Penguins of Madagascar

They couldn't resist a penguins spin-off, given the (unexpected?) success of the Madagascar trilogy (and perhaps also happy feet), but in my view, this movie falls flat. The penguins are best as comic sidekicks, not leads. On the other hand, the kiddos both enjoyed it much more than I did.

And, speaking of show-stealing animals: the octopus villain was too creepy! American pop culture seems to have a love-hate relationship with these eight-legged marine creatures right now - see the much more positive depiction in Finding Dorie. This means a use of the

Sebastian's Rating: 10 Stars Sienna's Rating: 7 Stars Paul's Rating: 6 Stars.

2015 kicks off with a stupendously silly but mostly amusing animated film that is best enjoyed with easy-to-please toddlers chuckling by your side. After stealing the limelight in the Madagascar trilogy, the awesome foursome get their own adventure, complete with globetrotting hijinks, high-flying acrobatics and extravagant escapes. Filled to the brim with physical comedy and written quips (a string of celebrity themed puns are hilarious), this spin off adheres to the franchise's humour-formula of quantity over quality, but is so light in tone it's hard to begrudge it. The eponymous flightless seabirds – Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private – are as intrepid, idiotic and cuddly as ever, but are arguably better suited to stealing scenes at second fiddle rather than leading from the front for a whole movie. There's an underpinning message – don't underestimate the little guy – that permeates throughout the swift runtime, building up to a stock standard finale that skimps on laughs in favour of a moral payoff. Penguins lacks the adorability of Paddington, the exhilaration of Big Hero 6, or the intelligence of either, yet remains a decent option for families looking to waste a couple of hours during the school break.

I didn't think I would like this as much or that it would be and feel as good as it did. It's not easy with spin-offs, the characters are there, but can you make a movie with them that can hold up? Obviously you can, which is something I expected (and expect) from the Minions movie, but not really from the Penguins.

While it's a kids movie, it also has a lot to offer for adults to. Which every good kids movie is doing nowadays of course. The story is pretty thin, but we get a couple of new people involved and of course an "enemy" we have to engage with. The ending might feel like a letdown for some (to some more than to others), but overall the movie did achieve what it set out to do.

Although the film wasn't really needed, it is absolutely brilliant. Benedict Cumberbatch is the best part of this movie. His acting is brilliant as always. I wouldn't mind seeing a spin-off about the origins of the North Wind, the spy agency that his character runs. It would be awesome. I was a bit hesitant that this would kill the Madagascar franchise like Shrek Forever After killed the Shrek franchise but I gave it a chance and it was great. Sorry, Pixar but I think Dreamworks will eventually knock you off the top spot as the best animation studio. I loved everything about this movie. It's perfect. Grade: A+ 10/10 5/5 stars

Skipper, Kowalski and Rico rescue an egg but they drift out to sea. The egg hatch into Private and the gang go off to adventures together. Ten years later, they break into Fort Knox to get the Cheezy dibbles from the vending machine. They are abducted by Doctor Octavius Brine who was Dave the octopus. Dave lost his fans at the various zoos to penguins and now plans to take revenge on them using the Medusa Serum. The penguins have to stop Dave with the help of the animal spy agency The North Wind.

The Penguins are the funniest thing in the Madagascar franchise. The core story is fun. It has a lot of great references. It takes cute unexpected turns and has great cartoon action. There are big laughs and funny throughout. I like it even better than the Madagascar movies.