Penguins of Madagascar

***Penguins of Madagascar*** (also known as ***Penguins of Madagascar: The Movie***) is a 2014 American computer-animated spy action comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios and DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Starring the voices of Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights, Conrad Vernon, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ken Jeong, Annet Mahendru, Peter Stormare and John Malkovich, it is a spin-off of the *Madagascar* film series and takes place directly after the events of *Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted*, following the penguins - Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private - as they join forces with the North Wind intelligence agency to stop the octopus Dave, who seeks revenge on all penguins across the world by capturing them. Apart from the main characters, it is not directly related to the Nickelodeon TV series of a similar name.

Directed by Eric Darnell and Simon J. Smith from a screenplay written by Michael Colton, John Aboud and Brandon Sawyer, *Penguins of Madagascar* was released theatrically in the United States on November 26, 2014 in 2D, 3D and RealD 3D formats, making it the only film in the *Madagascar* franchise to be distributed by 20th Century Fox as well as the final DreamWorks Animation film to be produced by Pacific Data Images prior to its closure on January 22, 2015, with DWA Glendale taking over. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, but despite grossing $373 million on a $132 million budget, the film was considered a financial disappointment by DreamWorks, and resulted in a write-down $57.1 million for the studio.

## Cast

* Ben Stiller as Alex, a lion.
* Chris Rock as Marty, a plains zebra and Alex's best friend.
* David Schwimmer as Melman, a reticulated giraffe, another of Alex's friends.
* Jada Pinkett Smith as Gloria, a hippopotamus, another of Alex's friends and Melman's love interest.
* Tom McGrath as Skipper, the leader of the penguins.
* Chris Miller as Kowalski, the brains of the penguins.
* Christopher Knights as Private, the rookie of the penguins.
* John DiMaggio as Rico, the loose cannon of the penguins.
* Sacha Baron Cohen as King Julien XIII, a ring-tailed lemur who is the king of the lemurs in Madagascar.
* Cedric the Entertainer as Maurice, an aye-aye and adviser of King Julien XIII.
* Andy Richter as Mort, a Goodman's mouse lemur and a companion of King Julien XIII.
* Jessica Chastain as Gia, an Italian jaguar and Alex's love interest.
* Martin Short as Stefano, an Italian sea lion.
* Bryan Cranston as Vitaly, a Russian Siberian tiger and a former superstar of the travelling circus.
* John Malkovich as Dave / Dr. Octavius Brine, a villainous and disgruntled Giant Pacific octopus who has a human disguise.
* Benedict Cumberbatch as Agent Classified, a Eurasian wolf with a British accent. He is the North Wind's team leader.
* Ken Jeong as Short Fuse, a Belgian white-coated harp seal and a member of the North Wind who serves as their expert in explosives and demolitions.
* Annet Mahendru as Eva, a Russian snowy owl with a matching accent, Kowalski's love interest/girlfriend, and the North Wind's intelligence analyst.
* Peter Stormare as Corporal, a Norwegian polar bear and a member of the North Wind who serves as the muscle.
* Conrad Vernon as Mason, a chimpanzee