Review of Penguins of Madagascar (2014) by David P — 29 Jan 2015

The 1st movie I saw in 2015! The secret agent penguins were always my favourite part of the Madagascar movies. In fact, without Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private the Madagascar movies would have been pretty forgettable. So as you can imagine I was more than pleased to hear that they would get their own spinoff.

And a kind of sequel also, this film starts where the last Madagascar movie leaves off. Our Penguin buddies launch themselves out of a circus cannon towards Fort Knox, with the intention of breaking in, not to steal the gold, but to get Private the best present ever, a vending machine full of Cheesy Dibbles. But little did they know that it was a trap set by evil octopus, Dave, who is hell bent on transforming all the Penguins of the world into grotesque creatures, as he his green with jealous envy that they get all the attention because they are cute and he is neglected because he is not quite as cuddly.

The best thing about this movie is it's pacing. It goes 100 miles an hour, the Penguins making a lot of their decisions on the fly. Literally in one scene, where they are escaping from an airplane headed back to Madagascar, and they are sky diving through the air trying to find a plane headed back in the direction that they need to go. It is just hectic, and well composed, most of it done in one shot. But it isn't one of those movies that is exhausting because it never slows up, it does bring it down a few notches at times to bring you some nice character moments.

I just had so much fun with this movie, all the characters are great and I connect a lot with it's 'dad joke' humour. The animation seems to be a bit of a step up from previous Madagascar films, at least from what I can remember. One of it's only flaws is that this is a movie made purely for kids and the young at heart (like myself). Where most animations these days, like the recent Big Hero 6, tap into certain mature themes, while still being kid friendly, give the parents a little something more. Penguins plays out more like a high octane, big budget, Saturday morning cartoon.

This is probably my favourite family movie of this holiday season so far, yes even beating out Big Hero 6 for me. Penguins doesn't have the heart that Hero had, but it definitely equals it in fun, and is exactly what you would expect it to be. And for me, that was a blast. I love the Penguins, and I loved this movie. Take the kids to see it in cinemas!

4/5.

'Leopard Seals.. Nature's snakes...' - Skipper.

'Ah, Skipper, wouldn't snakes be nature's snakes?' - Kowalski.