The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper

The three main characters of the film Madagascar are fairly stereotyped and have one-hit wonder stamped all over them. The penguins, one the other hand, have true potential as they make reference so many classics of the past e.g. Bilko. The short film demonstrates some of this potential and was a very welcome bonus to the also excellent Curse of the Wererabbit. There were certainly echoes of Toy Story 2, as the old lady tests the penguin to see if he squeaks with a great "bottom gag" much appreciated by the children and a similar plot line which was very well executed. Above all, children appreciated the concept of looking after each other in a world dominated by grown ups and the penguins epitomise this ideal. Needless to say, the animation is excellent.

I went to see Wallace and Gromit last night and was surprised to see this little gem tagged on to the start.

The story follows a group of penguins that are trying to rescue one of their own after he leaves to buy a Christmas present for someone else, only to wind up being put in a stocking himself.

This short was just as well made as the full length features in every way.

I wasn't overly impressed with Madagascar, but this short was superb. It was far funnier than Madagascar itself, and possibly even Wallace and Gromit. As someone else has already said, it seems odd to tag a Christmas theme on the front of a Halloween one.

It's worth the admission fee for this alone.

That is for some reason tagged onto the reels for the very halloween-y Wallace and Gromitt's Curse of the Wear Rabbit. It would have made more sense for this film to be tagged onto something in December but hey-ho.

I've not actually seen Madagascar, so I'm not immediately familiar with these characters. But I have to say that the penguins were very funny. The story has one of them leave Central Park Zoo to look for the perfect Xmas present, only to end up an Xmas present himself. The other penguins soon follow him to a posh apartment building where a blind old lady plans to give him to her evil pet poodle.

Very funny antics and hijinks follow. I wouldn't be surprised if this cartoon were nominated for an Oscar come February.

There are so many sight gags and jokes in this 12-minute animated short it would make your head swim. The artwork is fantastic and the humor is equally fabulous. It's all a story about four penguins ready to celebrate Christmas when one of them goes out to cheer up a lonely polar bear. The others, with the "Black Hawk Down" credo of never leaving anyone behind, go after him and rescue the little guy from a brutal old woman and her vicious poodle.

The story really is secondary to all the clever gags and visuals, too many to mention in here. Suffice to say that if you own the "Madagascar" DVD, do yourself a favor and check out this bonus feature. It is about as entertaining a dozen minutes as you ever hope to find. This is something you will want to watch over and over.....guaranteed!

The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper (2005)

*** (out of 4)

Charming ten-minute short has Private sneaking out of the Zoo so that he can find a Christmas gift for a lonely polar bear. While walking around the streets he ends up getting kidnapped by a mean old lady and soon three other penguins must try and rescue him. Even if you haven't seen MADAGASCAR it's likely you'll still enjoy this short, which has plenty of fast action, a nice pace and some pretty big laughs. I thought the entire story was a fairly strong one that managed to mix in laughs with the Christmas spirit, which is obviously the main time of the year that this is going to be watched. I thought the film displayed a large amount of imagination and this includes the very funny bit where the three penguins try and get into the old woman's apartment building. The snowman gag was terrific as were the scenes inside the apartment building as the penguins must deal with an angry dog. The action in the film is very fast and furious and I think it really does show how much thought went into the production. Quite often these spin off shorts have weak stories to go with them but that certainly wasn't the case here and adults and children should have a good time.