christmas caper

The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

Kowalski, Skipper, and Rico (with his dynamite)The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper is a computer-animated short produced by DreamWorks Animation (with soundtrack by Media Ventures young-gun James Dooley), released in movie theatres and on DVD in 2005. The 12-minute film showcases the adventures of four penguins, sometimes known as the Madagascar Penguins, who live in the Central Park Zoo and are trained as spies.

It premiered in theaters on October 7, 2005 with the stop-motion film, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. The short was later included on the later editions of the Madagascar DVD, which was released on November 15, 2005.

The short was directed by animation veteran Gary Trousdale, produced by Teresa Cheng, and written by Michael Lachance.

Contents
1 Plot I'll be home for the holidays" assumes ulterior motives when the person returning to the fold is on the lam.
In ABC Family's "Christmas Caper" premiering Sunday, Cate Dove needs a haven after a bungled grand-theft burglary.





We meet Cate (Shannen Doherty) as she shimmies down a rope to break into a mansion. She and her partner, Clive (Conrad Coates), bypass the rather inept security guards to steal a huge diamond. The homeowner returns as they are about to make their getaway; he abandons her.

Quick-witted and nimble, Cate manages to escape, but not before her photo is caught on security cameras and soon distributed to law enforcement agencies everywhere.

Meanwhile, her sister, Savannah (Sonya Salomaa), who could give Type A's a bad rap, is stuck in an airport on the islands. Planes can't fly because of a tropical storm, and Savannah's baby sitter must leave. When we meet her children, the baby sitter's needs become quite understandable.

Savannah and her husband call everyone they know. People would rather contract a disease than watch Parker and Annie (Josh Hayden, Natasha Calis). Parker is a juvenile delinquent, but not a very good one, and Annie is a complete know-it-all and rather grating.

Finally, with no one left to call, a week before Christmas, Savannah tries her ne'er-do-well sister, Cate.

Cate needs a place to hide, so this seems logical. Still, wouldn't the police consider looking at her sister's home? Wouldn't it make sense for her to cut and dye her dark tresses rather than just head to Comfort?

Doherty laughs when presented with these leaps of logic.

"It's ABC Family; it's a Christmas movie," she says from her home just outside Los Angeles. "I am that moviegoer, and somebody will be sitting next to me and say, 'That's not even possible.' And I say, 'Yes, it is, because it's in a movie!' As a movie, it's fun.

"It's entertainment," she says. "We are not performing brain surgery or trying to change anybody's opinion about the world. It's entertainment, and that's it."

Once viewers accept Doherty's take on the movie, it becomes more palatable. Still, those who expect linear plot lines will wonder why her high school boyfriend, Sheriff Hank Harrison (Ty Olsson), does not put together the clues.

As Doherty worked with these two children, she became close to them.

"How adorable are the two kids?" Doherty asks. "She's 9 years old. She (Calis) is so good, and just the most respectful, sweet kid. My time on the set was spent with them. And when we had our lunch break, she came with me ― the boy, too. They were in my trailer with me. We ate and played games."


Your ThoughtsMore Stories By By Jacqueline Cutler
2 Voice cast
3 Trivia
4 Running Gags
5 External links



[edit] Plot

Skipper as seen in the short.In the story, the youngest penguin on the team, Private, slips out of the zoo on Christmas Eve to find a present for a lonely polar bear named Ted. While roaming the streets of Manhattan, he is captured by an old lady who mistakes him for a chew toy for her vicious dog, Mr Chew. The other three penguins, Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico, rescue Private from the old lady's apartment before it's too late. At the end of the film they invite Ted to their home. But he had already invited guests, resulting in a massive sing-a-long to a parody of Jingle Bells.


[edit] Voice cast
Tom McGrath .... Skipper
Chris Miller .... Kowalski
Christopher Knights .... Private
John DiMaggio .... Rico
Elisa Gabrielli .... Old Lady
Bill Fagerbakke .... Ted the Polar Bear
Sean Bishop .... Doorman, TV Announcer
Mitch Carter .... Additional Voice
Rif Hutton .... Additional Voice
Richard Miro .... Additional Voice
Hope Levy .... Additional Voice
Lynnanne Zager .... Additional Voice
Manel Fuentes .... Skipper (Castilian version) (uncredited)

[edit] Trivia
Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

The old lady who captures Private in this short film also played a cameo part in Madagascar as the lady who beat up Alex the lion (and Melman the giraffe briefly) with her bag in Grand Central Terminal.
This is the first time Rico, one of the penguin characters from Madagascar, speaks English saying "eggnog" and later "kaboom" (since the Hewlett-Packard advert starring the penguins). In the original film, he is mute except for saying the Japanese word "Hai" (meaning "yes") while preparing sushi.
Gloria's name isn't mentioned throughout the entire short film, but Marty, Alex and Melman are.
An Alex the lion toy can be seen in the old lady's room. It is destroyed by Mr. Chew, the old lady's dog.
During the scene where Private gets catapulted from the Christmas tree and crashes in the kitchen, the announcer from the TV says "...and Ryan is down!" This could be a very subtle reference to Private Ryan.
During the sing-along at the end, look closely at the penguins. (They're on the gate that surrounds their habitat.) Look on the right to see one of the penguins dancing with the bowling pin Skipper mistook as Private.
During the fight with the poodle, slow motion is used, as well as Skipper gesturing with his hand, alluding to The Matrix.
The name Rico and Kowalski are used from other movie e.g. Rico (from Starship Troopers) and Kowalski (from Stargate)




[edit] Running Gags
Rico is constantly regurgitating a piece of dynamite out of his stomach and asking Skipper's permission to use it.
Nobody except Skipper knows the "penguin credo" - "never swim alone." � The other penguins also confuse the Walrus credo ("Ha-da-da, ha-da-da doo-da dee-da!") with the other Penguin credo - "never bathe in hot oil and Bisquick."
In an attempt to get a better view of Private while on the streets of New York, Skipper, Rico and Kowalski try to blend in with passing Catholic nuns.
When trying to catch up with Private the penguins attach a grappling hook to a taxi. The licence plate of the taxi reads "I8BIGAPEL" i.e I ate big apple (New York)
During the battle, Skipper uses Rico as a machine gun for cover fire, using swallowed mints as bullets.
In a reference to the first film, Skipper makes several references to curse words, i.e "Hoover Dam" or "Shiitake mushrooms".
It is possible that the name "Mr. Chew" is a reference to a website of pornographic content by the same name.