No longer snarky sidekicks, the penguins from the Madagascar series have got their own movie

THEY are no longer snarky sidekicks — the penguins from the Madagascar series have got their own movie, and it’s funny-business-as-usual for the most part.

Penguins Of Madagascar (G)

Directors: Eric Darnell, Simon J. Smith

Starring: the voices of Tom McGrath, Benedict Cumberbatch, John Malkovich, Chris Miller.

Rating: ***

Still capable of a big flap, but just a little flat

It was always going to happen. The penguins from the Madagascar franchise just had to get their own movie.

Right from the get-go, you could tell these yakky flappers wouldn’t be content to be snarky sidekicks forever.

However, the head office at Madagascar, Inc. has already sent them waddling and wisecracking on a number of solo assignments to kids’ TV and home video.

Animated fun ... The Penguins of Madagascar. Picture: DreamWorks

If you have happened across any of these secondary spin-offs, then this belated big-screen bow for Skipper and the gang will feel a little more lived-in and lingered-upon than it really should.

Which is not to say Penguins Of Madagascar isn’t fun. It most certainly is. How could it not be when the dastardly villain of the piece is a bloke called Dave, voiced by none other than John Malkovich?

The crew ... Kowalski, voiced by Chris Miller, Skipper voiced by Tom McGrath, Rico, voiced by Conrad Vernon and Private voiced by Christpher Knights in a scene from The Penguins of Madagascar.

But the anything-goes anarchy that many Penguins fans might have been expecting rarely comes to the fore here. It’s funny-business-as-usual for the most part.

Aside from a little origin-story housekeeping here and there, the main thrust of this scrappy adventure comedy comes from a vengeful scheme concocted by Dave (aka Dr Octavius Brine) to get the world thinking all penguins are not as adorable as they seem.

With Skipper (voiced by Tom McGrath) barking the orders while Kowalski (Chris Miller) uses his brain and Rico (Conrad Vernon) brings the brawn, the belligerent birds mount a globetrotting defence of their species.

The action continually switches settings at considerable speed. One minute we’re in Venice, the next we’re in Shanghai, followed by New York.

En route ... The Penguins of Madagascar. Picture: Dreamworks

While this undoubtedly soups up the 3D presentation of the film, a sameness to all the skylarking kicks-in that rarely goes away.

Not even the charismatic presence of Benedict Cumberbatch (the everywhere man of 21st century cinema right now) as a black-ops wolf named Agent Classified does much to lift The Penguins Of Madagascar out of its amiable rut.

The whole affair might have been viewed in a different light if it had come along while the Madagascar effect was still fresh. Nevertheless, very young children will find it hard to resist if they haven’t seen too much of the Penguins posse until now.

Originally published as No longer snarky sidekicks, the penguins from the Madagascar series have got their own movie