Penguins of Madagascar Review
RYAN: This movie is a spinoff from the animated Madagascar franchise, the last of which made a splash with that catchy rainbow afro circus song; and this one, obviously, focuses on the penguins. They’re very adorable and they played off on the black and white of these characters really well.
NATHAN: It’s exactly what you’d expect. They are cute little penguins and it you get a big dose of their cuteness.
RYAN: The 3D is pretty good and there are some funny moments, but more for the kiddies than the adults.
NATHAN: I like that the 3D wasn’t overpowering but still noticeable. You’re right the humor played better for the kids. I kept an ear out for their reaction in the screening and you could hear the kids laugh. There really wasn’t too much humor for the adults.
RYAN: Yeah there was just a little bit, play on words-type of things that we got that might go over the heads of the kids. But certainly not as much played to our generation as other family movies. The tone is cool. It’s an action adventure movie a lot like a Mission Impossible or a James Bond film. And they travel to a few different countries but you really don’t see much of the locations or cultures.
NATHAN: It is global.
RYAN: Anything is possible in animation and the best parts were the action sequences. Some were very cool. The jumping, sliding, snow… Some really cool sequences.
NATHAN: I think the first time we saw some of this stuff was in the Matrix movies where things happen super-fast. This was almost like a Matrix for 5 year olds.
RYAN: Totally. The baddie in this is a big, purple octopus and I was trying to place his voice and got it right – it’s John Malkovich. He’s good. For a villain, he’s pretty fun and harmless.
NATHAN: Absolutely. He’s the bad guy you can love. I liked Benedict Cumberbatch in this because I like him as an actor, but it’s not my favorite movie of his.
RYAN: He’s the voice of the leader of a pack of winter animals who are all, like, super agents. I liked them and as winter animals, they fit in to the theme of the penguins. And as far as family films go, I like when there are themes you can focus on to talk to kids about and this movie deals with jealousy, revenge and teamwork.
NATHAN: A lot of kids movies have that cliched message of just liking yourself for who you are and this one does, but they demonstrate it well here.
RYAN: When judging family films, as a person who doesn’t have any children of my own, I always hold it up to the standard of whether it will entertain all ages or just the kids in this audience. This one skews more juvenile and is really one for the kids. It didn’t engage me the way The Lego Movie did earlier this year, or more recently, Big Hero 6.
NATHAN: Agreed. This movie is so cute and sweet, I felt like I needed an insulin shot.
RYAN: (laughs) Yeah, if you’re over the age of 10.
NATHAN: But that’s from an adult standpoint. The kids seemed to really love it.
RYAN: My 12 year old nephew who watched along with us really loved it. And at least for the adults, it’s a tight 90 minutes, so it’s a good option to take kids to.
