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Our first venture into the animated film series Madagascar immersed us within Europe’s most cosmopolitan cities as Central Park Animals Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman, the Giraffe and Gloria the Hippo struggle to make their way home to New York City. If you’ve seen any of the 3 films in the series, you’ll likely remember the adorable, zany Penguins of Madagascar, who often “stole the show” in scenes throughout the Madagascar film series.
This Thanksgiving, these covert birds will star in their own feature film as audiences are introduced to their “backstory.” Super spies Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private are enlisted by The North Wind to help stop the villainous Dr. Octavius Brine from destroying the world in a global adventure that includes non-stop action, espionage, humor, and heart.
In honor of the film’s theatrical release, DreamWorks Animation and 20th Century Fox invited us out to the Aquarium of the Pacific for an advanced look at the film and a special naming ceremony for one of the four Magellanic Penguin chicks born at the Aquarium in June of this year.
Film director, animator, and voice actor Tom McGrath was also in attendance for this event, signing autographs and introducing us to “Skipper,” cleverly named after the character he voices in the film.
We’ve spent quite a bit of time at the Aquarium of the Pacific mesmerized by the aquatic life that reside there. The Penguin exhibit has always been a favorite of theirs, so spending some focused time learning which of the seventeen species resides at the Aquarium and why, was fascinating to them. Contrary to popular belief, most species of penguins live in temperate climates and never see snow. As you might have guessed, the Magellanic Penguins that live at the Aquarium were named after Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and grow to 2 to 2 1/2 feet tall and weigh between 6 and 15 pounds when fully grown. When in the wild, this particular species of Penguins spend most of their time at sea hunting for small fish, squid and krill.
Skipper was one of four penguin chicks born at the Aquarium this past June and after he hatched out of his egg in the next burrow his parents were using, he was cared for by the staff as he learned to eat (the penguins are hand-fed fish). One of the things that we found interesting was the fact that Penguin chicks must fledge (replace the downy layer of feathers they are born with) before joining the other Penguins in the exhibit. The new feathers that grow in are watertight which allows them to enter water but the black and white plumage with the double stripe on their chests that is so characteristic of Penguins won’t grow in for a full year.
Spending some time learning about Penguins was an engaging tie-in to the film. We celebrated by learning Penguin Shake. I know…now you’re off to Google this. Don’t worry, this tutorial will get you dancing like a Penguin pro!
Penguins of Madagascar debuts in theaters on November 26th, 2014. You can keep up to date with the film by visiting on their respective social media channels:
Follow @DWAnimation on Twitter
Like ‘Penguins of Madagascar’ on Facebook
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I like seeing the Jellyfish.
The Aquarium of the Pacific is great its educational for the children but also for adults. I have not gone for a while. Now that I have a son, this would be a great experience. I love to see the sharks and sea lions.
It’s been a few years since I was there. I also love the jellyfish. I just love to visit all of the displays and seeing all of the fish. I’d love to go again.
I would love to see the penguin exhibit and the jelly fish!
Where do I start? Love so much about it – the little seahorses always fascinate me.