The penguins always stood out in the Madagascar movies. King Julien and Mort’s conversations, the penguins’ pun lines and delivery helped push the humor in the previous movies. As a result, the 2014 Penguins of Madagascar became one of the most hilarious, fast-paced animation comedies in recent years.
The movie is centered around the penguins stopping Dave from using the Medusa Serum to turn all penguins into ugly, mindless zombies. The penguins, known to work alone, had to learn to trust and work with the North Wind to defeat Dave. Also, the movie ends with Private earning his place as a part of the team.
Much of the movie’s success has to go to its fantastic cast. It’s normal to have characters in the spotlight with animated movies, but much of their performance comes from the cast voice overs. To the success of Penguins of Madagascar, here are the movie’s top cast.
Skipper (Tom McGrath)
Credit: Penguins of Madagascar
Tom McGrath provides a voice-over for the Skipper character. McGrath is best known as a film director, voice actor, screenwriter, and animator. McGrath is not also new to the franchise as he was a co-director of DreamWorks Madagascar movie.
His character, Skipper, is unmistakably the leader of the penguins. As a leader, he gives off a tough, stubborn, proud, complex character that seems devoid of affection. However, Skipper has a soft spot for all penguins, especially Private, and would really never leave any man behind.
At the movie’s beginning, Skipper and his brothers, Rico and Kowalski, risk their lives to save a penguin egg rolling down a hill. Even when Kowalski tells the obvious truth of imminent death, Skipper not only adopts the egg (Private) but promises to keep it safe.
As head of the penguins, he believes they’re one of the best spy agents in the world. For instance, the team decided to get a snack, Cheesy Dibbles, from a vending machine in the highly fortified Fort Knox just to celebrate Private’s tenth birthday.
Kowalski (Chris Miller)
Credit: Penguins of Madagascar
Every team needs the brain of the group. Skipper may be the undisputed leader of the penguin group, but Kowalski is the brains. As the smartest penguin on the team, he’s the Second-in-Command and can sometimes come off as being narcissistic.
You can sometimes count on Kowalski to over-analyze and make simple situations look rather complex. He’s the tallest in the group and occasionally takes charge when his intelligence is needed. But leave it to Skipper to always call him out when he’s showing off intelligence unnecessarily.
Kowalski’s character is played by none other than Chris Miller. Miller is not new to animation and directing, especially as a director for notable animation movies like Puss in Boots and Shrek the Third. Miller is also a known voice actor, screenwriter, and animator.
Rico (Conrad Vernon)
Credit: Penguins of Madagascar
If every team needs a goofy character, Rico is it for the penguins. He’s also not the brightest penguin out there and is known to go crazy sometimes. However, Rico is a loyal and reliable muscle for the team. As such, he’s delegated as the team’s head of demolition and storage.
In other movies and series, Rico has a weird obsession with dynamites and chainsaws. While it’s hard to know his age, he’s presumed to be younger than Skipper and Kowalski but definitely older than Private.
Conrad Vernon gives a voice-over to Rico in this movie. Although Vernon replaces John DiMaggio to play the voice of Rico in the movie, he’s not new to animation films. He has worked as a director, writer, voice actor, and storyboard artist for several DreamWorks animations.
Private (Christopher Knights)
Credit: Penguins of Madagascar
Private is the youngest member of the penguin group. The movie begins by showing viewers how Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico found Private. Although he was added to the family, he wasn’t really inducted into the team. Private puts his life on the line to rescue the other Penguins after Dave uses the Medusa Serum on them.
This act, and several others, made Skipper officially induct him to be a team member. He gets treated as the baby of the group for obvious reasons. Christopher Knights did the voice-over for Private.
Agent Classified (Benedict Cumberbatch)
Credit: Penguins of Madagascar
Benedict Cumberbatch is no longer a stranger in Hollywood, with notable roles as Sherlock and MCU’s Doctor Strange. However, he comes in this epic animation movie as a voice-over for Agent Classified.
Agent Classified is the leader of North Wind, comprising Eva, Short Fuse, and Corporal. Known for his prideful leadership, he clashes with Skipper when they first meet. However, his intelligence and braveness would see him eventually lead the mission when the two teams unite. In the end, he respectfully had to admit that the penguins are a good spy team.
Follow Us
