Everyone’s favorite penguin spies from the Madagascar films are back for another mission in their very own feature film, Penguins of Madagascar.

This hilarious family action-adventure film starts off by giving us the origin of our tuxedo’d heroes as brothers Skipper, Kowalski and Rico decide to defy the march of the penguins in Antarctica in order to save an egg that has rolled away and is about to be eaten by seals. When the egg cracks, the guys meet the fourth member of their gang, Private. The film then jumps back to the present, just after the events of the third Madagascar film.

The Penguins each have their own unique personality, and the combination of these traits not only makes them a great team, but also leads to some really fun interactions. There’s the overly-confident, fearless leader Skipper, Kowalski is the brains of the group who always speaks the straightforward truth, Rico is wild and hungry but doesn’t really say much, and Private is the timid newcomer who just wants to be considered a meaningful and valuable member of the team.

In this film, the Penguins find themselves the target of an evil plot by Dr. Octavius Brine (John Malkovich), who has a personal grudge with all penguins and has set out to rid the world of their cuteness. But just as our quartet is putting together a plan, they butt heads with North Wind, an undercover inter-species task force dedicated to helping animals who cant help themselves. North Wind works like a well-oiled machine with their military training and expensive gadgets—they are a far cry from our ragtag team of penguins. However, leader Classified the wolf (Benedict Cumberbatch) is just as stubborn and overly-confident as Skipper. His team includes muscle Corporal the bear (Peter Stormare), brains Eva the owl (Annet Mahendru) and munitions expert Short Fuse the seal (Ken Jeong).

Can these two teams learn to work together to stop the evil Dr. Octavius before it’s too late?! And can they do so before killing one another other first?

I can’t really say that I was a huge fan of the Penguins in the Madagascar films, but I thoroughly enjoyed this solo adventure. And this may just be my favorite Madagascar film yet! It is non-stop humor, action and adventure, with some really smart, funny writing. In addition to the comedy, the film also does a great job at exploring each of these Penguins’ personalities, and allows the charachers to grow over the course of the movie.

The humor is a delightful mix of one-liners, amusing situations, and physical comedy. One of my favorite scenes involves Classified trying to explain a plan to the Penguins and is constantly being interrupted as Skipper mindlessly chomps loudly on his Cheezy Dibbles. And Dr. Octavius has some really fun lines when he’s rattling off orders to his henchmen, which ends up soundling like a list of celebrity names. There is so much great comedy throughout the film that I don’t think I ever stopped smiling—it’s a constant wild and fun ride, and I look forward to seeing more adventures of these flippered pals!

The Blu-ray presentation looks and sounds excellent. The picture is bright, crisp and clear, even during the film’s exciting action sequences. The audio track provides clear dialogue and an exciting ambiance that puts the viewer into the middle of the action. I was a bit disappointed, however, with the disc’s selection of bonus features. While at first glance, it may look like a lot of material has been provided. However, overall it is quite underwhelming—most of the bonus features are just compilations of clips from the film or from the other Madagascar films. It would have been nice if there had been some behind-the-scenes look at the movie magic and/or interviews with the cast, or even an episode or two of the Penguins’ TV series. The Blu-ray also comes with DVD and Digital HD copies of the film.

However, based on the hilarious film alone, it is easy to recommend this Blu-ray release. I was also really happy to see that TCFHE has also released a 3D Blu-ray version for those with 3D-capable TVs. (There were several scenes that seemed like they would look great in 3D!)

What’s Included:

Film: (1:31:49)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French (Quebec) Dolby Digital 5.1, French DTS 5.1, Spanish (Castilian) DTS 5.1, Catalan DTS 5.1, Dutch DTS 5.1, German DTS 5.1, Italian DTS 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1, Flemish DTS 5.1, Chinese Dolby Digital 5.1,
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French (Quebec), French, Spanish (Castilian), Dutch, German, Italian, Portuguese, Hindi, Chinese

DVD:

• 480p / Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Surround Dolby Digital 2.0
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Digital Copy (Redemption Deadline 3/17/2018):

• Digital HD Copy redeemable via iTunes, Flixster (UltraViolet), Google Play or Vudu (UltraViolet)

Extras (*Some Bonus Features are Blu-ray Only):

• Top-Secret Guide to Becoming an Elite Agent (3:39)
  Skipper provides narration over clips from the film explaining what it takes to become an elite agent.
• “He Is Dave” Music Video* (3:18)
  A James Bond villain style theme song for Dave plays over clips from the film.
• Flipper Slap Shake Waddle and Roll* (2:06)
  Clap and “sing” along with the Penguins new hit polka “Hey Now!”.
• “Celebrate” Music Video by Pitbull* (3:18)
  Live action music video for Pitbull’s “Celebrate”. The Penguins have fun in the control room as Pitbull is in the recording booth.
• Do the Penguin Shake with tWitch* (2:26)
  tWitch shows off the new dance he created for the film—the Penguin Shake. He is joined by the Penguins as he demonstrates the steps.
• Deleted Scene* (1:20)
  This rough draft scene entitled “Orangefinger” finds Private having a Cheezy Dibbles-induced daydream. Watch with or without an optional audio-only intro from Skipper.
• Madagascar Mash Up (3:12)
  Montage of clips from the Penguins’ theatrical adventures.
• Global Flight Plan* (1:29)
  Pretty much a trailer for the film, highlighting the various worldwide locations the Penguins visit in the film.
• Cheezy Dibbles Ad (:32)
  Clips from the film are used to create an ad for Cheezy Dibbles, narrated by Skipper.
• Gallery (2:18)
  A collection of still images highlighting some of the film’s fun moments. Gallery automatically advances every 5 seconds, or use the remote to manually step through the photos.
• Theatrical Trailer (2:25)
• Sneak Peek (7:43)
  Play All or select from trailers for Home, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, DreamWorks Animation 20th Anniversary, King Julien, and Turbo F.A.S.T.
• World of DreamWorks Animation
  Watch music videos, trailers, and more, for various DreamWorks Animation franchises:
  • Shrek — “I’m a Believer Music Video” (1:16)
  • Madagascar — “I Like to Move It” Music Video (1:04)
  • How to Train Your Dragon — “Fly High” Music Video (1:52) and Dragons Continues DVD ad (1:04)
  • Kung Fu Panda — “Kung Fu Fighting” Music Video (2:07)
  • The Croods — “Shine Your Way” Music Video (3:38) and The Croods Trailer (1:00)
  • Turbo — “The Snail is Fast” Music Video (1:03) and Turbo Trailer (2:26)
  • Mr. Peabody & Sherman — Mr. Peabody & Sherman Trailer (:31)
• 2 Poppin’ Penguins Toys (Specially-Marked Packages)
  For a limited time only, specially-marked copies of this release contain 2 wind up Penguins toys attached to the front of the package. Wind them up and watch a baby Private pop his head in and out of his egg, or see Skipper hop along your table.

Final Thoughts:

Penguins of Madagascar is a non-stop, hilarious action/adventure film that’s perfect for the whole family to enjoy. The Blu-ray looks and sounds amazing, but the bonus features are a bit underwhelming as they primarily consist of repackaged clips from the film. However, the blu-ray is well-worth it for film alone—it is quite possibly my favorite of the Madagascar franchise thus far. And if you have a 3D-capable setup at home, it’s worth spending the extra few dollars to pick this up in 3D!