Penguins of Madagascar

Although the Madagascar series has been a mid- to low-tier animated franchise from its very inception, the appearance of the penguins always provided a memorable highlight. The penguins are a self-anointed group of international superspies consisting of the delusional and devil-may-care Skipper, his overly literal-minded second-in-command Kowalski, wild-eyed demolition expert Rico and the pampered orphan Private. In the Madagascar films, the penguins were relegated to monotony-breaking cameos, so it is not surprising that after a fun first half, their star vehicle hits the wall. At a certain point, the plot is forced to take over, and the time-filling and talent-wasting nonsense that was cooked up by the film's half-dozen credited writers should have never made it past first draft. It involves an octopus named Dave who impersonates a human scientist so that he can make penguins less cute. Even for a babysitting tool, that's weak.