‘The Penguins of Madagascar’ Trailer: Any Old Creature Can Get a Spin-Off These Days

By  · Published on June 11th, 2014

DreamWorks Animation

Were you aware that the penguins of popular movie franchise Madagascar have their own television series? They do. It’s called The Penguins of Madagascar. Moreover, were you also aware that those profitable penguins are getting their own movie spin-off? It’s called The Penguins of Madagascar, so I guess there’s something to be said for familiarity when it comes to marketing.

Even if you’re not familiar with the cottage industry that is the penguins (of Madagascar), perhaps you remember them from the Madagascar films? Snuggled in alongside BenStillerLion, ChrisRockZebra, DavidSchwimmerGiraffe and JadaPinkettSmithHippo, the four penguins (of Madagascar) are some tough-talking troublemakers who are very good at sticking together and even better at not being effected by climate change. There are four penguins (of Madagascar), and they all have fun, punchy names, like Skipper, Rico, Kowalski and Private. In their animated television series, the four penguins all live at the Central Park Zoo (yes, the very place they escaped from in the first and third Madagascar films, as the series sort of exists in a parallel universe where they all still live there and totally love it).

They’re also into military operations, apparently. Now let’s make a movie about them.

You may also remember that the penguins (of Madagascar) are well-known for hijacking the animal reserve-bound boat from the first film in order to travel home to Antarctica, only to land there and promptly run away, because they’ve declared that it “sucks.” Hey, they’re opinionated. They also like knock-off Cheetos, each other and the dulcet tones of Kenny Loggins. Basically, they’re highly relatable, definitely funny and they know a thing or two about the importance of friendship. Pretty sweet, really.

Oh, but they are also skilled operatives, which is why The Penguins of Madagascar is all about them joining up with a cool inter-species spy group ‐ the North Wind ‐ for some fun (and important!) operations (the specifics of which seem unclear in this trailer, but that will probably change in subsequent marketing pushes). How cool is the North Wind, you ask? Benedict Cumberbatch voices their leader, a hip gray wolf. You’re welcome.

Yes, the little ones are going to love this one ‐ and you just might too, as we can’t help but smile at that final bouncy house gag. Maybe you never grow out of loving penguins (of Madagascar) hijinks?

The Penguins of Madagascar will open in theaters on November 26th. [Moviefone]