Penguins of Madagascar
Penguins who came to prominence as the wisecracking sidekicks in the Madagascar movies are now headlining their first feature film. Bored by the laws of nature, the four set out to find adventure. Voicing the birds are Tom McGrath as Skipper; Chris Miller as Kowalski; Conrad Vernon as Rico and Christopher Knights as Private.
The quartet fancy themselves secret agents of sorts, and after escaping the confines of the New York City Zoo, the feathered friends set out on their greatest mission yet: breaking into Fort Knox. Instead of gold, the penguins want their favorite discontinued junk food, stored in an ancient vending machine in the depository break room.
The mission for cheesy treats succeeds, but it catches the attention of Dave (John Malkovich: Crossbones) a zoo octopus resentful at being ignored. Kids and their parents are infinitely interested in the antics of penguins, but cephalopods just aren’t cute enough to hold an audience’s attention.
Dave escapes the zoo, recruits an eight-legged army and develops a serum that will mutate the world’s penguin population into monsters. How does an octopus become an expert in genetic mutation and engineering? It’s a kids’ movie; don’t think about it too much.
Narrowly escaping Dave, the penguins move to stop him before he ruins zoos everywhere. The obstacle is The North Wind, a professional animal spy organization led by Agent Classified (Benedict Cumberbatch: The Imitation Game). Classified and his team of highly trained, well-equipped agents dismiss the penguins as bumbling amateurs.
So the race is on to see which team of do-gooders can stop Dave.
Filled with puns, slapstick and patently silly situations, kids will delight at the humor while adults are more likely to roll their eyes. If the phrase “Nicholas, cage them” doesn’t tickle your funny bone, Penguins of Madagascar will be a long slog. I love a good pun, but my seatmate was driven to distraction.
Directors Eric Darnell (Madagascar 3) and Simon J. Smith (Bee Movie) slip in some adult humor so surprisingly clever it might be too obscure for its audience. A cameo by director Werner Herzog is only hilarious if you are familiar with Herzog’s musings on penguins in the documentary Encounters at the End of the World. If you’ve never heard of Herzog, the entire opening joke, which lasts for nearly five minutes, is lost.
If, like your reviewer, you are a cinephile with a juvenile love of puns — or if you’re under the age of 12 — Penguins of Madagascar is a lighthearted romp. If tough-talking penguins, evil word-playing octopuses and convoluted plots give you a headache, this film is for the birds.