Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private face off against the malevolent dolphin, Dr. Blowhole, in “The Penguins of Madagascar’s” first Nickelodeon special, “Dr. Blowhole’s Revenge,” premiering Monday, Feb. 15, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT). Neil Patrick Harris (“How I Met Your Mother”) guest stars in the half-hour special as the penguins’ long-time nemesis out for revenge and to finally conquer the world. The DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. series, which regularly airs Saturdays at 10:00 a.m. (ET/PT), is currently TV’s number-two animated show with kids 2-11 and with total viewers on basic cable for the past year, behind only “SpongeBob SquarePants.” The show also holds the record as Nickelodeon’s most-watched series premiere in network history with 6.4 million total viewers.
“‘The Penguins of Madagascar’ has been a huge success in transferring from film to television,” said Brown Johnson, President, Animation, Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids and Family Group. “We’re thrilled to give fans this fantastic TV special featuring the multi-talented Neil Patrick Harris as a hilariously disgruntled dolphin.”
In “Dr. Blowhole’s Revenge,” Dr. Blowhole, tired of the penguins foiling his plans to rule land and sea, has returned to annihilate the band of brothers so he may take over the world once and for all. The first step in his plan is to kidnap King Julien, who Dr. Blowhole mistakenly thinks is Skipper’s best friend. The penguins set off to rescue their annoying lemur neighbor, only to find they have waddled right into a shocking double-cross. Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private must escape the trap and save the planet before Dr. Blowhole succeeds in flooding the Earth’s surface in an effort to wipe out the existence of all land mammals.
From Feb. 8 through Feb. 15, leading up to the “Dr. Blowhole’s Revenge” on-air premiere, Nick.com will launch “The Penguins of Madagascar The Rise of Blowhole” a convergent gaming event mirroring the on-air episode themes where fans can go on four missions with the daredevil Penguin crew as they battle their long-time nemesis, Dr. Blowhole. Fans who tune in to “Dr. Blowhole’s Revenge” on Nickelodeon will get a special code that unlocks the fourth and final gaming mission: “The Zoo Is Not Enough.”
The series follows the exploits of the beloved penguin brothers from DreamWorks Animation’s hit feature films Madagascar ($532 million worldwide gross) and Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa (nearly $579 million worldwide). Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private are a group of penguins who believe they are an elite strike force with top-tier commando skills that is headquartered at New York City’s Central Park Zoo. Their orderly world is disrupted by the arrival of the lemurs, who are led by the imperially deluded King Julien.
Andy Richter and Tom McGrath (co-created the penguin characters and directed both “Madagascar” films) reprise their roles as Mort and Skipper from the feature films. Nicole Sullivan (“Rita Rocks”) voices the role of Marlene the otter, Jeff Bennett (Enchanted) voices Kowalski, James Patrick Stuart (“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”) voices Private, John DiMaggio (“Futurama”) voices Rico and Danny Jacobs (“Futurama”) stars as Julien, King of the Lemurs. “The Penguins of Madagascar” is executive produced by Mark McCorkle and Bob Schooley, (Disney’s “Kim Possible” and Hercules, Sky High) and is produced at the Nickelodeon Animation Studios in Burbank, Calif.
