The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper

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Kowalski, Skipper, and Rico (with his dynamite)

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 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.

1 Plot
2 Voice cast
3 Trivia
4 Animals Featured
5 Running Gags
6 External links

[edit] Plot

Skipper as seen in the short.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

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's too late.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Voice cast

Tom McGrath .... Skipper
Chris Miller .... Kowalski
Christopher Knights .... Private
John DiMaggio .... Rico
Elisa Gabrielli .... Old Lady
Bill Fagerbakke .... Ted the Polar Bear
Sean Bishop .... Doorman, TV Announcer
Mitch Carter .... Additional Voice
Rif Hutton .... Additional Voice
Richard Miro .... Additional Voice
Hope Levy .... Additional Voice
Lynnanne Zager .... Additional Voice
Manel Fuentes .... Skipper (Castilian version) (uncredited)

[edit] Trivia

This article contains a trivia section.
Content in this section should be integrated into other appropriate areas of the article or removed, and the trivia section removed.

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.
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).
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.
Rico has changed in this short. He has a scar, he's mad and he's got spikey hair.
During the scene where Private gets catapulted from the Christmas tree and crashes in the kitchen, the announcer from the TV says "...and Ryan is down!" This could be a very subtle reference to Private Ryan.
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.

[edit] Animals Featured

Adelie penguin (the penguin quartet)
Polar bear (Ted)
Dog (Mr. Chew)
Human (various characters)
Lion (Alex)
Zebra (Marty)
Giraffe (Melman)
Hippopotamus (Gloria)
Chimpanzee (Mason, Phil, and a third unnamed one)
Crocodile (seen in carolling scene)
Rhinoceros (seen in carolling scene)
Elephant (seen kissing with mistletoe)
Camel (seen celebrating Hanukkah)
Toucan (seen during carolling)
Macaw (seen during carolling)
Trout (seen being wrapped up by Kowalski)

[edit] Running 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.
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" or "Shitake mushrooms".