The Penguins of Madagascar is an American animated television series produced by DreamWorks Animation in collaboration with Nickelodeon Animation Studio. It stars nine characters from DreamWorks' animated film Madagascar—Skipper (Tom McGrath), Rico (John DiMaggio), Kowalski (Jeff Bennett), Private (James Patrick Stuart), King Julien (Danny Jacobs), Maurice (Kevin Michael Richardson), Mort (Andy Richter), Mason (Conrad Vernon), and Phil. Characters new to the series include an otter named Marlene (Nicole Sullivan) and a zookeeper named Alice (Mary Scheer). It is the first Nicktoon co-produced with DreamWorks Animation. The series was executive-produced by Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle, who were the creators of the animated series Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (a spin-off of Pixar's Toy Story franchise) and Disney Channel's Kim Possible.
The pilot episode, "Gone in a Flash," aired as part of "Superstuffed Nicktoons Weekend" on November 28, 2008, and The 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-watched premiere.
The Penguins of Madagascar aired after Madagascar: 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 the Madagascar movies, although the series does occasionally allude to the rest of it. The show started production before an ending to Escape 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."
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. The show received praise for its animation quality, regarded as very good for the time.
In December 2014, DiMaggio stated that the show ended production. The show's executive producers, Mark McCorkle and Bob Schooley, later served as executive consultants for DreamWorks' next Madagascar spin-off series (All Hail King Julien).
A revival of the series was pitched by Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse artist Kade Byrand, but ended up being rejected.
Plot The Penguins of Madagascar is a spin-off of the Madagascar 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 the Central Park Zoo. The penguins often have to deal with problems caused, or made worse, by their zoo neighbors, King Julien XIII (a ring-tailed lemur), Maurice (an aye-aye), and Mort (a mouse lemur).
Characters
The Penguins of Madagascar features the four penguin characters from the Madagascar 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, and Conrad 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.
Main
Skipper (voiced by Tom 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 by Jeff 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 replaces Chris Miller from the films. Rico (voiced by John 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 film The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper. Private (voiced by James 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 replaces Christopher Knights from the films. King Julien XIII (voiced by Danny Jacobs) is a fun loving, witty, narcissistic ring-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 use malapropisms and misinterpret figures 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 replaces Sacha Baron Cohen from the films. Maurice (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) is an aye-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 replaces Cedric the Entertainer from the films. Mort (voiced by Andy Richter) is an excitable, dimwitted, accident-prone mouse 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 by Conrad Vernon) and Phil are two intelligent chimpanzees who often help out the penguins on their missions. Mason can speak and is very civilized and refined. Phil is mute, 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 through sign language 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 by Nicole Sullivan; Dee Bradley Baker in wild form) is an otter who was transferred to the Central Park Zoo from the Monterey Bay Aquarium. 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. 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.
Recurring Roger (voiced by Richard Kind) is the penguins' alligator friend who 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 by Wayne Knight) is the penguins' stray cat 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-social kangaroo 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 an Australian accent. Bada and Bing (voiced by John DiMaggio and Kevin Michael Richardson) are two gorillas 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.