Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

SnoopyStyle It's Christmas Eve. Private is concerned about Ted the Polar Bear being sad. He disobeys orders and goes out to get a gift for him. Skipper leads the squad to find him. A mean rich old lady mistakes Private for a toy and buys him for her dog Mr. Chew. Mr. Chew turns out to be a vicious dog and the squad arrives just in time.The Penguins have always been my favorite characters of the Madagascar franchise. This short has a good density of jokes. The gang is fun. There is good hijinx. The main leads of Madagascar aren't really in this and that is perfectly fine. It's nice that Private is looking out for others and the gang looks out for each other.

Random Task Note: This was originally written when "Christmas Caper" was released with "Curse of the Were-Rabbit" in 2005 before there was a page for this short film. Please forgive the dated references.Matched with "Curse of the Were-Rabbit" is a CGI animated short, "A Christmas Caper" staring the Penguins of this summer's "Madagascar". This is about a group of four militant penguins who live in the Bronx Zoo. It's Christmas Eve, and the youngest penguin, Private (Christopher Knights), feels bad for the zoo's resident polar bear who is alone. Private sets out to find him a present. When the rest of the group realizes that Private has gone missing, they set out to bring him back. Ultimately, they must rescue their junior member from an elderly Manhattan resident and her bloodthirsty miniature poodle.There were moments of humor, but no tone seemed to hold the entire production together. The scene on the street with the souvenir vendor was easily the funniest. There the penguins "blend in" with a group of nuns and inexplicably regurgitate dynamite. However, the whole affair felt misplaced as a prelude to the kind of story to be told in "Wallace and Gromit". Although the computer animation is eye-poppingly good, the penguins move frenetically and spend most of their time shouting at each other. It will probably satisfy any 5-year-old on a sugar rush, but wild behavior by itself simply doesn't amount to humor.The story resolves with a nod to friendship over presents, but it seems less genuine when the entire cast of "Madagascar" characters is suddenly there to sing a goodbye song. How coincidental that the DVD release happens to be only a month away. The Christmas theme also seems aimed to prime kids for the shopping season. Aside from the fact that penguins fit well in snow and ice, couldn't this have been set during some other time of year, perhaps say, Halloween?If you're late for "Wallace and Gromit", don't sweat it. This will pad the start time, so you can grab a snack for the real show.3 out of 10 for "A Christmas Caper"

Clayton Bolger As many a movie-goer has said...the penguins were the best thing in Madagascar. There seems to be an alarming trend in animated films where secondary characters outshine the main cast, eg: Scrat from the Ice Age films. What more could you ask of the penguins? Great characters, wonderful quotes, hilarious visual antics and fantastic animation. I was so excited the DVD contained this wonderful Christmas short, and I constantly watch it in favour of Madagascar...although sometimes I just watch the penguin bits.I'll leave you all with some of my favourite penguin lines:"Hoover Dam! We're still in New York! Abort! Dive! Dive! Dive!" "Shittake mushrooms! No more cute and cuddly!" "Never bathe in hot oil and Bisquick?" "Gotcha! Just kiddin' doll, the people are fine. They're on the slow boat ride to China." "This is all some kind of whacked-out conspiracy. We're going to the wide-open spaces of Antarctica." "Eggnog at 2100 hours, writing our names in the snow at 2105."

DanB-4 THe Penguin Christmas Caper is a blisteringly funny and fast paced little short that is far funnier that the film from which it spun.Private, the least insane of the gang of Madagascar Penguins, decides to venture out into the streets of New York to buy a present for the lonely Polar Bear, who is all alone on Christmas. He is mistaken for a chew toy, and brought home by an old lady to be a present for her vicious, salivating but tiny dog. THe rest of the crew embark on a rescue mission.Skipper barks orders, Kowlaski has the logistics and Rico, he just wants to blow something up. The jokes are in every line, and every corner of every frame of this short. Its ten minutes well spent. ***1/2 out of ****.