The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper

Last updated

The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper
Madagascar penguins christmas poster.jpg
Directed by Gary Trousdale
Written byMichael Lachance
Produced by Teresa Cheng
Starring Tom McGrath
Chris Miller
Christopher Knights
John DiMaggio
Elisa Gabrielli
Bill Fagerbakke
Music by James Dooley
Production
companies
Distributed by DreamWorks Pictures
Release date
  • October 7, 2005 (2005-10-07)
(with Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit )
Running time
12 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper is a 2005 American animated short film produced by DreamWorks Animation and PDI/DreamWorks! and distributed by DreamWorks Pictures. Directed by animation veteran Gary Trousdale, produced by Teresa Cheng, and written by Michael Lachance, it features the original music by James Dooley, and stars the voice cast of Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights, John DiMaggio, Elisa Gabrielli, and Bill Fagerbakke. Set before the events of the first Madagascar, the 12-minute Madagascar spin-off features the adventures of four penguins, sometimes known as the Madagascar Penguins, who live in the Central Park Zoo and are trained as spies. [1] When Private is captured by Nana by wanting to find a present for Ted during his absence, the other three penguins, Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico, must rescue Private from Nana's apartment, while making last-minute preparations for Christmas at the Central Park Zoo.

Contents

The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper premiered in theaters on October 7, 2005 with the stop-motion film Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit , and then became a bonus feature on the Madagascar DVD shortly afterwards.

Plot

On Christmas Eve, the youngest penguin on the team, Private, is looking around the zoo using the periscope which is decorated as a snowman. While most of the animals seem happy, a polar bear named Ted is all alone. Determined to find a present for Ted, Private slips out of the Central Park Zoo in New York City. While roaming the streets of Manhattan, he is captured by Nana who mistakes him for a chew toy for her vicious dog, Mr Chew. The other three penguins, Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico, set out to rescue Private from Nana's apartment when they discover Private's absence (only when they were going over everything before eating). They escalate into chaos against Mr. Chew, all-the-while, unnoticed by Nana, who is occupied watching a football game. When they are done, they stuff Mr. Chew into a stocking. Before leaving, Skipper let Rico detonate the door with a stick of dynamite (which Rico had repeatedly attempted to use prior), finally attracting Nana's attention who ends up punishing Mr. Chew with a big time-out, thinking what the penguins did to her apartment was Mr. Chew's doing.

Returning to the Central Park Zoo, they invite Ted to their home, but he has already invited several other guests, resulting in a massive sing-a-long to a parody of Jingle Bells.

Voice cast

Additional voices include Hope Levy, Rif Hutton, Richard Miro, Mitch Carter, Lynnanne Zager

Soundtrack

The original music for the short was composed by James Dooley. According to Dooley, he was asked to score because he "had written all the music for the penguins in the feature length, Madagascar ." [2]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
8."He Looks So Bad"Jim Dooley0:42
9."Where's The Private?"Jim Dooley0:30
10."Analysis!"Jim Dooley0:41
11."I am Walking Here"Jim Dooley0:47
12."Good Boy"Jim Dooley1:24
13."Help Me Guys!"Jim Dooley0:26
14."Storking Stuffer Operation"Jim Dooley1:36
15."Bad Dog"Jim Dooley0:46
16."Jingle End"Jim Dooley0:11
17."Jingle, Jingle, Jingle - Brian Setzer"Jim Dooley1:49
Total length:8:52

Home media

The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper was released on later DVD editions of Madagascar, [3] Shrek , [4] and Shrek 2 , [5] all of which were released on November 15, 2005. It was released on Blu-ray on September 23, 2008, as a bonus feature attached to Madagascar. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Fagerbakke</span> American actor (born 1957)

William Fagerbakke is an American actor. He voices Patrick Star in the SpongeBob SquarePants franchise, and played Michael "Dauber" Dybinski on the sitcom Coach. He also appeared in 12 episodes of the sitcom How I Met Your Mother as Marshall Eriksen's father Marvin.

<i>The Wild</i> 2006 film by Steve Williams

The Wild is a 2006 animated adventure comedy film directed by animator Steve "Spaz" Williams and written by Ed Decter, John J. Strauss, Mark Gibson and Philip Halprin. It features the voices of Eddie Izzard, Kiefer Sutherland, Janeane Garofalo, Jim Belushi, Richard Kind, Greg Cipes, and William Shatner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Data Images</span> American animation studio owned by DreamWorks Animation

Pacific Data Images (PDI) was an American Visual effects and computer animation production company based in Redwood City, California, that was bought by DreamWorks SKG in 2000. It was renamed PDI/DreamWorks and was owned by DreamWorks Animation.

<i>Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa</i> American computer-animated comedy film in 2008

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is a 2008 American animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation SKG and PDI/DreamWorks and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is the sequel to Madagascar (2005) and the second installment in the franchise. It was directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath and written by Etan Cohen, Darnell, and McGrath. The film features Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Elisa Gabrielli, McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights, and Conrad Vernon reprising their voice acting roles from the first film, joined by new cast members Bernie Mac, Alec Baldwin, Sherri Shepherd, and will.i.am, as well as voice acting veteran John DiMaggio. In the film, the main characters, a party of animals from the Central Park Zoo whose adventures have taken them to Madagascar find themselves in the African savannas, where they meet others of their species and where Alex the lion reunites with his parents.

Penguins are popular around the world for their unusually upright, waddling gait, their cuteness, their swimming ability and their lack of fear toward humans. Their striking black and white plumage is often likened to a white tie suit and generates humorous remarks about the bird being "well dressed".

<i>Madagascar</i> (video game) 2005 video game

Madagascar is a platform video game based on the animated film of the same name by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath, produced by DreamWorks. The game was released on May 24, 2005 in North America and on June 30, 2005 in Europe. The GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions were developed by Toys for Bob. The Microsoft Windows version was developed by Beenox and the Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance versions were developed by Vicarious Visions. All versions of the game were published by Activision. Madagascar: Operation Penguin was the next Madagascar video game to be released on the Game Boy Advance.

Christopher Knights is an English voice actor, film editor, and cinematographer. He is best known for providing the voice of Private the Penguin in the Madagascar film franchise. He worked on several DreamWorks films Shrek, Shrek 2, Shrek the Third and Shrek 4-D. He started his filming career at Amblimation studios and worked on We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story and Balto. When he joined DreamWorks he not only started his editing career but also his acting career. He worked on the Shrek series as an associate editor and voice of the Three Blind Mice and Thelonious, Lord Farquaad's Henchman. He worked many times with another English cameraman and voice actor, Simon J. Smith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom McGrath (animator)</span> American voice actor, animator and film director

Thomas McGrath is an American voice actor, animator and filmmaker. He is known for the DreamWorks animated film Madagascar, which he co-wrote and directed with Eric Darnell while voicing the character of Skipper the Penguin. The film spawned two direct sequels, along with a spin-off animated series and film based on the penguins in which McGrath reprised his role as Skipper. McGrath has also directed other DreamWorks animated films such as Megamind, The Boss Baby and its 2021 sequel.

<i>Madagascar</i> (2005 film) DreamWorks Animation film

Madagascar is a 2005 American animated survival comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation SKG and PDI/DreamWorks, and distributed by DreamWorks Pictures. The film was directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath and written by Darnell, McGrath, Mark Burton, and Billy Frolick. The film stars the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, and Andy Richter. It centers around a group of animals from the Central Park Zoo who find themselves stranded on the island of Madagascar and must adjust to living in the wild.

<i>The Penguins of Madagascar</i> American animated television series

The Penguins of Madagascar is an American animated television series co-produced by DreamWorks Animation and Nickelodeon. It stars nine characters from DreamWorks' animated film Madagascar: the penguins Skipper, Rico, Kowalski, and Private ; the lemurs King Julien, Maurice, and Mort ; and Mason and Phil the chimpanzees. Characters new to the series include Marlene the otter and a zookeeper named Alice. It is the first Nicktoon co-produced with DreamWorks Animation. The series was executive-produced by Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle, who were the creators of the animated series Buzz Lightyear of Star Command and Disney Channel's Kim Possible.

<i>Madagascar</i> (franchise) Computer-animated movie franchise produced by DreamWorks Animation

Madagascar is an American computer-animated media franchise owned and produced by DreamWorks Animation. The voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith are featured in the films. It began with the 2005 film Madagascar, the 2008 sequel Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and the third film Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted in 2012. A spin-off film featuring the penguins, titled Penguins of Madagascar, was released in 2014. A fourth film, Madagascar 4, was announced for 2018, but has since been removed from its schedule due to the studio's restructuring.

<i>Madagascar 3: Europes Most Wanted</i> 2012 animated comedy film by DreamWorks

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted is a 2012 American animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation SKG and PDI/DreamWorks and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The third installment in the Madagascar franchise, it is the sequel to Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008), and was the first film in the series to be released in 3D. It was directed by Eric Darnell, Conrad Vernon and Tom McGrath from a screenplay by Darnell and Noah Baumbach. The film stars Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights, and Vernon reprising their voice acting roles from the previous installments, alongside new cast members Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, Martin Short and Frances McDormand. In the film, the main characters—a party of animals from the Central Park Zoo whose adventures have already taken them to Madagascar and Africa—attempt to return to New York City, and find themselves traveling across Europe with a circus while being chased by a relentless French Animal Control officer.

<i>Merry Madagascar</i> 2009 film directed by David Soren

Merry Madagascar is a Christmas special first broadcast on the NBC network on November 17, 2009, which starred the characters from the film series Madagascar, and takes place sometime between the first and second film. It is the second DreamWorks Animation Christmas special, after Shrek the Halls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madagascar: A Crate Adventure</span> Former water ride at Universal Studios Singapore

Madagascar: A Crate Adventure was a water ride located in the Madagascar zone of Universal Studios Singapore at Resorts World Sentosa. The attraction is based on Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation's 2005 animated film Madagascar and its franchise.

Start International Polska is a Polish dubbing and voice-over translation studio based in Warsaw.

Elisa Gabrielli is an American actress and comedian, who played "Pepper" Potts in the animated movie The Invincible Iron Man, among other roles. Gabrielli also played the part of Miss Linley in The Brady Bunch Movie. In the 2005 animated film Madagascar, she was the voice of Nana, who became a breakout character that she voiced again in the 2008 sequel, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilad Kleter</span> Israeli voice actor

Gilad Kletter is an Israeli voice actor.

<i>The Penguins of Madagascar: Dr. Blowhole Returns – Again!</i> 2011 video game

The Penguins of Madagascar: Dr. Blowhole Returns – Again! is an adventure video game developed by Griptonite Games and published by THQ available for the Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo DS. It was released in September 2011.

<i>Penguins of Madagascar</i> 2014 American DreamWorks film

Penguins of Madagascar is a 2014 American animated spy action comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and PDI/DreamWorks and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Directed by Eric Darnell and Simon J. Smith from a screenplay written by Michael Colton, John Aboud and Brandon Sawyer, and a story convinced by Alan Schoolcraft, Brent Simons, Colton and Aboud, it is a spin-off of the Madagascar franchise, and the fourth film overall. Despite the title of the film, it is directly unrelated to the Nickelodeon TV series of the same name. Starring the voices of Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights, Conrad Vernon, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ken Jeong, Annet Mahendru, Peter Stormare and John Malkovich, it takes place directly after the events of Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012), following the adventures of four Adélie penguins - Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private - as they join forces with the North Wind intelligence agency to stop the Giant Pacific octopus Dave, who seeks revenge on all Adélie penguins across the Earth for being upstaged by capturing them.

References

  1. Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 179. ISBN   9781476672939.
  2. Zsolt, Biro; Kulics, Laszlo (June 24, 2006). "Interview with James Dooley". Filmzene.net. Archived from the original on February 1, 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  3. McCutcheon, David (December 8, 2005). "Madagascar". IGN. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  4. "Shrek & Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper (DVD) (2001) (Region 1) (US Import) (NTSC)". Amazon. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  5. "Shrek 2 & Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper (DVD) (2004) (Region 1) (US Import) (NTSC)". Amazon. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  6. "Madagascar (Blu-ray)". High-Def Digest. October 1, 2008. Retrieved August 12, 2012.