PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR: They Like to Move It Move It

The only thing missing from Dreamworks’ new film Penguins of Madagascar is sanity. But we don’t go to watch a film about characters set in the Madagascar universe expecting logic. So when an octopus yells at his harmoniously compliant servants: “Hugh, Jack, man the stations!” or “Nicholas, cage them!”, it is a side-splitting image of comedy that is able to laugh at its own goofs. Penguins of Madagascar is an all-out war on sensibility. And a damned funny one at that, at least before it tramples over itself.

We can be heroes… just for one day

Skipper, Private, Rico and Kowalski come together in a hilarious origin story of sorts. The frigid landscape, or any geographical constraint for that matter, cannot contain the laughably foolish courage of our band of animal misfits. With the packet of Cheesy Dibbles as an important plot point, writers Michael Colton, John Aboud and Brandon Sawyer unleash the gag-a-minute discharges with the firepower of complete and brazen madness. This equips the narrative to defy internal logic, and the flightless birds soar.

The animation is top-notch but, like most times, the 3D is unnecessary and distracts from the bright peppiness of the actual frame. The voice acting, on the other hand, is perfect. Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights and Conrad Vernon reprise their roles as Skipper, Kowalski, Private and Rico respectively, and they bring the loony earnestness and zeal of voices who’re already at home in the penguins’ skins. Benedict Cumberbatch aids the talent with his role as Classified, the subversively Danish leader of The North Wind: an elite force that has all the glossy technology in the world but no penguin-ness in them. John Malkovich provides the better chunk of the laughs throughout the film by lending his voice and heart to the antagonistic octopus Dave. He’s hell-bent on destroying the world of penguins, but that’s not going to stop him from hurling funny, yet sometimes cringe-worthy witticisms that unfortunately lose steam after overuse.

“Helen, hunt them!”

The overall problems with Penguins of Madagascar lie in that same area. Limits of tolerance on the viewer are constantly put on the verge of bursting. Repetition of the cheeky brashness already seen and heard in the Madagascar films becomes tiring after a point. Jokes fail to amuse, character arcs crumble under the bulk of unnecessary flashbacks, and loud crassness takes over for subtle pun-punching.

The thin gap between mockery and acknowledgement is left ambiguous by directors Eric Darnell and Simon Smith when they playfully tip their hats to Marvel Studios by throwing in a scene after the movie is over. The only true way to make sense of this nutty 90-minute rollercoaster is to consider it a chapter in the glorious lunacy of the Madagascar series, although it is a chapter we probably didn’t need after the three seasons of their standalone adventures on TV, whose wild popularity is probably what tipped off the studios to invest more into the penguins in the first place.

Even for all the blunders, though, Penguins of Madagascar eventually ends up as an exercise in the expansion of characters and world-building, into a space where a penguin knows about the tax laws of France. It is something that Dreamworks is fond of doing, especially with the spinoff Minions from the Despicable Me franchise, although I am not too sure of that one.

Conclusion

Casting obvious narrative issues aside, Penguins of Madagascar is ultimately harmless fun. The only real complaint is that it asks for a huge scrap suspension of disbelief from a viewer. It’s not a steaming pile of movie garbage, but it’s not How to Train Your Dragon either. Your 11-year-old will probably laugh his innards out.

So what did you think after watching Penguins of Madagascar? Leave your comments below!

(top image: source: 20th Century Fox)