“Penguins” a flightless attempt at cuddly international intrigue
Animated adventure. PG. 92 minutes.
Charming in small doses, the “Penguins of Madagascar” prove altogether less irresistible in their featurelength starring debut. The latest example of DreamWorks Animation’s franchise mania is a frantic, peppy, in-your-face slice of irreverent animated action, but the result is far more snoozy than Looney (as in Tunes). In the wake of summer’s creatively potent but commercially disappointing “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” the studio could really use another breakout, but “Penguins” looks to fall more in line with the (superior) “Shrek” spinoff “Puss in Boots.”
The intent is to explore the backstory of the scene-stealing penguin quartet from the three previous “Madagascar” films: Skipper (voiced by Tom McGrath), Private (Christopher Knights), Kowalski (Chris Miller) and Rico (Conrad Vernon). Repeatedly described as cute and cuddly (although nowhere near as adorable as the cast of George Miller’s “Happy Feet” films), the penguins also fancy themselves super-spies always on the lookout for espionage and intrigue. Or at least that’s how Skipper, the fearless but not-so-bright leader, sees his crew.
Kowalski serves as the brains of the operation, Rico is the wild card always ready to blow things up, and junior member Private simply wants respect — something narcissistic nincompoop Skipper is too self-involved to recognize. Fortunately, there’s an international incident brewing, so Skipper can spring his team into action and Private can prove his worth in an inevitable 11th-hour triumph.
Before the film can get to its predictable conclusion, there’s some paint-by-numbers business to take care of. That includes the introduction of chief antagonist Dr. Octavius Brine (John Malkovich), an octopus disguised as an eccentric human scientist who harbors a deep-seated grudge against penguins everywhere for their long history of stealing his shine at zoos and marine parks. Brine commands an octopus army with the dastardly plan of kidnapping penguins and turning them into mutants.
Helping the penguins in their battle against Brine is an undercover special task force dubbed the NorthWind, led by charismatic blowhard Agent Classified (Benedict Cumberbatch)— a wolf so devoted to his job he won’t even reveal his real name. He’s supported by explosives-expert seal Short Fuse (Ken Jeong), brainy and beautiful owl Eva (Annet Mahendru) and brawny polar bear Corporal (Peter Stormare). While Classified and Skipper butt heads, it’s Private who emerges as the animal with the best plan to stop Brine.
With hyperactive direction from “Madagascar” veteran Eric Darnell and newcomer Simon J. Smith (“Bee Movie”), barely a moment goes by without a wacky shenanigan or massive action setpiece to keep up the relentless pace. The jokes may be plentiful but they’re rarely inspired.
Limited attempts at heartfelt emotion between the characters play as pure sap, undermined by the frankly off-putting personalities of the penguins themselves. Skipper is insufferable, Private is a milquetoast doormat, Kowalski is an afterthought and Rico doesn’t even really speak.
As long as “Penguins” entertains their kids, frazzled parents aren’t likely to mind the lackluster effort. But in a year inwhich they’ve already been exposed to “The LegoMovie” and “Big Hero 6,” even the littlest moviegoers may verywell call fowl on this one.