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I HAVE a small confession to make … I’ve never seen any of the Madagascar films.
That’s not due to a resolute sense of ‘I’m too old for that’. Far from it, in fact; regular readers of this column will know that I’m still a stickler for a good, hearty animated film. It’s just never been a series I’ve crossed paths with, or one that’s particularly appealed to me enough to root out a copy of.
However, after resisting the temptation to get into the holiday spirit for so long, GulfWeekly’s annual Christmas office party this week finally broke me (not least thanks to the large box of Ferrero Rochers I procured from Secret Santa!) and I decided to hunt down a festive film at the cinema.
And, well, that turned out to be a pretty fruitless endeavour. Penguins of Madagascar was basically the be-all and end-all of the offerings. It’s not even a Christmas movie by nature; the only tenuous link is that penguins live in cold, icy places, and cold and ice equals Christmas!
Well, at least it used to. There’s something to be said for sitting in front of a blazing fire wearing grandma’s (terrible) knitted jumpers while rain and sleet lashes the windows. The memories certainly provide me with a warmer feeling than stepping out of my house in shorts and a t-shirt in mid-December does, a sensation I don’t believe I’ll ever comprehend no matter how long I stay in Bahrain.
Pretty much like everything Christmas-related then, it was always better as a kid. You never used to be able to move for great Christmas movies at this time of year, and excursions in the snow to see the likes of Elf and The Grinch are some of my favourite cinema experiences.
Sorry to dampen the mood, but it was something I felt I needed to get off my chest after the sinking feeling I had after seeing the schedule! To all of the Hollywood bosses who I know definitely read FilmWeekly every week (stop laughing back there), sort it out!
Luckily, there was a plus side to this seasonal sojourn. Penguins is actually a decent movie that has some particularly sharp comedy.
The film features four penguin pals named Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private, who we are told have taken part in a range of adventures (the Madagascar movies I assume) and are launching another one by infiltrating Fort Knox so that Private can buy Cheesy Dibbles, a discontinued snack, from their office’s vending machine.
However, cracks are starting to appear in the group’s relationship thanks to Private’s inferiority complex. He is tired of being referred to as just a cute face with no remarkable skills when compared with Skipper (as his name suggests, the leader), Kowalski (the brains behind the operations) and Rico (the arsenal and gadget specialist).
This leads to them getting kidnapped by Dave the evil octopus (Malkovich), who has a bitter resentment for the penguins after they supplanted him as the star attraction at Central Park Zoo. The group is then rescued by an undercover inter-species task force led by a wolf named Classified (Cumberbatch), who unite with our loveable foursome to track down Dave and put an end to his schemes.
The star of the show is undoubtedly Dave, whose dastardly schemes are relentless but hilarious at the same time. This is unquestionably helped by the ever-brilliant Malkovich, who gives easily the strongest vocal performance of the cast and can switch between menacing and hysterical instantly.
What pleasantly surprised me was how kinetic the film was; it never got bogged down at any point and there was a ton of action compared to similar films. It was a pleasure to watch an animated film full of noise and bombast for a change rather than the cliché ‘overcoming all odds’ and soppy, sickly-sweet journey aimed purely at tugging at your heart strings.
As to be expected from DreamWorks, the animation is top notch. Its smooth and crisp nature matches the movie’s pacy style, and the soundtrack features some loud, pumping tunes that matched the visual style perfectly.
If there’s one major flaw with Penguins, it’s that it often tries too hard to be funny. Jokes and visual gaffes are delivered at machine gun pace, but hit the mark with scattershot consistency. Dave’s clever word play and darker humour stick as they are more adult-orientated, but the penguins are a little too childish and plain daft at times. They might have five year-olds giggling with their silliness, but it’s all a bit too throwaway for older viewers.
Needless to say, Penguins won’t be winning any points for originality and there’s barely anything hidden under the surface that would prompt a second watch, but if you’re looking for some fast-paced, energetic fun laced with great humour, this is worth your time. It’s not like there’s any other festive alternatives, either. Bah, humbug!
