Tag: Penguins of Madagascar

All Hail King Julien! A Review

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

file_124676_1_allhailkingjuliennetflix2

The high production values in Netflix’s All Hail King Julien certainly makes this cartoon worth paying attention to. Its CGI quality puts the animated television show Penguins of Madagascar to shame. Story wise, this show has a lot to like about how Julien inherits the throne. The series is not always about slapstick because the next ring-tailed lemur in the family has to learn how to be a proper king.

The irresponsible one viewers have come to know from the films and television series is Julien XIII (Danny Jacobs). In the past, he never learned responsibility and to be suddenly crowned by King Julien XII (Henry Winkler) is a bit of a shock to him. Even as a kid, he was a self-absorbed social misfit and party animal. He never understood about what courtly duties meant until now, and to make a series based on him learning important lessons puts this program right up there as a socially responsible show.

Continue reading “All Hail King Julien! A Review”

The Penguins of Madagascar Unleashes 4 minutes of Hijinks!

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

penguinsofmadagascar1Debuting today is what looks like the first four minutes of Penguins of Madagascar available for fans to watch. This clip shows off the humblest and looniest of origins for the trio. Waitaminute, trio? Well, they have not recruited Private yet, and the main three — Skipper, Kowalski and Rico — are maturing chicks with a high strung desire to embark on adventures.

The threesome protects the adorably cute Private (who still has to hatch from his shell) from some ravenous seals. In what this trailer shows is how the trio are not quite the well oiled team. Just how they become a unit will no doubt be revealed in the film, but to see what they can do now is amusing in a slapstick kind of way.

The best thing about this trailer is that famed producer/director Werner Herzog narrates. People unfamiliar with this documentarian really has to simply google his name up to discover that he’s handled many a renowned documentary that explores the human condition. Other people may remember him best for the 1979 film Nosferatu the Vampyre.

The reason why Herzog was chosen to open Penguins of Madagascar is that his products are known to feature heroes with the hopes of achieving impossible dreams. When considering what the young Skipper, Kowalski and Rico aspire to, this nod is definitely made to give theatre-goers in the know a worthy chuckle.

If there are any other cameos to be found, audiences will have to wait until November 26.

The Penguins of Madagascar gets an Adorably Cute Second Trailer

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

penguinsofmadagascar1

More cute details are being unveiled in this new second trailer for DreamWork’s Penguins of Madagascar. Not only do fans get to see Skipper, Rico, Kowalski, and Private as adorable little chicks in a segment revealing their humble beginnings, but also this tease may no doubt be a set up for more squeals of delight to come. Perhaps new merchandise will arise for children who want an adorable stuffed doll of their favourite penguin. If Happy Feet did not succeed in getting children to seek out those dancing toy novelties, this film will certainly do a better job at creating a marketing bonanza with its vast cast of Arctic and aquatic oddities.

Although approximately half of the trailer shows new material, the rest is recycled to help round out what the movie is about. Dave, a mad octopus, is on the rampage and he is intent on destroying the Penguins’ reputation. The trailer suggests that what they will do is going to cement them as legends in the spy world.

Two more trailers may get released when Thanksgiving Day in the States nears. Perhaps its best that the only thing served during this holiday weekend is Dave’s thirst for revenge.

A New Penguins of Madagascar Poster and Trailer Has Arrived! with Medusans in the Act

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

 

penguinsofmadagascar1More plot details are unveiled in a new trailer for the coming DreamWorks Animation Penguins of Madagascar film due in theatres November 2014. There’s a mysterious serum codenamed Medusa that’s labelled as doomsday level dangerous. Just what it does is unknown, but if the name is any indication, perhaps it will turn everyone to stone.

Fortunately Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private are not dumb enough to toss the sample around. It’s safely stored in Rico’s stomach, and when it reemerges, the team think that’s a mission done. Not so. The trailer speaks for itself in the hilarity that ensues in a movie that no doubt parodies the entire spy film genre. It gets sillier than any Austin Powers film.

That also includes questioning why some master villains, namely Dr. Octavius Brine (aka Dave, voiced by John Malkovich), must go into huge soliloquies into explaining why his plans are so grandiose. Quite simply, he’s in it for revenge against the penguins. No detail is offered as to exactly why, but as the new promotional poster implies, maybe there is some history that will unfold in this “untold story.”

But fans will have to wait for Turkey Day in the USA to find out.

 

The Penguins are Back! Madagascar Look Out! Trailer Released Today (and Thoughts)

Penguins

Freshly released from their New York Zoo, the Penguins of Madagascar are going international. Or rather, headed North and perhaps East to front a mission to save fellow animals, if not themselves, from an octopus named Dave (John Malkovich). Actually, according to the plot summary, this multi-limbed menace is after the Penguins and an international task force, North Wind, led by a timber wolf (Benedict Cumberbatch), is going to be protecting them, much to the chagrin of the organization, if this trailer is any indication.

As for whether or not Dr. Blowhole (the dolphin) will also make a comeback, that can make for an interesting film when all of the Penguin’s aquatic enemies gather together. From the television series, they have faced adversaries like The Red Squirrel and Hans the Puffin have managed to come out on top. But they did little in terms of putting them away. With very little of this film’s whole story revealed so far, maybe the inclusion of North Wind will help expand the mythos just enough so that when there are new threats, the bad guys have a prison to go to. Continue reading “The Penguins are Back! Madagascar Look Out! Trailer Released Today (and Thoughts)”

Weighing in on Dreamwork’s Madagascar series. Is it the end?

To watch the movies from the first film to the third really shows how far the “Madagascar animals” have developed as a team.

url“I Like to Move It, Move It,” may very well be Dreamworks’s mantra for pushing the product line that’s associated with the movie, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. The adventure will be in locating the merchandise, since not every toy store or food franchise operation will have the items that die-hard fans are looking for. As for the video releases, hopefully a box set is in the works. This series can benefit assuming the series is finally done and over with.
Continue reading “Weighing in on Dreamwork’s Madagascar series. Is it the end?”