My Movie Review on Penguins of Madagascar (2014) · 11:32pm Dec 16th, 2020
Yo, what's up, Kemosabes?
This is you friendly film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.
Today, for my 195th film analysis, and the 5th installment of my "Christmas Craze", I'm gonna give you guys my take of "Penguins of Madagascar". The movie from 2014 to be precise.
Here's the rundown of it:
During a vacation away from the circus, the elite commando penguins (Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private) find themselves in a secret agent-styled adventure after an evil and disgruntled octopus named Dave, who secretly disguises himself a a human named Dr. Octavius Brine, starts kidnapping penguins from every zoo around the world for a nefarious purpose.
Along the way, however, the penguins run into some stiff competition: an elite undercover inter-species task force called the North Wind, who are also trying to stop Dave. Not only that, but they believe that the only thing penguins are capable of doing is being cute and cuddly.
I know that this movie doesn't involve Christmas whatsoever, but I've been wanting to make an analysis of this movie for quite some time. Plus, I thought that this would be a fitting entry since penguins, polar bears, seals, wolves, and snowy owls are creatures that live in snow-covered areas of the world.
Having finally watched it again recently, the one thing that I felt bothered by regarding the film was this:
The penguins are really great at being elite commandos, and they're pretty smart too. However, there were times where, in the presence of the North Wind, they were for some reason dumbed down to the point of looking bad. The worst part was that I didn't get what the filmmakers's overall intentions behind the sudden character shiftings of the penguins were.
Other than that, this movie was as fun as I remembered it being.
For instance, the voice acting, casting, characters, and character development were marvelously well-done.
Having previously starred in the last three films and two holiday specials as side characters and worked in short doses on a TV show and a Christmas special, I was surprised to find that the penguins managed to successfully carry their own film more than I previously remembered. They had the right amount of lovability to help them be engaging to follow, and it was amazing how the filmmakers managed to balance their eccentricity with heart. Each of them also had great development throughout the film, especially Skipper and Private. Plus, Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Conrad Vernon, and Christopher Knights portrayed their characters perfectly.
The film's new characters and cast members were brilliant additions, if I may add.
The North Wind certainly weren't the most lovable characters at first, but over time...they grew on me, which is particularly thanks to their developments near the end of the movie. Along with that, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ken Jeong, Peter Stormare, and Annet Mahendru did a great job performing as Classified, Short Fuse, Corporal, and Eva.
But, to me, the best of the new additions was John Malkovich and his character of Dave the Octopus. Among many things, Malkovich sounded like he was having all the fun in the world playing Dave. Every piece of dialogue he had, he projected with powerful emotion and personality, and he certainly wasn't afraid of incorporating his own sense of humor either. Dave himself was likewise a brilliantly three-dimensional and fully-realized villain. People may question his scheme to turn penguins into monsters due to the fact that it wouldn't get humankind to love him, but in all honesty...I really don't think that was the idea. Like the character stated, what kept him going was his burning thirst for revenge, and I believe all he really wanted was to have the penguins suffer the kind of thing he went through before becoming a villain.
To change the subject, the direction by Eric Darnell and Simon J. Smith, the story by John Aboud, Michael Colton, Brent Simons, and Alan J. Schoolcraft, and the screenplay by Aboud, Colton, and Brandon Sawyer, were likewise nicely done.
I loved how the filmmakers were able to add more depth to the penguins by displaying the backstory of how they came to be, and the backstory they gave Dave the Octopus helped the character be all-the-more realized. The humor that they incorporated was quite hysterical, if I may add. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't resist laughing at every joke executed throughout the movie, including the part where Skipper keeps interrupting Classified by eating Cheezy Dibbles. Plus, the movie contained a surprisingly vast amount of emotion, heart, and great morality.
The animation was astonishing as well.
It certainly may not have been one of Dreamworks's most technologically ambitious of works, but as the final film to be animated by Pacific Data Images before it closed down...it nevertheless represented a fitting end for that company. The overall visualization was deeply appealing and fun to watch, and the character animation was beautifully well-worked.
Finally, the music by Lorne Balfe was magnificent.
Balfe is definitely not Hans Zimmer, but his music captured the overall tone and feel of a Madagascar movie splendidly. All while making everything entirely his own too. My favorite part about his work in the film was that he helped the movie feel like a spy buddy-comedy through his music alone, and the way he captured the emotional and comedic moments was brilliant.
In conclusion, "Penguins of Madagascar" isn't one of Dreamworks's most flawless movies nor a perfect installment of the Madagascar franchise. But, it's still a deeply fun and worthwhile film to watch.
So, I rate "Penguins of Madagascar" 4½ out of 5 stars.
Before I conclude this post, I'd like to share with you guys this slideshow I posted on YouTube to promote my review of the film.
So, what do you guys think? Of this review? And my slideshow?
I saw this movie and thought it was cute and funny. I did, however, feel as if Classified's whole character hinged on making Skipper doubt himself.
Only saw it one and fine it a good movie. Not the best but I don’t mind watching it again