Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Blu-ray Review: Penguins of Madagascar




Penguins of Madagascar
Director: Eric Darnell & Simon J. Smith
Voice Cast: Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights, Conrad Vernon, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ken Jeong, Annet Mahendru, Peter Stormare, John Malkovich
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release Date: March 17, 2015
Retail: $36.99
ASIN: B00SK573RU
Running Time: 92 minutes
Rating: PG
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Arriving on Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD and Digital HD today is the exciting 3D computer-animated action-comedy Penguins of Madagascar. Directed by Eric Darnell & Simon J. Smith, the film features the talented voice cast of Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights, Conrad Vernon, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ken Jeong, Annet Mahendru, Peter Stormare and John Malkovich. The Blu-ray is loaded with Special Features, such as Top-Secret Guide to Becoming an Elite Agent, "He Is Dave" Music Video, Flipper Slap Shake Waddie and Roll, "Celebrate" Music Video by Pitbull, Do the Penguin Shake with tWitch, Deleted Scenes, Madagascar Mash-Up, Global Flight Plan, Cheezy Dibbles Ad,World of DreamWorks Animation and a Gallery. The Blu-ray Combo Pack also comes with 2 Poppin' Penguins!

After a brief flashback showing how Skipper (voiced by Tom McGarth), Kowalski (voiced by Chris Miller), and Rico (voiced by Conrad Vernon) rescued Private (voiced by Christopher Knights) just before he cracked out of his shell, the film picks up directly after the ending of Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. To celebrate Private's birthday, the Penguins leave the circus and head to Fort Knox, as they want to steal enough money to buy Private the perfect birthday present - Cheesy Dibbles, which has been discontinued.

Out of nowhere, they are ambushed and taken to a submarine base in Venice, where they meet Dave (voiced by John Malkovich), an octopus who disguises himself as a human named Dr. Octavius Brine. Once upon a time, Dave was the main attraction at the Central Park Zoo that is until the penguins arrived, whom stole all his thunder. Now he plans on kidnapping all the penguins from the world and turning them all into hideous creatures. The Penguins almost become the first victims in Dave's madness that is until the North Wind saves them.

The North Wind is an elite task force, featuring a wolf named Classified (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch), a seal named Short Fuse (voiced by Ken Jeong), a polar bear named Corporal (voiced by Peter Stormare) and a snow owl named Eva (played by Annet Mahendru). They prefer that the Penguins sit back and let them stop Dave. However, after Skipper, Kowalski and Rico fall into Dave's trap, it is up to Private to save the day.


While I enjoyed watching the original Madagascar, I didn't care too much for the sequels and I never watched The Penguins of Madagascar television series. Since the Penguins were the best parts of the Madagascar movies, I thought I would give the Penguins of Madagascar feature film a try. Surprisingly, the movie is better than what I expected it to be. Yes, the plot is a little thin, but there is plenty of heart and humor to help make this one of the best entries in the Madagascar series. Overall, Penguins of Madagascar is an entertaining animated film that the entire family will enjoy watching together.



*Disclaimer - I received a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.


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