Penguins on DVD!

by Jesse Exum


The Penguins are back! After making their debut in the computer-animated film Madagascar, Skipper, Kowalski, Private, and Rico are starring in their own hilarious 12-minute feature film! Initially shown in theaters before screenings of the clay-mation film Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, the computer-animated film A Christmas Caper is now on DVD! (See details below.) A prequel to Madagascar, A Christmas Caper finds Private sneaking out of the zoo to get lonely Ted the polar bear a Christmas present. When Private is captured by an old lady mistaking him for a stuffed toy, Skipper, Kowalski and Rico have to rescue him from the old lady’s dog, Mr. Chew.
The movie features a couple of familiar voices: Rico is voiced by John DiMaggio, who also voices Dr. Drakken on the cartoon TV show Kim Possible and Fu Dog on the cartoon TV show American Dragon: Jake Long; and Ted the polar bear is voiced by Bill Fagerbakke, who also voices Patrick on the cartoon TV show SpongeBob SquarePants.
A Christmas Caper is available on the DVD of Madagascar, and is sometimes included on a bonus DVD with the DVDs of the computer-animated films Shrek, Shrek 2 and Shark Tale. It is unknown if it will be included on/with the DVD of Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, available February 7th.
If you’re looking for even more Penguins fun, the Game Boy Advance game Madagascar: Operation Penguin is also available now! For those who already have it, here's a secret code: To put the game in Christmas mode, pause the game with the Select button then press Up, L-button, Left, R-button, Right, L-button, Down, R-button. In Christmas mode, various things in the game will become Christmas-themed, and you'll be able to revisit the intro level. To undo the code, just enter it again.

Ratings:
Madagascar: PG
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit: G
A Christmas Caper: G
Shrek: PG
Shrek 2: PG
Shark Tale: PG
Madagascar: Operation Penguin: E