The “Penguins of Madagascar,” starts in Antarctica with three loveable guys, Skipper, Kowalski and Rico kids. They are kids who don’t feel like they belong with the rest of the wild penguins. They rescue an egg from seal leopards and watch it hatch.
Out comes the fourth member, “Private.” They are the basis for the penguin tribe that has made me giggle in all the other Madagascar movies.
In this movie, Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private join forces with an undercover animal spy organization, “The North Wind” to stop the villainous Dr. Octavius Brine from destroying the world as we know it.
Dave the octopus (voiced by John Malkovich) is angry that the penguins have always received attention at the zoos, while his kind has been seen as more gross than cuddly.
He tries to destroy them in Venice, Italy, but that gets called off when some Artic region animals come in to help. A wolf named Classified (Benedict Cumberbatch), a harp seal, Short Fuse (Ken Jeong), a polar bear, Corporal (Peter Stormare) and a snow owl, Eva (Annet Mahendru) are all members of The North Wind.
In the Madagascar films, the penguins are usually my favorite characters, and they have their own TV show on Nickelodeon. I was hoping that the movie may go crazier, but instead it feels like the franchise is trying to take a step back to its roots.
Penguins of Madagascar inspires to be an origins story, a spy story, a revenge story, a love story, and a friendship story. It manages to be all and have a good time showing us these crazy penguins. D
Teri Bayus can be reached at or follow her writing and ramblings at: www.teribayus.com. Teri is also the host of “Taste Buds,” a moving picture rendition of her reviews shown on Charter Cable Ch. 10. Dinner and a Movie is a weekly feature of Tolosa Press.
