The Penguins of Madagascar

Did You Know?

• The show's executive producers later served as executive consultants for DreamWorks' next Madagascar spin-off series, All Hail King Julien.
• A revival of the series was pitched by Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse artist Kade Byrand but was rejected.
• The Double DVD Pack of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa included an unaired episode called "Popcorn Panic."

Characters

The Penguins of Madagascar features the four penguin characters from the Madagascar franchise—Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private—as well as the two chimpanzees and the three lemurs. New characters include Marlene the otter and Alice the zookeeper. Tom McGrath, John DiMaggio, Andy Richter, and Conrad Vernon reprise their roles as Skipper, Rico, Mort, and Mason respectively. The penguins' designs were altered from the films to make them more distinguishable: Skipper's head is flatter, Kowalski is taller, Rico has an unexplained scar and a feathery Mohawk, and Private is shorter and rounder. Skipper, voiced by Tom McGrath, is the paranoid leader who treats everyday activities as military operations and is afraid of needles. Kowalski, voiced by Jeff Bennett, is the oldest penguin and the team's inventor, though he cannot read and is afraid of the dentist.

Production

In mid-2006, Nickelodeon and DreamWorks Animation announced a collaboration to create a show based on the Madagascar films, starring the penguins. The series was co-produced by DreamWorks Animation and the Nickelodeon Animation Studio's Burbank location, with animation services outsourced to India, New Zealand, and Taiwan. The producers initially planned a 26-episode first season, but the episode count was changed to 48. Several voice actors from the films were replaced: Chris Miller (Kowalski) was replaced by Jeff Bennett, Christopher Knights (Private) by James Patrick Stuart, Sacha Baron Cohen (King Julien) by Danny Jacobs, and Cedric the Entertainer (Maurice) by Kevin Michael Richardson. Tom McGrath, John DiMaggio, Andy Richter, and Conrad Vernon reprised their film roles. The pilot episode, "Gone in a Flash," aired on November 28, 2008, as part of "Superstuffed Nicktoons Weekend," and the series officially debuted on March 28, 2009. The show ended production in December 2014, according to John DiMaggio.

Broadcast

The Penguins of Madagascar got a sneak peek on Nickelodeon in the US on November 28, 2008, before its official launch on March 28, 2009, right after the Kids' Choice Awards. Australia saw the premiere on April 18, 2009, on Nickelodeon, while Canada followed on September 12, 2009, on Nickelodeon Canada and YTV. The series later joined Hulu in June 2018.

In other media

A spin-off feature film featuring the penguins had been in development since 2005, with a planned 2009 release. In March 2011, DreamWorks announced a film directed by Simon J. Smith, produced by Lara Breay, and written by Alan J. Schoolcraft and Brent Simons. The film, titled The Penguins of Madagascar, was released on November 26, 2014, after switching release dates with Home. It starred Benedict Cumberbatch as Agent Classified and John Malkovich as Dr. Octavius Brine/Dave. The film received mixed reviews and grossed $374 million worldwide on a $132 million budget, underperforming and causing DreamWorks to take a $57.1 million write-down.