Totally madcap penguins!

The breakout stars of DreamWorks Animation's hit 'Madagascar' films get their own big screen comedy-adventure and most definitely prove that "super spy teams aren't born, yhey're hatched".

With Penguins of Madagascar you will discover the secrets of the greatest and most hilarious covert birds in the global espionage biz: Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private. These elite of the elite are joining forces with a chic undercover organisation, The North Wind, to stop the villainous Dr Octavius Brine from destroying the world as we know it.

The stakes couldn't be higher for the penguins as their globetrotting adventures take them to Antarctica, Venice, the desert, Shanghai, New York City, and ... Kentucky, during which they experience glory, engage in espionage, foil an evil scientist's/octopus' dastardly plot - and devour cheesy snacks - like no penguins have ever before.

The penguins' transition from beloved supporting characters in Madagascar to headlining their own big screen epic was a no-brainer, thanks to their memorable traits.

Distinct and strong personalities

"What drives the penguins in all the films are their distinct and strong personalities," says director Eric Darnell. Adds director Simon J Smith: "They're like a band of brothers who, above all, value their friendship, moral code and love for one another." Most importantly, the penguins really bring the funny. "The most exciting thing about the project was to experience the story's and characters' humour," says producer Mark Swift. "They're so appealing because they are so hilarious."

There's Skipper, voiced by Tom McGrath, who created the characters for the blockbuster animated feature Madagascar, which he helmed, along with Darnell.

McGrath had originally envisioned Skipper being voiced by an authoritative Hollywood icon with "a momentous, straight-man kind of attitude" - but when that didn't work out he ended up with the role himself. "Well, I was cheap, anyway," he jokes.

McGrath's Skipper is the team's fearless leader and keeper of the penguin code. He demands loyalty, obedience and order from his regimented flock, and asks nothing of his men that he wouldn't do himself.

The brains of the operation

His right-flipper man, Kowalski, voiced by DreamWorks animator Chris Miller, is the brains of the operation, and the go-to guy when the penguins need a quick, life-saving fix. The third member of the team, Rico, is voiced by DreamWorks Animation artist and Madagascar 3 director Conrad Vernon. Rico lives to blow things up. When he's kept on a tight leash, Rico is an effective weapon, but left to his own devices he's a loose cannon.

Finally, there's Private, voiced by DreamWorks Animation editor Christopher Knights; although he is the runt of the team, Private has the biggest heart of them all. Private is always up for new challenges, but because the group still sees him as the baby, he's often side-lined during their missions.

Each of the penguins makes a memorable impression and, collectively, they're a force to be reckoned with.

"The sum of the penguins is greater than the parts," says Darnell. "The guys work incredibly well as a group - far better than they would as individuals. They're like four parts of a complete brain: You've got Skipper's leadership, Private's heart, Kowalski's smarts, and Rico's courage. So the four of them make this whole, and that makes them a lot of fun."

Great movie teams

In fact, the penguins are very much in the tradition of great movie teams, notes McGrath, like The A-Team, The Dirty Dozen, Star Trek's Kirk and Spock, and even The Marx Brothers. "They're these huge personalities in a tiny package," he says. "And like many great screen teams, the penguins are taken out of their comfort zone. They embark on a globetrotting adventure, where they meet characters who really make the penguins step up their game."

Their inextricable bonds and unforgettable antics are on full display when we discover the origins of the penguins in the film's opening sequences, set in Antarctica's icy wasteland. Right off the bat, we're aware that these are not typical penguins. Skipper, Kowalski and Rico are marching to the beat of a different drummer, avoiding the documentary film tropes of penguins waddling across the icy tundra and triggering audience exclamations of "aren't they cute!"

The film's opening moments poke fun at such footage, as a filmmaker, voiced by legendary director Werner Herzog (who actually helmed a documentary about Antarctica, Encounters at the End of the World), who is following a line of penguins doing what penguins do in these situations. Of course, our trio (soon to be quartet) of penguins isn't satisfied just marching along the ice. "They're driven by a deeper calling," says Chris Miller. "Skipper, Kowalski and Rico don't want to be like every other penguin waiting in line and parading around Antarctica. They know there's got to be something more out there."

Wonderfully comic moments

Instead, our penguins are busy giving each other the 'high one' and, after a breathless series of escapades during which they dive, dodge and weave away from danger, welcome a new member to the troupe - Private, who's just hatched. The lead-up to Private's birth provides not only wonderfully comic moments filled with action and adventure, but a heart-warming interlude during which the four penguins cement their familial bonds.

Private's arrival and initiation onto the team marks the beginning of the penguins' epic adventure, as well as a fun and moving journey for the young newbie, who yearns, says Christopher Knights, to be a "valuable and accepted member of the group. And by journey's end, he attains that goal, and so much more. But even as he strives to become an unexpected action hero, Private remains cute and cuddly".

"The opening scene was a great opportunity to explore the penguins' origins and to turn the clichés of documentaries about penguins on their head," Darnell adds. "We asked ourselves, 'What if you we took our penguins and put them in that [documentary-like] world? How would they feel about that kind of stereotype?'"

Cheesy Dibbles

Another cliché buster is the boys' obsession with a succulent but hazardous piece of puffed heaven known as Cheesy Dibbles. For the penguins, the beloved snack is worth more than its weight in gold - literally - as evidenced by their excursion into Fort Knox, the most secure facility in North America, for a very special celebration of Private's birthday. The aim is not to steal the facility's billions of dollars of bullion, but the Cheesy Dibbles housed in a vending machine.

There's more to the chemically laced 'food' than gastronomic delights, hints Smith. "It's almost like a MacGuffin," he says, referring to Alfred Hitchcock's term for a plot device that would often misdirect audiences. "The Cheesy Dibbles are actually valuable to the penguins in the end. The snacks actually do something."

It's a safe bet that all the uber-spies of The North Wind will come around to the penguins' methods. And it's an even more logical bet that the results of their teaming and battle with Dave will result in laughs and some heartfelt moments.

Moreover, says Eric Darnell, the penguins, as a team and as individuals, offer something for everyone. "As an audience member, you can find any way into the penguin team that suits your personality and point of view," he explains.

Adds Simon J Smith: "The Penguins are 100% committed to whatever they're doing and always believe they're going to do exactly the right thing, and even if it turns out wrong, they don't care. They'll try something else - and be equally confident about that. The penguins don't let the perceptions of others deter them; they prove that anyone is capable of being a hero and that you can do anything if you really put your mind to it. That's what I love about them."

Tom McGrath, who along with Eric Darnell helped give birth to the comic quartet nine years ago, notes: "If I had three words to describe Penguins of Madagascar, I would just say: 'Funny,' 'funny,' and 'heart'. It's a broad comedy, of course, but there's also some heart that sneaks up on you and has a great message for everyone, which is 'Don't judge a book by its cover'."

Read more about other new films opening this weekend at www.writingstudio.co.za