Smile and Wave Boys
With the first feature length film devoted to the best part of the Madagascar movies, the Penguins, we've been delivered a delightful treat. The covert quartet of Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private are on the job- and their job is to keep us entertained, and I must say, they do it stupendously.
Penguins is fully-loaded with jokes and visual gags from the moment the film starts and keeps it running all the way through. Even the celebrity name drops that usually come across as eye-roll inducing, were handled here in a way that is strangely fitting and curiously hilarious even though it shouldn't be. They even managed to slip in a few nods to the Madagascar movies and a couple cameos.
Kowalski, analysis.
Most of the film is spent showing us that the Penguins are supposed super-spies, overconfident but also very capable. They have a knack for rolling with the punches and coming out heroes. But that's how the movie itself works out. It throws a ton of seemingly unfitting parts into a whole that manages to stay both cohesive and entertaining.
In this case, evil octopus Dr. Octavius "Dave" Brine wants to exact revenge on the world's penguins for stealing the show from him. It happened everywhere he went, the penguins became the attraction and he was ignored. Now he wants to make all penguins pay for being too damn cute.
To stop him the Penguins have to work with the high-tech, sleek, savvy, and sophisticated secret agent task force called The North Wind. Of course the two teams have their own small connections and the typical vying for power among team leaders, but the Penguins are "family" and that keeps them together while The North Wind falters without their all their fancy gear to rely on.
Private, Dibble me.
The Penguins of Madagascar is a animated family film so it might not be for everyone. Though with the sheer amount of silliness and wit crammed into each scene it'd be hard not to enjoy at least a part of it. Seriously, what do you expect from a movie that has the main characters breaking into Fort Knox, not for gold, but for the use of the only remaining Cheezy Dibbles vending machine for one of their birthdays? It's well directed and non-stop energetic action. Penguins is a dose of that zany amusement for anyone that has liked them in the past, whether it be from their appearances in the Madagascar films, or in their own television show, this movie is worth a watch.
My only complaint is the voices of Kowalski and Rico have changed- noticeable, but not bad. I think they might actually be the original voices, then they changed to different ones from the show, then back for the movie. And I still want to know why they removed Rico's scar. I also highly approve of the genius poster designs for the movie marketing campaign, so many great ideas.
To end with, here's a couple promo videos of the Penguins:
No comments:
Post a Comment