I'm a huge fan of Madagascar, and of course I love the penguins! And I'm not the only one who thinks so. They even got their own tv show on Nickelodeon back in 2008. And a movie was only a matter of time. Originally intended for a March 2015 release for the franchise's tenth anniversary, was pushed back to November 2014, meanwhile, another Dreamworks movie Home switched dates and got delayed til 2015. Sadly, due to it's unexpected release, it became a box office bomb. As for me, I remember seeing it in cinemas when it came out, and I've recently rewatched it, just to refresh my memories about it.
So, like I said, the main characters of this film are the titular penguins. In the beginning, we see their origins and how they became the famous quartet that we all know and love today. At first I thought that this was a prequel movie, but it's actually a follow up to the third movie. The real main plot is about the antarctican birds being stolen by an octopus mad scientist named Dave, and since the quartet know what his plans are, they will try anything to stop the villain. However, there's also a super agent team called the north wind, who are advanced with futuristic technology. At first, it may seem like they are rivals, but they had to combine their strengths and to save Private.
What's weird is that the story itself is similar to the second despicable me movie, which was released a year prior. Sure, it's not a complete rip off and it does have some original elements, but there are still alike. Because both have an antagonist that wants to steal some cute creatures, use a serum that turns them into crazy mutants, and a super agent team, who have a plan to stop the villain. Speaking of which, it has more elements from that franchise with technology and serums, rather than Madagascar. Which seems to be weird, since the trilogy was more down to Earth, and this one was more sci-fi like.
The humour was okay, not laugh out loud, but there were some moments where I laughed or chuckled. But the action scenes were the best out of all of the films. Thanks to it's great animation, it's entertaining and lively, especially if you watch that film in 3D and during flying scenes. I also liked how the characters went to some new locations, like Shanghai, Venice and a desert.
Lastly, there is a subplot about Private, who wants to find purpose in his life, he wants to be useful for his teammates. I actually felt bad for Private in the beginning, however, after what he did in the end, made me cheer for the youngest member. Honestly, he had the best character development out of all of them. The other members barely changed, with Skipper still being the leader, Kowalski being the brains, and Rico being the crazy one, who can swallow anything. They were okay, although, could've been so much better. As for the new cast, they aren't exactly anything special. Classified is the sophisticated leader, who cares about the mission a lot, and outsmarts Skipper, I actually think he has a lot of potential, and his voice actor Benedict Cumberbatch does provide a great performance. But since he's still a little bit generic. Other members include Eva, the smart owl, Short Fuse, the weapon expert seal and Corporal, the kind hearted polar bear, who adores penguins. I do kinda wish that they had some prequel mini series, that would explain more about them, other than just that they save poor animals from Dave. Speaking of which, the octopus is actually the most memorable character in this movie because of 2 reasons. First of all, the backstory of why Dave became evil, is actually touching. He was sadly ignored when penguins stole the attention away, and because of that, he created a special medusa serum, that turns anyone into a mindless mutant, similar to purple minions in despicable me 2. Another reason to why he's interesting, it's because he's a shapeshifter. He can transform into a human alter ego named Dr Octavius Brine, which is actually unique and different, but sadly, there's no explanation on why he can transform, leading to the fans to come up with theories. I like how this character was brought to life and definitely the reason why I still remember this film.
Not a must watch, since the main trilogy was better and more enjoyable, I would still prefer Penguins of Madagascar any day over Minions, thanks to it's decent plot, great action scenes, characters that have potential to be awesome and colorful animation. Still, it doesn't feel like Madagascar anymore with it's futuristic tone and weird ideas, which could be a turn off for some fans. I can still recommend this film to kids and fans of the penguins, I'm pretty sure they'll have a great time with it. Others can skip the film, since it's not really a follow up to Madagascar, and rather wants to be it's own thing. Even though I think it's the weakest film of the 4, I had a decent time with it.
So, like I said, the main characters of this film are the titular penguins. In the beginning, we see their origins and how they became the famous quartet that we all know and love today. At first I thought that this was a prequel movie, but it's actually a follow up to the third movie. The real main plot is about the antarctican birds being stolen by an octopus mad scientist named Dave, and since the quartet know what his plans are, they will try anything to stop the villain. However, there's also a super agent team called the north wind, who are advanced with futuristic technology. At first, it may seem like they are rivals, but they had to combine their strengths and to save Private.
What's weird is that the story itself is similar to the second despicable me movie, which was released a year prior. Sure, it's not a complete rip off and it does have some original elements, but there are still alike. Because both have an antagonist that wants to steal some cute creatures, use a serum that turns them into crazy mutants, and a super agent team, who have a plan to stop the villain. Speaking of which, it has more elements from that franchise with technology and serums, rather than Madagascar. Which seems to be weird, since the trilogy was more down to Earth, and this one was more sci-fi like.
The humour was okay, not laugh out loud, but there were some moments where I laughed or chuckled. But the action scenes were the best out of all of the films. Thanks to it's great animation, it's entertaining and lively, especially if you watch that film in 3D and during flying scenes. I also liked how the characters went to some new locations, like Shanghai, Venice and a desert.
Lastly, there is a subplot about Private, who wants to find purpose in his life, he wants to be useful for his teammates. I actually felt bad for Private in the beginning, however, after what he did in the end, made me cheer for the youngest member. Honestly, he had the best character development out of all of them. The other members barely changed, with Skipper still being the leader, Kowalski being the brains, and Rico being the crazy one, who can swallow anything. They were okay, although, could've been so much better. As for the new cast, they aren't exactly anything special. Classified is the sophisticated leader, who cares about the mission a lot, and outsmarts Skipper, I actually think he has a lot of potential, and his voice actor Benedict Cumberbatch does provide a great performance. But since he's still a little bit generic. Other members include Eva, the smart owl, Short Fuse, the weapon expert seal and Corporal, the kind hearted polar bear, who adores penguins. I do kinda wish that they had some prequel mini series, that would explain more about them, other than just that they save poor animals from Dave. Speaking of which, the octopus is actually the most memorable character in this movie because of 2 reasons. First of all, the backstory of why Dave became evil, is actually touching. He was sadly ignored when penguins stole the attention away, and because of that, he created a special medusa serum, that turns anyone into a mindless mutant, similar to purple minions in despicable me 2. Another reason to why he's interesting, it's because he's a shapeshifter. He can transform into a human alter ego named Dr Octavius Brine, which is actually unique and different, but sadly, there's no explanation on why he can transform, leading to the fans to come up with theories. I like how this character was brought to life and definitely the reason why I still remember this film.
Not a must watch, since the main trilogy was better and more enjoyable, I would still prefer Penguins of Madagascar any day over Minions, thanks to it's decent plot, great action scenes, characters that have potential to be awesome and colorful animation. Still, it doesn't feel like Madagascar anymore with it's futuristic tone and weird ideas, which could be a turn off for some fans. I can still recommend this film to kids and fans of the penguins, I'm pretty sure they'll have a great time with it. Others can skip the film, since it's not really a follow up to Madagascar, and rather wants to be it's own thing. Even though I think it's the weakest film of the 4, I had a decent time with it.