The Penguins of Madagascar was an American CGI animated television series that has aired on Nickelodeon. It stars nine characters from the DreamWorks Animation animated film Madagascar: The penguins Skipper (Tom McGrath), Rico (John DiMaggio), Kowalski (Jeff Bennett), and Private (James Patrick Stuart); the lemurs King Julien (Danny Jacobs), Maurice (Kevin Michael Richardson), and Mort (Andy Richter); and Mason (Conrad Vernon) and Phil the chimpanzees. Characters new to the series include Marlene the otter (Nicole Sullivan) and a zookeeper named Alice (Mary Scheer). It is the first Nicktoon produced with DreamWorks Animation.
The pilot episode "Gone in a Flash", aired as part of "Superstuffed Nicktoons Weekend" on November 29, 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.
Although the series occasionally alludes to the rest of the franchise, The Penguins of Madagascar does not take place at a precise time within it. McGrath, who is also the co-creator of the film characters, 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."
The show finished 2010 as the number two animated program among kids age 2-11 and in basic cable total viewers.
Voice actor John DiMaggio stated that the show has ended production. A feature film starring the penguins (albeit with different voice actors, aside from Tom McGrath as Skipper) and featuring other characters voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, Ken Jeong, and John Malkovich, among others, was released on November 26, 2014.
Characters
The series' new protagonists are Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private. Characters who have returned are King Julien, Maurice, Mort, and Mason and Phil. New characters include Marlene the otter, Dr. Blowhole, Alice, and Blue Balls.
Plot
The series follows the adventures of the four penguin protagonists: Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private, who perform various paramilitary missions to protect their home in the Central Park Zoo. The penguins often have to deal with problems caused (or made worse) by King Julien , Maurice, and Mort.
Voice cast
Main cast
- Tom McGrath as Skipper
- Jeff Bennett as Kowalski
- John DiMaggio as Rico
- James Patrick Stuart as Private
- Danny Jacobs as King Julien XIII
- Kevin Michael Richardson as Maurice
- Andy Richter as Mort (3 episodes by Matt Nolan)
- Nicole Sullivan as Marlene
- Conrad Vernon as Mason
Casting
Some of the actors who played the characters in the films didn't return for the series. Chris Miller is replaced by Jeff Bennett as Kowalski, Christopher Knights is replaced by James Patrick Stuart as Private, Sacha Baron Cohen is replaced by voice actor Danny Jacobs as King Julien, and Cedric the Entertainer's character is now voiced by the popular Kevin Michael Richardson. In three episodes, Andy Richter was replaced by Matt Nolan as the voice of Mort (although Richter voices Mort for the rest of the series).
Trivia
- This is Nickelodeon's first DreamWorks deal.
| DreamWorks |
|---|
| Feature Films |
| Antz (1998) • The Prince of Egypt (1998) • The Road to El Dorado (2000) • Chicken Run (2000) • Shrek (2001) • Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) • Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003) • Shrek 2 (2004) • Shark Tale (2004) • Madagascar (2005) • Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) • Over the Hedge (2006) • Flushed Away (2006) • Shrek the Third (2007) • Bee Movie (2007) • Kung Fu Panda (2008) • Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) • Monsters vs. Aliens (2009) • How to Train Your Dragon (2010) • Shrek Forever After (2010) • Megamind (2010) • Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) • Puss in Boots (2011) • Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) • Rise of the Guardians (2012) • The Croods (2013) • Turbo (2013) • Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014) • How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) • Penguins of Madagascar (2014) • Home (2015) • Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016) • Trolls (2016) • The Boss Baby (2017) • Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017) • How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) • Abominable (2019) • Trolls World Tour (2020) • The Croods: A New Age (2020) • Spirit Untamed (2021) • The Boss Baby: Family Business (2021) |
| Upcoming Films |
| The Bad Guys (2022) • Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) • Trolls 3 (2023) |
| Feature Films in Development |
| Mice & Mystics • Shrek 5 • Dog Man |
| Direct-to-Video Films |
| Joseph: King of Dreams (2000) |
| Digital films |
| Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans (2021) |
| Canceled Films |
| Tusker • The Wanderer • Tortoise Vs. Hare • Truckers • Monsters Vs. Aliens 2 • Me & My Shadow • Monkeys of Mumbai • Rumblewick • B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations • Giants: Forces of Nature • Larrikins • Zodiac • Spooky Jack |
| TV specials |
| Shrek the Halls (2007) • Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space (2009) • Merry Madagascar (2009) • Scared Shrekless (2010) • Kung Fu Panda Holiday (2010) • Gift of the Night Fury (2011) • Madly Madagascar (2013) • Trolls Holiday (2017) • How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming (2019) |
| Shorts |
| Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party! (2001) • Shrek 4-D (2003) • Sinbad and the Cyclops Island (2003) • Far Far Away Idol (2004) • Club Oscar (2005) • The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper (2005) • First Flight (2006) • Hammy's Boomerang Adventure (2006) • Secrets of the Furious Five (2008) • B.O.B.'s Big Break (2009) • Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon (2010) • Donkey's Caroling Christmas-tacular (2010) • Megamind: The Button of Doom (2011) • Thriller Night (2011) • The Pig Who Cried Werewolf (2011) • Night of the Living Carrots (2011) Book of Dragons (2011) • Gift of the Night Fury (2011) • Secrets of the Masters (2011) • Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos (2012) • Almost Home (2014) • Rocky and Bullwinkle (2014) • Dawn of the Dragon Racers (2014) • Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Scroll (2016) • Bird Karma (2018) • Bilby (2018) • Marooned (2019) • To: Gerard (2020) |
| TV series |
| Toonsylvania (1998) • Invasion America (1998) • Alienators: Evolution Continues (2001–2002) • Father of the Pride (2004–2005) • The Penguins of Madagascar (2008–15) • Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness (2011–2016) • DreamWorks Dragons (2012-2018) • Monsters vs. Aliens (2013-2014) • Turbo FAST (2013–2016) • VeggieTales in the House (2014-2016) • All Hail King Julien (2014-2017) • The Adventures of Puss in Boots (2015-2018) • Dinotrux (2015-2018) • The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show (2015-2017) • Dawn of the Croods (2015-2017) • Noddy, Toyland Detective (2016-present) • Voltron: Legendary Defender (2016-2018) • Home: Adventures with Tip and Oh (2016-2018) • Trollhunters (2016-2018) • VeggieTales in the City (2017) • Spirit Riding Free (2017-present) • Trolls: The Beat Goes On! (2018-2019) • The Boss Baby: Back in Business (2018-2020) • The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (TV series) (2018-2019) • Harvey Street Kids (2018-2020) • The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants (2018-2020) • She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018-2020) • Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny (2018-2019) • 3 Below (2018-2019) • Where's Waldo? (2019-present) • Archibald's Next Big Thing (2019-present) • Dragons: Rescue Riders (2019-present) • Cleopatra in Space (2019-present) • Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (2020) • Rhyme Time Town (2020-present) • Madagascar: A Little Wild (2020-present) • Wizards (2020) • Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (2020-present) • The Mighty Ones (2020-present) • Doug Unplugs (2020-present) • Trolls: Trollstopia (2020-present) • Gabby’s Dollhouse (2021) • Go, Dog. Go! (2021) |
| Upcoming TV series |
| Felix the Cat (2021) • Bearbrick (TBA) • The Epic Tales of Dog Man (TBA) |
