[8] The fourth in the Madagascar film series, it was directed by Eric Darnell[9] and Simon J. Smith from a screenplay by Brandon Sawyer, Michael Colton and John Aboud.

[2] Starring the voices of Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights, Conrad Vernon, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ken Jeong, Annet Mahendru, Peter Stormare and John Malkovich, it takes place directly after the events of Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012),[10] following the adventures of four Adélie penguins as they join forces with the North Wind intelligence agency to stop the Giant Pacific octopus Dave, who seeks revenge on all Adélie penguins across the Earth for being upstaged by capturing them.

[11] In Antarctica, penguin chicks Skipper, Rico, and Kowalski, upon seeing a runaway egg roll away from their colony, rescue it from leopard seals on an abandoned whaling ship and are set adrift on an iceberg.

After being repeatedly passed between zoos and aquariums, each time being upstaged by penguins, a bitter Dave disguised himself as a human scientist named Doctor Octavius Brine to enact his revenge.

Fleeing through Venice while pursued by Dave's henchmen, the penguins are rescued by the North Wind, an inter-species intelligence agency consisting of Eurasian wolf leader whose name is classified (Skipper calls him "Classified"), polar bear muscle Corporal, harp seal demolitionist Short Fuse, and snowy owl intelligence analyst Eva.

[2] Malkovich, who had been offered the role of Dr. Octavius Brine three and a half years before the film's release, told an audience at the July 2014 Comic-Con that he thought that it "was a funny idea" to use his voice for an octopus.

[31] Jeffrey Katzenberg, DreamWorks Animation's CEO, explained that the film, coming from one of DWA's most successful franchises, would have an easier task to stand out around the Thanksgiving holiday season while Home was to try taking advantage of a less competitive spring release window and repeat successful spring launches of some of DWA's original films, such as The Croods and How to Train Your Dragon.

"[6] By the end of 2014, the studio had to take a $57.1 million write-down, primarily related to the performances of Penguins of Madagascar and another DreamWorks Animation film, Mr. Peabody & Sherman.

[11] In the United States and Canada, Penguins of Madagascar was released alongside Horrible Bosses 2, and was projected to $45–47 million from 3,764 theatres over its five-day opening weekend.

[40][41] The film underperformed during its opening weekend, earning $35.4 million and debuting at #2 at the box office behind The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, for which 3D accounted for 24% of its opening-weekend gross.

The site's critical consensus reads, "Penguins of Madagascar is fast and brightly colored enough to entertain small children, but too frantically silly to offer real filmgoing fun for the whole family.

[41] Elizabeth Weitzman of the New York Daily News gave the film three out of five stars, saying "Granted, it's no classic, but a sassy script and good-natured voice work from Benedict Cumberbatch and John Malkovich should keep kids and grownups entertained over the holidays.

"[50] Ben Kenigsberg of The New York Times gave the film a positive review, saying "The lack of originality is offset by sheer silliness, including Classified and Skipper's Abbott and Costello-style argument over whether there's a long I in 'diversion.'

"[51] Bill Zwecker of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three out of four stars, saying "Once again the Madagascar team have come up with a winner – a nice way to kick off the Thanksgiving and holiday filmgoing experience for the whole family.

"[52] Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a negative review, saying "While there are plenty of madcap antics to fill a feature, all that manic energy ultimately proves to be more exhausting than exhilarating.

"[53] Jeff Labrecque of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C−, saying "Penguins of Madagascar aims primarily for the kiddies, racing from one frenetic action sequence to another like some haywire Walter Lantz cartoon.