Thepilot episode, "Gone in a Flash," aired as part of "Superstuffed Nicktoons Weekend" on November 28, 2008,[5] andThe Penguins of Madagascar became a regular series on March 28, 2009. The series premiere drew 6.1 million viewers, setting a new record as the most-watchedpremiere.[6][7]
The Penguins of Madagascar aired afterMadagascar: Escape 2 Africa was released, but it does not take place at a precise time within the franchise as it is unknown as to how the penguins and lemurs arrived at the zoo without the other characters from theMadagascar movies, although the series does occasionally allude to the rest of it.[8] The show started production before an ending toEscape 2 Africa had been established. McGrath, who is also the co-creator of the film characters and voice of Skipper, has said that the series takes place "not specifically before or after the movie, I just wanted them all back at the zoo. I think of it as taking place in a parallel universe."[8]
At the end of 2010, the show was the number two animated program on television among kids age 2–11 and in basic cable total viewers.[9] The show received praise for its animation quality, regarded as very good for the time.[10]
In December 2014, DiMaggio stated that the show ended production.[11] The show's executive producers, Mark McCorkle and Bob Schooley, later served as executive consultants for DreamWorks' nextMadagascar spin-off series (All Hail King Julien).
The Penguins of Madagascar is a spin-off of theMadagascar films. The series follows the adventures of four penguins—Skipper, Kowalski, Private, and Rico, who perform various commando-like missions to protect their home in theCentral Park Zoo. The penguins often have to deal with problems caused, or made worse, by their zoo neighbors, King Julien XIII (aring-tailed lemur), Maurice (anaye-aye), and Mort (amouse lemur).
The Penguins of Madagascar features the four penguin characters from theMadagascar franchise, as well as the two chimpanzees and the three lemurs. Characters new to the franchise include Marlene the otter and Alice the zookeeper, among others.Tom McGrath,John DiMaggio,Andy Richter, andConrad Vernon reprise their roles as Skipper, Rico, Mort, and Mason respectively.
All four of the penguin characters are designed differently in the cartoon than they are in the movie to make them more distinguishable and easier to tell apart. Skipper's head is flatter in the series; Kowalski is taller; Rico has an unexplained scar over his mouth, a double chin, and a feathery Mohawk; and Private is shorter, younger, and rounder. Their personalities and abilities were also exaggerated. The texture of the characters was also changed to be better suited for television work.[8]
Skipper (voiced byTom McGrath) is the leader of the penguins, who devises tactics and gives orders. Arrogant, calculating, strict, temperamental and energetic, Skipper's raving paranoia and tendency to view even the most ordinary activities as a military operation, combined with his experience in covert ops, has driven him to prepare for nearly any situation, no matter how bizarre or unlikely. He is also the second-youngest of the penguins. It is revealed in the episode "Needle Point" that Skipper is afraid of needles. McGrath reprises his role from the films.
Kowalski (voiced byJeff Bennett) is the oldest of the penguins and is the team's intelligence officer, strategist, and gadgeteer. He is a brilliant inventor, but cannot read (although he does carry around a clipboard upon which he records drawings of their plans). He also tends to over-analyze situations and has created many amazing devices which have put the team in danger. It is revealed in the episode "Needle Point" that he is afraid of going to the dentist. Bennett replacesChris Miller from the films.
Rico (voiced byJohn DiMaggio) is the second-oldest of the penguins and is the team's explosives specialist and weapons supplier, who mainly communicates through grunts, coughs and squeals, but sometimes he can speak rather normally. Slightly unhinged, Rico swallows useful tools, such as dynamite, and regurgitates them when needed, to the point of regularly regurgitating objects that appear to be too large for him to have swallowed in the first place. He has been referred to as a psychopath in several episodes. He is shown in some episodes to be in a relationship with a female doll called Miss Perky. DiMaggio reprises his role from the short filmThe Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper.
Private (voiced byJames Patrick Stuart) is the youngest of the penguins and is the emotionally sensitive, mild-mannered,English-accented rookie of the team. Though younger and inexperienced than the other penguins, he is the most down to earth; Private tends to offer simpler, more commonsense solutions in response to Skipper and Kowalski's complex strategies, often in an understated tone while those strategies are falling apart (e.g., "The Officer X Factor"). He often shows an eager interest in unicorns, as evidenced by his love of a show called "The Lunacorns" (e.g., "Hello, Dollface," "Operation: Lunacorn Apocalypse"), for which he is often ridiculed. Private is also a skilled fighter. Stuart replacesChristopher Knights from the films.
King Julien XIII (voiced byDanny Jacobs) is a fun loving, witty, narcissisticring-tailed lemur. Normally shortened to King Julien, he is a comically conceited character who has little regard for others, even his subjects Maurice and Mort. He has a tendency to usemalapropisms and misinterpretfigures of speech. King Julien considers himself to be the King of the Central Park Zoo, but is oblivious to the other animals' dislike of him. He is very lazy, childish, immature, dimwitted and spoiled to the point where he will not offer assistance to ensure his own safety, but will help the penguins when push comes to shove. He is also very proud of his bottom, which he refers to as "The Royal Booty." Jacobs replacesSacha Baron Cohen from the films.
Maurice (voiced byKevin Michael Richardson) is anaye-aye who is King Julien's royal advisor and assistant, although he is rarely listened to. Maurice accepts his life as a servant and supports Julien more often than in the films, but he occasionally shows disdain towards King Julien and his inconsiderate attitude. He seems to be aware of human activities and inventions, even though he has spent most of his life away from human civilization. Richardson replacesCedric the Entertainer from the films.
Mort (voiced byAndy Richter) is an excitable, dimwitted, accident-pronemouse lemur who is Julien's biggest fan and Maurice's best friend. Unlike Maurice, Mort is fiercely devoted to Julien, even displaying a massive obsession with the latter's feet. Julien often treats him with contempt although the penguins, Maurice, and Marlene do care for him. He is considered to be the cutest animal in the zoo, which upsets Private. Mort is occasionally enlisted to help the penguins on a mission due to his small size or cuteness. Richter reprises his role from the films.
Mason (voiced byConrad Vernon) andPhil are two intelligentchimpanzees who often help out the penguins on their missions. Mason can speak and is very civilized and refined. Phil ismute, but is the only animal in the zoo that can read. Phil is often asked to read something, and then he communicates the message to Mason throughsign language[8] which is interpreted by Mason. Different episodes indicate that they are highly intelligent, but they are not openly aware of this themselves. Phil is considered for involvement with a space exploration program. Vernon reprises his role from the films.
Marlene (voiced byNicole Sullivan;Dee Bradley Baker in wild form) is anotter who was transferred to the Central Park Zoo from theMonterey Bay Aquarium.[8] She is close friends with Skipper and sometimes tags along on his missions, but is often a neutral character who does not take sides between the penguins and the lemurs.[12] By being a levelheaded, feminine voice of reason, she is a counterpoint to Skipper's masculine, covert-ops character. Since she was born in captivity, once she sets out of the confines of the zoo, she goes wild as she cannot cope with the lack of boundaries. Later after Kowalski separated her wild side, she becomes afraid as her feral side roams over the city. The penguins later put the two Marlenes back together and Marlene is able to control her wild side. In "Popcorn Panic," a brief shot of the zoo map reveals her enclosure to be that of an asian otter.
Roger (voiced byRichard Kind) is the penguins'alligator friendwho lives in the sewer. They meet him in the episode "Haunted Habitat" when Skipper and Marlene go to investigate in the sewer under Marlene's habitat because of a strange sound. Roger tells the penguins that he is from Florida. He appears again in "Roger Dodger" when the sewer rats terrorize him and in "Gator Watch" when he wants a new home, eventually being captured and sent to the zoo.
Max / "Moon-cat" (voiced byWayne Knight) is the penguins' straycat friend. He first meets the four penguins in the episode "Launchtime" when the penguins end up on a rooftop across the street from the zoo instead of on the moon. At first, the penguins thought he was a "moon-cat," but at the end they figure out he was a stray cat, but they still refer to Max as "Moon-cat" out of habit. Max is skinny and hopes to catch a bird in his life. He at first wanted to eat the penguins, but was so touched when they gave him a can of fish that he became their friend instead. He appeared again in "Cat's Cradle," in which he tried to hide from Officer X from Animal Control.
Joey (voiced by James Patrick Stuart) is an anti-socialkangaroo with a passion for boxing. He is extremely possessive of his habitat. Most of his comments refer to physically hurting the subject of discussion. He speaks with anAustralian accent.
Bada and Bing (voiced by John DiMaggio and Kevin Michael Richardson) are twogorillas who enjoy fighting. They once beat up Mort, which led to Mort growing after he was thrown into Kowalski's latest invention, and they then got beat up by Mort to get a mango. Julien once gave them many bananas but it is possible that they beat him up due to him giving too much to them. They are occasionally used as bodyguards to various characters, specifically anyone claiming to be the king. Some episodes suggest that the penguins are afraid of the gorillas due to their power, but these are outnumbered by episodes in which the penguins easily beat them, typically without provocation. They also tend to play up the stereotype of Italian-American mobsters.
Fred (voiced byFred Stoller) is asquirrel that takes everything said literally and has a slow monotone speech pattern. Fred lives in a park near the zoo. He dated Marlene in "Otter Things Have Happened," but she later broke up with him. He does not get excited about much, and consistently seems unhappy.
Burt (voiced by John DiMaggio) is anIndian elephant who was just one of the extra animals during the beginning of the series, but then he evolved into a character later on and even got a central episode in "An Elephant Never Forgets." He is shown to be obsessed with peanuts.
Manfredi and Johnson (voiced by James Patrick Stuart and Danny Jacobs) are two unseen recruits, referenced mainly by Skipper, who have suffered horrible, seemingly fatal ("You know, one up there and one down there!" – Skipper) events in a number of previous penguin missions. Their "fates" have included having been attacked by "flying piranhas," their remains later ladled into their graves with a teaspoon; having been short one escape tunnel, their remains later sent back in a manila envelope, coincidentally fromManila; having mistaken the "business end" of a beluga whale for an underwater escape tunnel, resulting in them not being able to speak for a month; having fallen for the "exploding elephant foot trick"; a Chinese lantern and six bottles of rocket fuel for a talent show; having lost their hearts, a lung, and 15 feet of intestine when they fell in love with twochinstrap sisters; and being apparently literally smothered when a message informing the others to smother them with affection was misinterpreted. The two make a brief appearance– alive– in the episode "The Penguin Who Loved Me." Manfredi and Johnson are also the names of the two American POWs killed while trying to escape the German prison camp in the 1953 filmStalag 17.
Eggy (voiced byTara Strong) is aduckling who the penguins once "egg-sitted" in "Paternal Egg-Stinct." In the episode "Hard Boiled Eggy," the penguins learn that because they influenced him while inside the egg, Eggy had all their commando strengths combined. At the end of the episode, Julien teaches Eggy how to dance and Eggy finds such better than trying to be a penguin.
Alice (voiced byMary Scheer) is a surlyzookeeper who regularly expresses disinterest in her job. Though another worker can sometimes be heard on herwalkie-talkie, and seen working around the zoo, their face is never seen.
The Vesuvius Twins (voiced byAtticus Shaffer) are two schoolboys from a very wealthy family. They are disliked by all of the animals of the zoo because of how nasty they are. Even though they are repeatedly banned from going near the animals, they usually get around the ban because of their parents' wealth (e.g. purchasing all of the tickets for an event at the zoo). Private often encourages others to show kindness to the boys, choosing to believe that they are secretly good.
Dr. Blowhole (voiced byNeil Patrick Harris) is penguins'archenemy. He is an evilbottlenose dolphin scientist and supervillain, who has redlobsters as minions. He was mentioned in the episodes "Eclipsed" and "Roomies," but he makes a full appearance in the special "Dr. Blowhole's Revenge." Dr. Blowhole makes another full appearance in "The Return of the Revenge of Dr. Blowhole," where he uses his "Mind Jacker" and "Diaboligizer" to take over Central Park Zoo, but transforms Julian's Mp3 player into a giant "music monster." In "The Penguin Who Loved Me" (a sequel episode to "The Return of the Revenge of Dr. Blowhole"), having had his memory erased by his own Mind Jacker, Blowhole remembers himself as Flippy, "Seaville's second most popular performer." He recalls nothing of the penguins or his evil self. In this episode, his real name is revealed to be Francis, and he has a sister named Doris. Blowhole rides on aSegway-type vehicle as his means of transportation on land. Four running gags are that his skin is "surprisingly pleasant to the touch," that he constantly mispronounces "penguins" as "peng-u-ins," that he calls the penguins "flightless," and that he constantly rubs in the fact that he has far more superior technology than the penguins do.
Hans (voiced by John DiMaggio) is a deviouspuffin with a history with Skipper that involves a mission in Denmark that somehow resulted in Skipper being declared Public Enemy Number One in the country in question. During "Huffin & Puffin," he appeared in New York, initially apparently wanting to make peace with Skipper, before his true agenda was revealed to be his attempt to take control of the penguins' lair for revenge. With Skipper having infiltrated the lair and defeated Hans, he was then shipped to the Hoboken Zoo. He appeared in "The Return of the Revenge of Dr. Blowhole," working with Doctor Blowhole as part of a plan to take Skipper's memories.
The Rat King (voiced byDiedrich Bader) is a genetically enhanced, muscular labrat who is the leader of the rats that reside in the sewers. He constantly torments the penguins and never learns his lesson when he is defeated each time, although his raw strength often requires them to resort to less direct measures to defeat him. He even tries to take over their home, but is beaten by King Julien in anice hockey game.
Officer X (voiced byCedric Yarbrough) is ananimal control officer, who is obsessed with catching stray animals. He has a stronger grudge against the penguins than Alice. His first appearance is when he is searching for Max and the second appearance is when he was tracking down the penguins when they escaped the zoo. He is a very strong man and can take down even the strongest of animals, like Joey the Kangaroo. Officer X is very cocky and seems to have hunted many other animals before. In his second appearance, he was arrested for going on a rampage after losing the penguins. He was an exterminator hired to remove cockroaches that Rico had befriended in "Stop Bugging Me" and a temporary zookeeper when Alice went on vacation in "The Officer X Factor." In the episode "A Kipper for Skipper," he is shown to be a fishmonger and manages to capture Kowalski, Private and Rico, but as in the other times they manage to escape, even though he was close to catch Kowalski in his obsession, and again he gets in trouble with the law.
Savio (voiced byNestor Carbonell) is an enormous, sly and powerfulgreen anaconda (usually merely referred to as aboa constrictor), and one of the penguins' most dangerous enemies. He speaks with aSpanish accent and enjoys eating small mammals. Savio appears in the episodes "The Big Squeeze" and "All Tied Up With a Boa." He also appears in "The Hoboken Surprise" and "The Terror of Madagascar."
In mid-2006,Nickelodeon andDreamWorks Animation announced that they would collaborate to create a show based on theMadagascar films. The new series would star the penguins from the film series. Nothing was confirmed on what the series would be about until November 2007.
At first, in November 2007, Nickelodeon advertised a sneak peek of three new Nicktoons coming to the channel,The Mighty B!,Making Fiends, andThe Penguins of Madagascar all on November 25, 2007, as part ofSuperstuffed Nicktoons Weekend. Then, in December 2007, Nickelodeon advertised many events that were going to premiere in 2008 (The Mighty B!,Fairly OddBaby,The Penguins of Madagascar,KCA 2008, "Sidekicks," and "Pest of the West").[15] Since then,The Penguins of Madagascar premiere was delayed at least twice in 2008. It was most likely delayed to make room for the release ofMadagascar: Escape 2 Africa on November 7, 2008. On November 28, Nickelodeon aired an episode from the series as a sneak peek. The series officially debuted 4 months later on March 28, 2009 at 9:30 pm ET/PT.[16] The Double DVD Pack edition ofMadagascar: Escape 2 Africa released on February 6, 2009 included an unaired episode of the show called "Popcorn Panic." This episode officially aired on TV 3 months later on May 9, 2009. On December 24, 2013, new episodes of the series were moved to theNicktoons channel.
The series was co-produced byDreamWorks Animation and theNickelodeon Animation Studio's Burbank location. Animation services were outsourced to India,[8] New Zealand and Taiwan. The producers were planning on a 26-episode first season,[2] but the episode number was changed to 48.
Some of the voice actors who voiced the characters in the films were unable to reprise their roles for the series.Chris Miller, who had voiced Kowalski, was replaced byJeff Bennett, whileChristopher Knights was replaced byJames Patrick Stuart for the voice of Private.Danny Jacobs took over fromSacha Baron Cohen as the voice of King Julien, andCedric the Entertainer's character, Maurice, is now voiced byKevin Michael Richardson.Tom McGrath,John DiMaggio,Andy Richter andConrad Vernon reprised their roles of Skipper, Rico, Mort, and Mason for the TV series, respectively. Other characters are voiced by the same actors who had voiced them in the films, while some characters, like Marlene the otter and Alice the zookeeper, are new characters created especially for the series.
Nickelodeon aired a "sneak peek" preview ofThe Penguins of Madagascar in the United States on November 28, 2008, and officially launched the series on March 28, 2009 after the2009 Kids' Choice Awards.[17][better source needed]
This sectionneeds expansion with: more critical reception from reliable sources. You can help byadding to it.(April 2009)
Mary McNamara of theLos Angeles Times gaveThe Penguins of Madagascar a favorable review. She said that the show had strong comedic timing and action scenes, saying that it recalled bothWile E. Coyote cartoons and 1940s gangster films.[24] Tim Goodman's review in theSan Francisco Chronicle is also favorable; he considered the penguins and King Julien as having the most comedic potential from the films, with his review focusing on the voice actors' comedic timing, and said that the show also contained several jokes that would make it appealing to adults.[25]
Brian Lowry ofVariety described the show as "loud, exuberant and colorful" and praised its animation quality, but he did not think that it was funny and said that the show seemed more like a "merchandising bonanza."[26]
David Knott, Shaun Cashman, Christo Stamboliev, Steve Loter, Lisa Schaffer
Won
Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition
Adam Berry
Nominated
Outstanding Original Song – Children's and Animation
Adam Berry, John Behnke (for "Off the Clock")
Adam Berry, Brandon Sawyer (for "In the Happy Little Land of Hoboken Surprise")
Won
Outstanding Writing in Animation
Bill Motz, Bob Roth, Brandon Sawyer
Nominated
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Animation
Paulette Lifton, Jimmy Lifton, Adam Berry, Dominick Certo, Michael Petak, D.J. Lynch, Matt Hall, Ian Nyeste, Aran Tanchum, Chris Gresham, Lawrence Reyes
Bob Schooley & Mark McCorkle, Bret Haaland, Nicholas Filippi, Chris Neuhahn, Ant Ward, Andrew Huebner, Dave Knott, Shaun Cashman,Steve Loter & Christo Stamboliev (episode: "The Return of the Revenge of Dr. Blowhole")
A spin-off film featuring the penguins had been in the works since 2005, when the first film had been released, with a release date planned for 2009.[50] In March 2011, DreamWorks announced that the four penguin characters would be given their own feature film,[51] to be directed bySimon J. Smith (the co-director ofBee Movie), produced byLara Breay and written by Alan J. Schoolcraft and Brent Simons (the writers ofMegamind).[52] In July 2012, atComic-Con, it was announced that the film, tentatively titledThe Penguins of Madagascar, would be released in 2015.[53]Robert Schooley, one of the producers of the show, said that the film will be unrelated to the TV show of the same name, but he did say that could always change.[54] In September 2012, DreamWorks Animation and20th Century Fox, which became the studio's then-new distributor after the end of their distribution deal with Nickelodeon's sister studioParamount Pictures, announced the release date for March 27, 2015, and a new pair of writers,Michael Colton andJohn Aboud.[55] In August 2013, it was reported thatBenedict Cumberbatch would voice Agent Classified from the North Wind andJohn Malkovich voiced the film's charming villain, Dr. Octavius Brine/Dave.[56] On May 20, 2014, the film's release date was moved up to November 26, 2014, switching places with DreamWorks Animation's other filmHome.[57]
The film received mixed reviews from critics and audiences, and despite grossing $374 million worldwide on a $132 million budget, underperformed at the box office, causing DreamWorks to take a $57.1 million write-down on behalf of the film, along with another DreamWorks Animation film released earlier that year,Mr. Peabody & Sherman.
DreamWorks licensed a number of manufacturers to create products for the show, including Hooga Loo Toys, which had a successful run creating a line of plush toys associated with the secondMadagascar film. Based on its success, Hooga Loo was granted a license to create an entirely new toy line for the new series. Hooga Loo recruited the creative development team,Pangea Corporation, the company who assisted Playmates Toys in the development of the very successfulTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, to work systemically with DreamWorks and develop toys inspired by the series.[58] The toy line included a full range of plush characters, as well as collectible figures and wacky vehicles. Fast food restaurants courted DreamWorks to glean the rights for aQSR deal, which finally materialized in late 2009.McDonald's had produced a line of toys based on the second film; this relationship forged a new deal with them.
Licensed merchandise based on the show began debuting in January 2010.[59][60] In the following month, McDonald's began their "Mission: Play" Happy Meal toy campaign, which featured eight toys based on the penguins in the series.[61]
The Penguins of Madagascar video game is a Nintendo DS action-adventure game based on the TV show of the same name. The game was released byTHQ on November 2, 2010, and was developed by Griptonite Games.[62][63]
^"Outstanding Animated Program"(PDF).Academy of Television Arts & Sciences 64th annual Primetime Emmy Awards. National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. September 15, 2012. p. 9.Archived(PDF) from the original on October 2, 2014. RetrievedOctober 1, 2012.
^"Nominees". International Animated Film Society. RetrievedFebruary 4, 2013.
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