Penguins of Madagascar (***)
Directed by: Eric Darnell, Simon J.
Smith
Starring (voices): Tom McGrath, Chris
Miller, Conrad Vernon, Christopher Knights, Benedict Cumberbatch, John
Malkovich, Peter Stormare, Ken Jeong
Seen: December 4th 2014
*** Out of ****
The Penguins have up to now been side
characters in the Madagascar universe. In the three Madagascar movies they were
the comic relief and a plot advancement device – when the Madagascar animals
are in a corner, the inventive Penguins somehow save them. They have their own
television series, The Penguins of Madagascar, but the creators refer to that
as being in a parallel universe. And now their own movie is better than all of
the Madagascar movies.
Penguins starts of in Antarctica, with
the penguins migration march. Three small penguins, Skipper (McGrath), Kowalski
(Miller), and Rico (Vernon) are “playing around” on the fringes of the
migration and notice a penguin egg rolling away. When they question this, the adults
claim it’s nature’s way, and they should leave it be. They don’t, and end up
rescuing the egg from leopard seals just before it hatches. The hatchling,
Private (Knights), joins their group as they sail into the sunset on an ice
float.
Ten years later, as events in the
third Madagascar movie end, the Penguins leave the circus to celebrate
Private’s birthday in style. They break into Fort Knox, which is home to the
last Cheesy Dibbles vending machine, so Private can buy himself a packet. The
vending machine grows tentacles and kidnaps the Penguins, taking them to a
submarine lair in Venice. Their captor is Dave (Malkovich), an Octopus with a
grudge: Dave was the star of the show before the Penguins arrived and stole his
thunder. The Penguins manage to escape with the help of the North Wind, an
undercover organisation headed by Classified (Cumberbatch), a wolf, and with
members Short Fuse (Jeong), a harp seal and demolitions expert; Corporal
(Stormare), a polar bear and the muscle; and Eva, a snowy owl and intelligence
expert. The North Wind have been [with little success] on Dave’s trail for a
while, and make it clear they intend to stop Dave without the Penguins’ help.
The Penguins, obviously, have other plans, and adventure and hilarity ensues…
Penguins of Madagascar is frantically
animated with barely any pauses in-between adventurous action sequences and
ridiculous and hilarious comedy. The movie is aimed at a younger audience, but
is full of humour that the young ones will definitely miss (says Dave to a
henchman: “Nicholas, cage them!”). The pace is far too high to notice any
plot-holes or other objections while watching the movie, and you’ll be too busy
laughing or at the very least smiling through it all to care.
I thought Penguins of Madagascar was
hilarious and easy entertainment for anyone. It outshines its source material
and stands on its own in a movie that offers a short and entertaining reprieve
for those out for some quick fun. If you’re a fan of the Madagascar movies, a
must see.
Comments