This spin-off from the blockbusting Madagascar franchise opens with a brilliantly mischievous voice cameo by Werner Herzog, spoofing his own “into the abyss” narrations from documentaries such as Encounters at the End of the World. Although nothing that follows can match the sound of Herzog describing the penguins’ “chubby little bum-bums”, there’s plenty to keep both adults and children chuckling as our former supporting players take centre stage in this ramshackle yet often rib-tickling adventure. Zipping randomly from Antarctica to Venice, Shanghai and America, the familiar crew (Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, Private) forge an uneasy alliance with the animal forces of the “North Wind” to defeat the villainous “Dave” (aka Dr Octavius Brine –John Malkovich clearly enjoying himself). Several key riffs are lifted wholesale from the Despicable Me films (one suspects/hopes that the forthcoming Minions movie will deliver heftier slapstick thrills), but like Benedict Cumberbatch’s unique pronunciation of the word “penguin”, the result remains oddly entertaining.
