YOUR FAVORITE MTV SHOWS ARE ON PARAMOUNT+

Does Benedict Cumberbatch Save 'Penguins Of Madagascar'?

The answer is Classified.

Skipper and his crew of Penguins have escaped "Madagascar" for their very own franchise.

Today sees the release of "Penguins of Madagascar," the first spinoff of the "Madagascar" franchise, focused on the military-minded penguins that DreamWorks Animation fans know and love. They're joined by some new high-profile talent, too, including Benedict Cumberbatch as a super-spy wolf, and John Malkovich as an evil, scheming octopus.

Here's what critics are saying of the Thanksgiving holiday's family-friendly release:

The Premise

"Smart-mouth flightless waterfowl bring the funny in all sorts of clever ways in 'Penguins of Madagascar.' The inevitable feature featuring Skipper (voiced by Lynnwood native Tom McGrath), Kowalski (Chris Miller), Rico (Conrad Vernon) and Private (Christopher Knights) breaks free from the main characters of DreamWorks’ 'Madagascar' movie series and dispatches the birds around the world from their Antarctic land of origin to Shanghai, New York and Fort Knox.

"In the course of their travels, an original story morphs into a James Bond-style adventure tale, complete with a secret-agent wolf suavely voiced by the lately ubiquitous Benedict Cumberbatch." — Soren Andersen, The Seattle Times

Why It Works

"First is the voice talent. Although none of them is a marquee name, the actors who bring the penguins to life — Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Conrad Vernon and Christopher Knights — do so with verve. (Special credit goes to Vernon, who voices the almost nonverbal, but nevertheless vocally expressive Rico, who is often shown coughing up indigestible objects that he has swallowed.)

"Other notably funny turns in 'Penguins' include John Malkovich and Benedict Cumberbatch. Playing to type, the A-list actors provide the voices for, respectively, a villainous, emotionally unstable octopus named Dave and a heroic, cucumber-cool secret agent gray wolf whose name is classified. (That’s right: The character’s name is never given — 'My name is classified' he tells us, in Cumberbatch’s mellifluous British baritone — leading to some giddy 'Who’s on first?' confusion.)" — Michael O'Sullivan, The Washington Post

Free From "Madagascar"

"The skeletal plot, as much as there is one, only serves as a loose housing for a nonstop barrage of gags. (For those who are curious, evil octopus Dave wants to turn every penguin in the world into a horribly unlovable monster… or something.) Unmoored from the continuity and narrative demands of the main franchise, 'Penguins of Madagascar' flourishes. In zany set piece after zany set piece, the movie sets itself apart as willing to try anything, do anything for laugh, and it succeeds more often than it fails, even when falling back on some creaky wordplay and the occasional over-emphasis on both fart gags and pop culture references (both of which are hallmarks of DreamWorks Animation)." — Drew Taylor, The Playlist

The Bad News

"Better to see 'Big Hero 6' again, pop in a 'Madagascar' DVD or watch 'March of the Penguins' than bother with the lifeless 'Penguins of Madagascar' … This is a joyless, frenetic film that is very rarely funny. Penguins, in general, are an adorable lot. But in this limp spinoff, the fourth go-round in the 'Madagascar' franchise that began in 2005, they come across as charmless and surprisingly interchangeable." — Claudia Puig, USA Today

The Final Word

"Dreamworks' 'The Penguins of Madagascar' is quick, colorful, kinetic, and will only cost you a bit of your sanity. And on a tolerability scale, for those older audience members dragged to see it by younger members of your clan, it's peppered with enough grown up-oriented humor to actually make it enjoyable in parts." — Matt Fowler, IGN Movies

"Penguins of Madagascar" is in theaters now.

Latest News