DreamWorks Animation has a habit of creating devious side characters that eventually garner enough fan attention to warrant their own spinoff. First, we had the Zorro-inspired Puss in Boots back in 2011 and now, the studio is releasing The Penguins of Madagascar this holiday season.
During the recent panel at New York Comic-Con, DreamWorks unveiled a lengthy clip that introduces us to origin tale of everyone’s favourite flightless motley crew: Rico, Skipper, Kowalski and Private. The above footage also contains a very special filmic Easter Egg in the form of Werner Herzog, who makes a cameo appearance as a documentary filmmaker.
It’s understood that Benedict Cumberbatch and John Malkovich will also play a part in the animated film, with the former playing the aptly named husky Agent Classified, while Malkovich will embody the movie’s chief villain, Dr. Octavius Brine.
With an animated television show already in the ether — one that has been running since 2008 — the mischievous crew are certainly one of the most endearing cartoons at the moment and, should The Penguins of Madagascar perform financially, we could well see a whole new side franchise come to fruition.
The Penguins of Madagascar will open first in North America on November 26th before arriving for those in the UK on December 7th. For now, you can glimpse the spinoff’s recently-released synopsis below to gain a gist of the escapades that await the titular group of aquatic birds.
Super spy teams aren’t born…they’re hatched. Discover the secrets of the greatest and most hilarious covert birds in the global espionage biz: Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private. These elitists of the elite are joining forces with a chic undercover organization, The North Wind. Led by handsome and husky Agent Classified (we could tell you his name, but then…you know), voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch. Together, they must stop the villainous Dr. Octavius Brine, voiced by John Malkovich, from destroying the world as we know it.
