Penguins deserving of time in spotlight
FILM | Chuck Koplinski
While I’m not privy to what’s said during the bean-counting meetings at DreamWorks Animation, I’d be willing to bet the moneymen there are more than thrilled with the success of their Madagascar franchise. The first film in the series was a hit to the tune of $532 million at the international box office while its two sequels added another $1.3 billion to their coffers. So it comes as no surprise that the studio is going to milk this cash cow ‘til it goes dry and what better way to extend the franchise, and not have to pay high salaries to the voice talent of Ben Stiller and Chris Rock, than to give those scene-stealing penguins from the series their own film?
Though I know these flightless wonders have their fans, I’ve never counted myself as one of them. They’ve been rendered in such a selfaware sarcastic manner that I always felt they were a needless distraction from the adventures of Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria. Putting them front-and-center in their own feature seemed a dubious proposition to me. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the Penguins of Madagascar, an unexpectedly clever, funny film that proves that like cowbell in a rock song, we actually do need more of these penguins.
The movie starts in inspired fashion as the distinctive vocal cadence of filmmaker Werner Herzog is heard narrating a documentary on the migratory habits of penguins. (If you know who Herzog is, you’re probably chuckling. If not, more’s the pity.) Within this rookery is the dumb-as-an-ice-floe Rico (voice by Conrad Vernon), the ever-observant Kowalski (Chris Miller), the soon-to-be-hatched Private (Christopher Knights) and the leader of the quartet Skipper (Tom McGrath), who breaks from the long line of his lemming-like brethren to declare, “I reject nature!” This statement of individuality is all these four need to separate from the group and embark on a life of adventure, including a break-in at Fort Knox years later that sets up the movie’s primary adventure.
Through a sequence of narrative twists and turns that Rube Goldberg would be hardpressed to explain, the penguins encounter Dave (John Malkovich), a malevolent octopus who bears them a grudge, having coincidentally been in the same zoos where they were the primary attraction. The furry fowl’s inherent cuteness would always draw big crowds, stealing attention from Dave who was repeatedly pushed to the wayside. Obviously, octopi bear grudges (who knew?!?) as the eight-tentacled fiend is intent on destroying our heroes and all other penguins in the world with a concoction he’s come up with called the Medusa Serum, a formula that will, let’s just say, render them less than cute.
The manic action sequences present in the Madagascar films are front and center here and while they are just as hectic, the imagination employed in executing them is inspired. Of particular note is a chase scene that involves Dave’s octopi minions giving chase to Skipper and his crew through the canals and streets of Venice. How both groups start in gondolas and end up in a dead end alley is quite clever.
The James Bond films are the obvious target of this elaborate parody as the penguins meet up with The North Wind, a covert operation led by the properly British Agent Classified (Benedict Cumberbatch), whose assistants include miniature seal and munitions expert Short Fuse (Ken Jeong), communications pro, the beautiful owl Eva (Annet Mahendru) and the muscle of the group, the polar bear Corporal (Peter Stormare). In many ways, Skipper and his minions are the Marx Brothers of the modern animated world, dismantling authority and deflating anything or anyone with an air of pomposity that cross their paths. Classified’s continued aggravation over their behavior is very funny, what with Cumberbatch enthusiastically bringing him to vocal life.
However, the highlight of the film is Malkovich’s work. Dave is quite mad, hopelessly out of touch with reality as well as modern technology. He constantly fumbles about while trying to project menace and the actor masterfully captures the character’s efforts to project this, which is ultimately undercut by his own bewilderment. This is inspired stuff and while Skipper’s continued malapropisms threaten to overstay their welcome, the imagination of directors Eric Darnell and Simon Smith keeps the material fresh and vibrant throughout, proving once and for all that the penguins have no need for an egomaniacal lion, a vain hippo, a paranoid giraffe or a loyal zebra.
Contact Chuck Koplinski at [email protected].
