on the train announces that his prize cobra is missing, Madeline and Pepito volunteer to search for the missing serpent (although the other girls refuse).

Madeline is "discovered" by a Hollywood director and is transported to California for her motion picture debut with her idol, Sugar Dimples. But Sugar turns out to be a spoiled brat and it is up to Madeline to teach her that true friendship is more valuable than fame and stardom.

Madeline, the girls, and Pepito prepare a disastrous meal for Lord Cucuface, who immediately enrolls them for cooking lessons at the famed Cordon Bleu. After various mishaps, the children finally get the hang of French cuisine, but Madeline fails to receive her diploma because she has given her creation to the hungry. In the end, Miss Clavel helps Madeline realize that the satisfaction of helping someone is more rewarding than any blue ribbon could...

Madeline, Pepito and the girls visit Miss Clavel's aunt and nephew in their Alpine chalet. The trip is laden with adventure - from skiing and skating to an abominable snowman sighting. Later, when the group is trapped in the chalet by a terrifying avalanche, it is Madeline's spirit and ingenuity that saves the day.