Yes, the jokes come at you thick and fast. Some hit you in the form of slapstick humour while others are in the shape of lame puns of celebrity names that will leave you feeling a touch cold. But then a strange thing happens and you start warming up to Penguins of Madagascar a quarter of the way through the film. It could be because the penguins themselves are incredibly cute and likable, though it could also be because as the fast-paced spy genre action takes over, the humour itself improves by a few degrees. Yes, even the lame puns seem funnier as the evil octopus named Kevin keeps Bakin’, and octopus Nicholas is busy trying to cage the penguins.

These evil octopuses are merely henchmen who work for a giant octopus named Dave, who is voice acted in a hilarious turn by John Malkovich. Dave is an unhappy octopus who misses the love and attention he used to receive until our heroes, the penguins named Skipper (Tom McGrath), Kowalski (Chris Miller), Rico (Conrad Vernon) and Private (Christopher Knights) came to the zoo. Reduced to a side attraction, Dave grew increasingly bitter until he decided that penguins all over the world must pay for his predicament.

Be warned: Penguins of Madagascar is served to you with an extra layer of cheese — at least initially. The gags in this ultimately amusing animated 3D film by DreamWorks Animation are so relentless and low brow, that you’ll be rolling your eyes until they can’t roll anymore

Here, he disguises himself as a human scientist named Dr Octavius Brine to fool the penguin-loving humans. Brine’s plan involves releasing the Medusa Serum which is designed to transform Penguins from adorable creatures into deformed mindless monsters that no person could love.

The narrative in Penguins of Madagascar is strengthened by good characterisation. The four main characters play off each other well, and have unique personalities that will be appreciated by viewers of all ages. I suspect that everyone’s favorite will be Private who is continuously underestimated by his teammates and carries a giant heart in his short stature.

The film grows more interesting when our heroic penguins find unlikely allies in the shape of team North Wind, a task force of four who have been tracking Dr Octavius Brine for ages with sophisticated spy equipment that seems straight out of Mission Impossible. This second team includes the aloof white wolf leader whose name is classified (Benedict Cumberbatch), a polar bear named Corporal (Peter Stormare) who adores penguins, an explosives expert seal called Short Fuse (Ken Jeong) and an intelligence gathering owl called Eva (Annet Mahendru).

The chemistry between our two teams makes for hilarious viewing as both the penguins and team North Wind try to capture Dr Octavius Brine. The friction between our heroes makes for some particularly amusing sequences involving inadvertent sabotage and just a touch of romance. Needless to say that the penguins ultimately prevail, as they, like the film itself, win the day through tenacity.

Rating: The film is rated PG for mild action and some rude humour.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, January 4th, 2015