Review of Penguins of Madagascar (2014) by Troy C — 02 Jan 2015

2015 kicks off with a stupendously silly but mostly amusing animated film that is best enjoyed with easy-to-please toddlers chuckling by your side. After stealing the limelight in the Madagascar trilogy, the awesome foursome get their own adventure, complete with globetrotting hijinks, high-flying acrobatics and extravagant escapes.

Filled to the brim with physical comedy and written quips (a string of celebrity themed puns are hilarious), this spinoff adheres to the franchise's humour-formula of quantity over quality, but is so light in tone it's hard to begrudge it.

The eponymous flightless seabirds - Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private - are as intrepid, idiotic and cuddly as ever, but are arguably better suited to stealing scenes at second fiddle rather than leading from the front for a whole movie.

There's an underpinning message - don't underestimate the little guy - that permeates throughout the swift runtime, building up to a stock standard finale that skimps on laughs in favour of a moral payoff.

Penguins lacks the adorability of Paddington, the exhilaration of Big Hero 6, or the intelligence of either, yet remains a decent option for families looking to waste a couple of hours during the school break.