PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR
DIRECTORS: Simon J Simon and Eric Darnell
VOICE CAST: Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Conrad Vernon, Christopher Knights, Benedict Cumberbatch, John Malkovich and Ken Jeong
CLASSIFICATION: PG
RUNNING TIME: 92 minutes
RATING: ***
THIS Madagascar spin-off is silly fun, a colourful romp for sugar-fuelled little people in need of entertaining.
Starring the scene-stealing penguins who engineered the shipbreak in Madagascar (2005), the computer-animated film is brightly coloured and moves fast. There are plenty of slapstick gags and gross humour for the small children to chortle over and adults will keep themselves amused with the puns, some of them even a tad risque.
Penguins of Madagascar starts by going back in time to show us team leader Skipper (McGrath), brains of the outfit Kowalski (Miller) and maverick arsenal specialist Rico (Vernon) meeting rookie Private (Knights). Fast forward through their zoo stint and skip over the whole Madagascar storyline (the story doesn’t fit into the continuity of the Madagascar movies, though it does reference some of the jokes in the Penguins of Madagascar tv series) and into the present where Dave the octopus (Malkovich) is after them.
Actually, Dave in his human guise as Dr Octavius Brine wants to destroy all penguins and it is up to the four intrepid penguins with moxie, with a little help from a secret spy outfit of animals called North Wind, to stop him.
There are plenty of references to specific spy flicks, another bone to keep adults amused, because the simple storyline and muddled themes (of either a coming-of-age story, revenge story, Mission Impossible escapade or origins story) become a chore to sit through otherwise.
The pace is frenetic actually and there is always something happening, always someone talking, always another impossible situation for the penguins to escape from in the same way. Skipper orders Kowalski to come up with a plan, Rico then either swallows something or blows something up or both and Private always finds some big red button to push.
Malkovich and Benedict Cumberbatch are the most individual, vocally speaking. Malkovich oozes madcap malice as Dave the villainous octopus, while Cumberbatch is supercilious though painstakingly correct as the spy team leading wolf, Classified (North Wind is an excellent name for a spy group. I smell a spin-off coming).
The rest of the characters basically do what we have come to expect from Dreamworks animated films starring animals – learn a feel-good lesson about the importance of family sticking together, sharing and caring. And while these penguins may not soar, they do take off and leave the ground with their craziness.
Dreamworks have basically gone with the “more of the same” principle here, giving their favoured tv characters the feel of a Looney Tunes special, albeit stretched out to a feature film length. Still, it is more amusing than the second Madagascar film, if not terribly original.
There is a comfort in knowing what to expect that makes little people feel safe when they are watching familiar characters enact human behaviour.
Expect to have to watch it on repeat once it gets to DVD.
If you liked Bolt or Madagascar, you will like this.