DreamWorks Animation has long been the Pepsi to the Coke that is Pixar. While Pixar has long been the benchmark for animation quality, DreamWorks has been stepping up their game in recent years. Both the KUNG FU PANDA and HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON franchises are pretty damn good and movies like THE CROODS have proven to be fun. But, the MADAGASCAR franchise has long been their lowest common denominator series. The spin-off PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR hopes to change all that.
This new clip from the upcoming film gives us the origin of the penguins as Skipper, Rico, and Kowalski try to save the unborn penguin that will be known as Private. The animation is very reminiscent of HAPPY FEET and there is even a voice-over narration from famed German director Werner Herzog that turns out to be one of the most random and awesome cameos of all time.
I am not sure if this movie is going to do much to elevate the MADAGASCAR franchise to Pixar levels of quality, but it certainly looks like one of those movies kids will be quoting for months to come. And just be glad there is no "Afro Circus" scene in this movie.
PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR, featuring the voices of Benedict Cumberbatch and John Malkovich, hits theaters on November 26.