Home

Adam Rex's 2007 novel, The True Meaning of Smekday, introduced its readers to a brand new Alien holiday. This would have been the best time for its film version, Home, to come out.

But Dreamworks didn't see it that way. Home's coming got put off till March. Meanwhile, I have to review the film that was meant to come out that month, Penguins of Madagascar. And surprisingly, it was a bit better than I thought it would be.

Skipper (Tom McGrath), Kowalski (Chris Miller), Rico (Conrad Vernon) and Private (Christopher Knights), the flightless co-stars of the Madagascar films, have their own film now. They open the story by ditching their co-stars for a trip to Fort Knox. But they're not there for the gold bullion. They're here for the precious Cheese Dibble snacks in the vending machines. And somehow, Dave knew they'd be there.

Dave the Octopus (John Malkovich) used to be the star of the Central Park Zoo. But the Zoo moved him out when the Penguins moved in. The same thing happened at every other Zoo Dave moved to. And now Dave wants revenge on all of penguin kind. If only Skipper could remember his name.

The Penguins are saved by the North Wind, a crew of secret agent arctic animals. The leader (Benedict Cumberbatch), a wolf whose name is Classified, wants to stop Dave his way. Skipper and the Penguins want to stop Dave their way. They'll have to find the right way to stop Dave's revenge scheme.

The movie gets its first point for casting John Malkovich as Dave. Dave's an over-the-top villain with a ridiculously petty goal and Malkovich is surely having fun here. Dave sometimes earns the audience's sympathy with his bad backstory. He gets his chance at redemption at the end, but throws it away for "more revenge." He's that evil.

The technical aspects get the next point. The animated characters and scenery look great as does the camerawork. The best use of the camera was to show the Penguins make an aerial escape. It was an amazing, almost one take display of the Penguins free-falling from planet to plane and to the desert below.

Penguins of Madagascar is a good matinee. Its quick pace should entertain the kids and adults in the audience. Its sense of humor is fine even if there were a few groaners. It even knows how to make Dave be a legitimate threat. It's a harmless adventure and I'm fine with that.