The Lovable Cynicism of "Penguins of Madagascar"

2014 was a great year for cynicism in television. You had “BoJack Horseman” fresh off its first season, a show that elevated the understanding of relatability despite characters being misanthropic. “Over the Garden Wall” had taken the adorable aesthetic of adventure time and mixed with with some dedicated story telling of "Gravity Falls". And you had “Rick and Morty” entering its 2nd season. The show was just starting to find its legs and experimenting with the limits of science and character. Cynicism is at an all time high in media more than ever and that’s why “Penguins of Madagascar” is one of my favorite animated movies of all time. 

Ok. That might have been too far of a jump. Let me explain. 

I love watching cynical characters. As a very cynical person myself, I spend most of my time reveling in Schadenfreude as another large corporation goes under after not being able to adjust to a changing market and subsequently I can’t help but somberly droop in my seat when I see a movie like “The Last Jedi” be infested with shitty little Porgs, when I know their sole creation was for the intention on being able to sell plush dolls. 

I think the unapologetic capitalist approach to a lot of movies and TV shows is disheartening. These days, many studios won’t green light most films unless there is a sequel already attached, and most cartoons wont get the OK unless there is some way to market it along with toys and merchandise. I call these projects, “Made for Merch”. I’m talking about “Minions”, “Puss in Boots”, “Lego Batman” and “Planes” and the list goes on.

I know, I know. Not much of a hot take. What’s next? Am I going to also give you a lecture on why the new Powerpuff Girls reboot was a bad idea? None of this information is new. BUT in the category of “Made for Merch” “Penguins of Madagascar” rises above all the garbage and shines in a no other movie can. 

So how did we get here?

As an audience member, our first introduction to the 4 penguins, Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private, in the first Madagascar Movie back in 2005. 

Hold on! 2005? Really? God damned 2005. Has it really been that long since I was playing “I like to move it” on DDR and Batman had just begun? 

Anyway. The Penguins role in the first “Madagascar” was a lot like King Julian’s. They were there mostly to lob jokes at the expense of the 4 protagonists making them look bad for not being able to naturally adjust to their surroundings. A lot like Minions, the penguin quartette became an instant favorite due being adorable and for catch phrases like “smile and wave, boys” which still makes me smile… and wave. After a little while they were garnered a TV show that actually set a record on it’s premier with 6 million viewers, and later in 2012 Fox Studios green lit the Penguins’ own movie for a 2014 release. 

Don’t get me wrong, it is very easy to dismiss this film. The Madagascar franchise has gotten tired and outdated, and the characters seem like a meme of the past. But this movie doesn’t waste time getting bogged down with what it used to be or by the lack of notoriety of its counterparts. 

The plot of the film is very simple. This rouge unit our 4 flightless friends find themselves mixed up in an evil octopus’ plot to rid the world of all the cute animals that got more attention than him growing up in the aquarium. The Penguins have to unite and use their individual strength to take down this maniacal Octo-Terrorist. 

I get it. its not exactly nuanced nor is it something we haven’t seen before, but the beauty of this movie comes from the cynical approach to its own franchise. 

In the first 10 minutes of this film does 2 things. 1. It clearly establishes the characters and their aspirations. 2. It shoots the penguins out of a literal cannon in order to get as far away from King Julian as possible. It’s pure genius. The penguins are so eager to get as far away from the terrible tune they would rather blow themselves up than listen to “I like to movie it” one more time.. Its refreshing to see a movie say, this is our past this is where we came from and we get it. We hate it too. Let’s do something else. 

All throughout the movie, the characters subvert the expectations of your generic kids movie. The team never breaks up, no one is seduced by evil, the aren’t distracted by other things that might feel more important. The Penguins are always doing what’s best for each other and its surprisingly refreshing. Compare it to Minions, possibly one of the laziest of all “Made for Merch” movies out there. Bob, Kevin and Stuart have no real connection. They all have the same goal, but there is nothing really causing them to stick together other than that Bob, is sort of like a toddler and they feel obligated to not let him die. Which is, if we are talking about minions, not relatable. 

Also. There is a part in minions where one minion gets blown up by a rocket and after it happened I felt nothing. I was just like “oh I guess there is just one less of those now”.

The soundtrack is something that sets the movie apart too. The entire movie got an original score. Something for animated movies these days is depressingly rare. Where Minions has 9 songs each one as contrived as the next. 4 of those 9 are sung by the Minions themselves and its just the worst.  Penguins has 1 song that’s not an original composition. It’s by Pitbull and it plays at the end of the credits. I can’t think of a better time to play Pitbull then when you’re trying to empty a facility. Give yourself a listen to the main theme of Penguins (composed by Lorne Balfe) and just try not to get excited. 

Lastly, “Penguins of Madagascar” isn’t held back by the fact that it’s a sequel. Animated movies are unique because they can be designed with a theme and cohesive vison from the beginning that aids to make the movie more unique. It’s the animators job to create something out of nothing, so when you have to place a new idea inside a preexisting world that we already know, your options to establish new themes and character become very limited. But this movie earns it’s keep by having things to do that feel original and new because of the hard emotional shift and dissonance established in the first moments of the film. I think it helps that the movie takes characters that weren’t really explored in any way, and puts a spotlight on their philosophy or motives. In most “Made for Merch” movies, you get characters that we already know about that are stretched too thin, like “Puss n’ Boots”. Or popular characters that the movie never makes any effort to further establish like “Minons”.

Penguins takes every effort to be unconventional, and I can’t get enough of it. The movie is funny, quick, exciting and so much fun to be apart of because it doesn’t feel like it a giant cog in a larger machine. Just like Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private, this movie is here to march to the beat of its own drum and although this movie didn’t do gangbusters in the box office, I think one of the best movies to come out of Fox Animation Studios and in my opinion, is an industry standard that any “Made for Merch” movie should aspire to be. I think, in a way, we are all looking to play the game with our own rules, and “Penguins of Madagascar” does exactly that and will always put a smile on my face.