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The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper

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The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper is a computer-animated short produced by DreamWorks Animation (with soundtrack by Media Ventures young-gun James Dooley), released in movie theatres and on DVD in 2005. The 12-minute film showcases the adventures of four penguins, sometimes known as the Madagascar Penguins, who live in the Central Park Zoo and are trained as spies.

It premiered in theaters on October 7, 2005 with the stop-motion film, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. The short was later included on the later editions of the Madagascar DVD, which was released on November 15, 2005.

The short was directed by animation veteran Gary Trousdale, produced by Teresa Cheng, and written by Michael Lachance.

Plot

In the story, the youngest penguin on the team, Private, slips out of the zoo on Christmas Eve to find a present for a lonely polar bear named Ted. While roaming the streets of Manhattan, he is captured by an old lady who mistakes him for a chew toy for her vicious dog, Mr Chew. The other three penguins, Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico, rescue Private from the old lady's apartment before it is too late. At the end of the film they invite Ted to their home. But he had already invited guests, resulting in a massive sing-a-long to a parody of Jingle Bells.

Voice cast

Gags

  • Rico is constantly regurgitating a piece of dynamite out of his stomach and asking Skipper's permission to use it.
  • Nobody except Skipper knows the "penguin credo" - "never swim alone." – The other penguins also confuse the Walrus credo ("Ha-da-da, ha-da-da doo-da dee-da!") with the other Penguin credo - "never bathe in hot oil and Bisquick."
  • In an attempt to get a better view of Private while on the streets of New York, Skipper, Rico and Kowalski try to blend in with passing Catholic nuns.
  • When trying to catch up with Private the penguins attach a grappling hook to a taxi. The licence plate of the taxi reads "I8BIGAPEL" i.e I ate big apple (New York)
  • During the battle, Skipper uses Rico as a machine gun for cover fire, using swallowed mints as bullets.
  • In a reference to the first film, Skipper makes several references to curse words, i.e "Hoover Dam", "Grand Coulee Dam" or "Shiitake mushrooms".

Trivia

  • The old lady who captures Private in this short film also played a cameo part in Madagascar as the lady who beat up Alex the lion (and Melman the giraffe briefly) with her bag in Grand Central Terminal. It has been confirmed that she will make an appearance in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.
  • This is the first time Rico, one of the penguin characters from Madagascar, speaks English saying "eggnog" and later "kaboom" (since the Hewlett-Packard advert starring the penguins). In the original film, he is mute except for saying the Japanese word "Hai" (meaning "yes") while preparing sushi.
  • Gloria's name isn't mentioned throughout the entire short film, but Marty, Alex and Melman are.
  • An Alex the lion toy can be seen in the old lady's room. It is destroyed by Mr. Chew, the old lady's dog.
  • Even though there are only two chimpanzees in the zoo (Phil and Mason), three are seen in the musical number at the end- one on Melman's neck and the other two next to each other on the ground.
  • During the sing-along at the end, look closely at the penguins (they're on the gate that surrounds their habitat), look on the right to see one of the penguins dancing with the bowling pin Skipper mistook as Private.
  • During the fight with the poodle, slow motion is used, as well as Skipper gesturing with his hand, alluding to The Matrix.
  • The names Rico and Kowalski are used from other movies e.g. Rico (from Starship Troopers) and Kowalski (from Stargate).
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