History Analysis / ThePenguinsOfMadagascar

* Just like Rico above, it's possible that Kowalski may be displaying symptoms of high functioning autism/Asperger Syndrome (I write as a person with high functioning autism or Asperger Syndrome myself). A stereotypical portrayal of people with Asperger's is that they may be savants in their chosen field. Diagnosis as an Autistic doesn't demand constant nurse-maiding. Indeed, some on the Autistic Spectrum have genius-level IQs. Now, let's look at symptoms of AS from TV Tropes' Useful Notes page and look at how they apply to Kowalski:

Boy is Private adorably naive for somebody who's spent all their life training to be a Penguin Commando. Unlike Rico or Kowalski he's got no obvious social impairments; he wants to see the good in everybody. He seems posessed of average intelligence, and his main character flaw is that he has some trust issues - he trusts just about everybody, sometimes to the point of mild absurdity.

Rico also has a very specialised area of interest - high explosives. He's very imaginative in the way he uses them, and skilled as well. He doesn't blow things up to hurt people - he blows things up to see them blow up. Skipper shows great concern that Rico could as easily hurt himself as other people. When he's suggested to have poor hygiene control, and shown eating rotting food and stuffing himself with candy until he's ill, it becomes clear that Rico doesn't just need to be kept under control; he needs somebody who will 'take care' of him, because he can't really take care of himself - why, in Herring Impaired he fires himself out of a torpedo cannon for fish.

Then there's his 'rampages'. You ''can'' have more than one mental disorder at a time. It's worth noting that despite his regular requests for "Ka-Boom?", when turned down by Skipper, Rico usually obeys, and he is usually in command of his own thoughts and actions. It is clarified in "Private And The Winky Factory" that Rico doesn't hear voices ("Rico don't talk to imaginary candy-wrapper people!"), which rules out schizophrenia; he ''probably'' suffers from Psychosis, with his episodes brought on by emotional stress. One time this is seen is in "Kaboom And Kabust", in which he is ''encouraged'' by King Julien to behave badly. Rico is pushed to choose between his family or his new friend, and Julien even describes himself as Rico's 'enabler'.

While Skipper is certainly suspicion of bad things happening, and has trust issues, his fears have a basis in previous experience, and his confident leadership of the other penguins as he trains them to prepare for the worst-case scenario - which often happens.

You're probably going to feel great relief when I say that Skipper's terminology is ''way'' off in this case. Rico is not a Psychopath, at least not in psychiatric terms. Psychopaths, like sociopaths, have no empathy, no shame, no emotional ties, and no concern for any needs other than their own. Rico has shown all of these things on a regular basis. You can't factor his regurgitation skills into the diagnosis; it's a physical ability, and Rico up-chucks a wide range of things, not just explosives.

Rather than psychopathy, Rico shows more signs of Autism and Downs Syndrome. These are not just the expected low intelligence and poor verbal skills, be also his poor social skills and complete lack of impulse control. Even some of his physical features are linked to Downs Syndrome - squat stature, obesity, and a flatter face. In the episode "Needle Point", he uses the Speak-N-Spell to talk to humans to say some things. Autistic people who are non-verbal or partially verbal (like Rico) tend to use text-to-speech programs or "Let Me Talk" apps to communicate with others in a similar way.

Rico also has a very specialised area of interest - high explosives. He's very imaginative in the way he uses them, and skilled as well. He doesn't blow things up to hurt people - he blows things up to see them blow up. Skipper shows great concern that Rico could as easily hurt himself as other people. When he's suggested to have poor hygiene control, and shown eating rotting food and stuffing himself with candy until he's ill, it becomes clear that Rico doesn't just need to be kept under control; he needs somebody who will 'take care' of him, because he can't really take care of himself.

* Just like Rico above, it's possible that Kowalski may be displaying symptoms of high functioning autism or Asperger Syndrome ( I am writing this as a person with high functioning autism or Asperger Syndrome myself ). Now, I am not saying that all people on autism spectrum are geniuses, there are people on autism spectrum whose problems are so severe they need assistance of others, but yes, many people with autism can live fulfilling, normal lives and even have "Savant Syndrome" ( when an autistic person is so interested in something that they develop extreme knowledge of that hobby ) - the thing that makes people assume that autistics are geniuses, but some people with autism can actually have genius IQ. Now, let's look at symptoms of AS from TV Tropes' Useful Notes page and look at how they apply to Kowalski:

** '''Motion and Motor Control''': While this one's not that obvious, he is Skipper's [[TheLancer second-in-command]] and yet he is, again, potrayed as second worst physically and even kind of clumsy.
** Despite his problems when it comes to relating to other people, Kowalski is surprisingly sensitive and in touch with his emotions, which is another trait a person with AS may have.
** He is sometimes shown talking to himself while thinking. While not a huge proof, some people with ASD are prone to talking to themselves.

** Also, while this is not a proof and you shouldn't take this at face value AT ALL, he does show two stereotypical traits associated with people with Asperger Syndrome - InsufferableGenius and NoSenseOfHumour. However, as for the latter, he is sometimes shown telling jokes. Sometimes they fall flat, sometimes they actually make his teammates laugh. While the InsufferableGenius thing is simply caused by him being an overly confident person ( people with ASD CAN be overly confident - after all, they are normal, flawed humans, like everyone else - but it's not a reason to dismiss other autistic people as egotistical ), most Aspies actually have sense of humor, through it may differ from others.
** While Kowalski is capable of lying, he is pretty honest most of the time. In fact, in one episode where he stole Mort's game, he tried to hide it from Private, only for him to get so frustrated that he just admitted to Private what he was hiding. And in another episode, he randomly revealed that he is irritated by the fact that Skipper is the leader despite being less intelligent than him after getting randomly worked up while explaining why Maurice may be plotting to overthrow Julien, which would be a pretty unpleasant surprise in real life, especially if that person was taught to be polite and keep certain throughts to themselves.

Ultimately, while the two mental illnesses have their unpleasant similarities, Kowalski shows none of the shamelessness, violence and impulsiveness of a sociopath, and sometimes even suffers from his illness, while the sociopath causes suffering while lacking the cognitive abilities to suffer emotionally themselves.

! Rico, the Psychopath?

! Kowalski, the Narcissist?

Narcissism comes on its own sliding scale of severity, and unlike sociopaths, a narcissist has a lot more to them than just their illness. If you have a little vanity for dessert, the Narcissist has it for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and they put themselves above others, but none of their criteria demands they be shameless, dishonest, or treacherous. Some Narcissists value friendship highly - what better way to show you're the best, than making friends with great people and being the best at being their friend?

Additionally, you're not the best if you cheat and lie your way to success. Narcissists may well cheat and lie but then find their success is unsatisfying. Kowalski will do almost anything to be recognised as the best. But when he steals Mort's game chip to create his mind-reading device, the mind-reading device works perfectly, telling him how ashamed the others are of him. Despite being selfish and self-centered throughout the episode, their honest opinions matter much more to Kowalski than the invention, and he feels shame.

Kowalski is constantly inventing. Always showing off his latest inventions, his singing, his dance moves, his vocabulary. It's clear he believes he's the smartest, the best looking, the most skilled. The problem is that he also clearly feels a need to be even better than the best, even though he knows he's the best, such as in 'Brain Drain'. He's not perfect, of course. And when it shows that he's not... well, it hits pretty hard.

Most Narcissists have a fragile, easily bruised ego - it's what sets them apart from sociopaths, who can never be convinced of failure, even when it is irrational to deny it. When Kowalski fails, usually in the form of his inventions going wrong, he is utterly shattered. Sometimes it takes only the slightest imperfection to convince him of failure, with him considering giving up completely until his friends convince him otherwise.

If you plan to complain about the terminology, start with the fact that narcissism doesn't make you a bad guy. If you have a little vanity for dessert, the Narcissist has it for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but none of the criteria of being so requires them to be cruel, dishonest, or treacherous. Plenty of Narcissists value friendship highly - what better way to show you're the best, than making friends with great people and being the best at being their friend?

Above all the other penguins, Kowalski visibly preens whenever he's showing off, and more-so when he's right. Skipper even has a jar for pennies. In "It's About Time", three versions of Kowalski agree that they are really good looking. When Skipper is 'eating' Rico's brain, Kowalski is initially more offended himself, than concerned for Rico.

Just as importantly, you're not the best if you cheat and lie your way to success, and most Narcissists are aware of this. Kowalski will do almost anything to be recognised as the best. But it's just as much to gain the admiration of his comrades as for himself. When he steals Mort's game ship to create his mind-reading device, the mind-reading device works perfectly, telling him how ashamed the others are. Despite being selfish and self-centered throughout the episode, their honest opinions matter so much than this object.

Kowalski is constantly inventing. Always showing off his latest inventions, his singing, his dance moves, his vocabulary. It's clear he believes he's the smartest, the best looking, the most skilled. The problem is that he also clearly feels a need to be even better than the best, even though he knows he's the best, such as in 'Brain Drain'. He's not perfect, of course. And when it happens that he's not... well, it hits hard.

Many Narcissists have low confidence deep down. When things go wrong for the other penguins, they are disappointed, but continue. Whenever Kowalski feels he's not the best - most often an experiment going wrong - he is visibly shattered, sometimes to the point of giving up completely until convinced otherwise.

If you plan to complain about the terminology, start with the fact that narcissism doesn't make you a bad guy. If you have a little vanity for dessert, the Narcissist has it for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but none of the criteria of being so requires them to be cruel, dishonest, or treacherous. And many narcissists have pretty low confidence.

Kowalski is constantly inventing. Always showing off his latest inventions, his singing, his dance moves. It's clear he believes he's the smartest, the best looking, the most skilled. The problem is that he also clearly feels a need to be even better than the best, such as in 'Brain Drain'. He's not perfect, of course. And when it happens that he's not... well, it hits hard.

Rather than psychopathy, Rico shows more signs of Autism and Downs Syndrome. These are not just the expected low intelligence and poor verbal skills, be also his poor social skills and complete lack of impulse control. Even some of his physical features are linked to Downs Syndrome - squat stature, obesity, and a flatter face. In the episode "Needle Point", he uses the communicator penguins use to talk to humans to say some things. Autistic people who are non-verbal or partially verbal ( like Rico ) tend to use text-to-speech programs or "Let Me Talk" apps to communicate with others in a similar way.

Rico doesn't seem to make new friends as easily as the other penguins - his family is usually his social circle, and when he extends his social circle in "Stop Bugging Me", it is towards the friendly, easy-going Broaches who don't judge him on his intelligence or poor hygiene habits. And Rico passes no judgement on their habits either. Additionally, Rico seems fairly aware that Miss Perky is a lifeless doll and is offended when Marlene thinks she's just a toy. He's seen long rows of toys, adverts, and had her chip implanted. But he still prefers her to the smitten, slightly scary Shelley, whom he barely knows. It takes Marlene gently convincing him that a real person is better than a lifeless doll - which actually suggests he trusts Marlene more than Shelley.

Rico also has a very specialised area of interest - high explosives. He's very imaginative in the way he uses them, and skilled as well. He doesn't blow things up to hurt people - he blows things up to see them blow up, since we see him blowing things up randomly. Skipper shows concern that Rico could as easily hurt himself as other people, When he's suggested to have poor hygiene control, and shown eating rotting food and stuffing himself with candy until he's ill, it becomes clear that Rico doesn't just need to be kept under control; he needs somebody who will 'take care' of him, because he can't really take care of himself.

** '''Logical Thinking''': This is obvious - Kowalski is the most logical of the entire team and always thinks before he acts. However, this sometimes causes problems. In "The Hidden", he is so concentrated on thinking logically that he doesn't know how to react to things on instinct. He learns from this, however, but he is still the most logical of the group. He also doesn't understand why his teammates would choose the less logical path.

You're probably going to feel great relief when I say that Skipper's terminology is ''way'' off in this case. Rico is not a Psychopath, at least not in psychiatric terms. Psychopaths, like sociopaths, have no empathy, no shame, no emotional ties, and no concern for any needs other than their own. While Rico can be disobedient, there is no malice present. You can't factor his regurgitation skills into the diagnosis; it's a physical ability, and Rico can up-chuck almost anything asked of him perfectly safely, explosive or not.

Like it or not, Rico's showing a bunch of the symptoms of Autism and Downs Syndrome - not just low intelligence and poor verbal skills, but also lacking social skills and impulse control. Some of the features that make him stand out from the other penguins - squat stature, obesity, and flatter face - are also present in people with Downs Syndrome. In the episode "Needle Point", he uses the communicator penguins use to talk to humans to say some things. Autistic people who are non-verbal or partially verbal ( like Rico ) tend to use text-to-speech programs or "Let Me Talk" apps to communicate with others in a similar way Rico doesn't seem to make new friends as easily as the other penguins - his family is usually his social circle, and when he extends his social circle in "Stop Bugging Me", it is towards the friendly, easy-going Broaches who don't judge him on his intelligence or poor hygiene habits. This is all complicated by his personal area of interest - high explosives. He doesn't blow things up to hurt people - he blows things up to see them blow up. When Skipper shows concern that Rico could as easily hurt himself as other people, it becomes clear that Rico doesn't just need to be controlled; he often needs people to ''take care'' of him, because he's not always capable of taking care of himself.

Then there's his 'rampages'. You ''can'' have more than one mental disorder at a time, remember? It's worth noting that despite his regular requests for "Ka-Boom?", when turned down by Skipper, Rico usually obeys, and he is usually in command of his own thoughts and actions. It is clarified in "Private And The Winky Factory" that Rico doesn't usually hear voices ("Rico don't talk to imaginary candy-wrapper people!"), which rules out schizophrenia; he ''probably'' suffers from Psychosis, with his episodes brought on by emotional stress, as seen in "Kaboom And Kabust", in which he is ''encouraged'' by King Julien to behave badly. Rico is pushed to choose between his family or his new friend, and Julien even describes himself as Rico's 'enabler'..

Like it or not, Rico's showing a bunch of the symptoms of Autism and Downs Syndrome - not just low intelligence and poor verbal skills, but also lacking social skills and impulse control. Some of the features that make him stand out from the other penguins - squat stature, obesity, and flatter face - are also present in people with Downs Syndrome. Rico doesn't seem to make new friends as easily as the other penguins - his family is usually his social circle, and when he extends his social circle in "Stop Bugging Me", it is towards the friendly, easy-going Broaches who don't judge him on his intelligence or poor hygiene habits. This is all complicated by his personal area of interest - high explosives. He doesn't blow things up to hurt people - he blows things up to see them blow up. When Skipper shows concern that Rico could as easily hurt himself as other people, it becomes clear that Rico doesn't just need to be controlled; he often needs people to ''take care'' of him, because he's not always capable of taking care of himself.

Then there's his 'rampages'. You ''can'' have more than one mental disorder at a time, remember? It's worth noting that despite his regular requests for "Ka-Boom?", when turned down by Skipper, Rico usually obeys, and he is usually in command of his own thoughts and actions. It is clarified in "Private And The Winky Factory" that Rico doesn't usually hear voices ("Rico don't talk to imaginary candy-wrapper people!"), which rules out schizophrenia; he ''probably'' suffers from Psychosis, with his episodes brought on by emotional stress, as seen in "Kaboom And Kabust", in which he is ''encouraged'' by King Julien to behave badly. Rico is pushed to choose between his family or his new friend, and Julien even describes himself as Rico's 'enabler'.

You're probably going to feel great relief when I say that Skipper's terminology is way off. Rico is not a Psychopath, at least not by psychiatric terms. Psychopaths, like sociopaths, have no empathy, no emotional ties, and no concern for any needs other than their own. While Rico can be disobedient, there is no malice present. You can't factor his regurgitation skills into the diagnosis; it's a physical ability, and Rico can up-chuck almost anything asked of him perfectly safely.

Like it or not, Rico's showing a bunch of the symptoms of Autism - not just low intelligence and poor verbal skills, but also lacking social skills and impulse control. Rico doesn't seem to make new friends as easily as the other penguins - his family is usually his social circle. This is all complicated by his personal area of interest - high explosives. He doesn't blow things up to hurt people - he blows things up to see them blow up. When Skipper shows concern that Rico could as easily hurt himself as other people, it becomes clear that Rico doesn't just need to be controlled; he often needs people to ''take care'' of him, because he's not always capable of taking care of himself.

Then there's his 'rampages'. You ''can'' have more than one mental disorder at a time, remember? It's worth noting that despite his regular requests for "Ka-Boom?", Rico is usually in command of his own thoughts and actions. It is clarified in "Private And The Winky Factory" that Rico doesn't usually hear voices ("Rico don't talk to imaginary candy-wrapper people!"), which rules out schizophrenia; he ''probably'' suffers from Psychosis, with his episodes brought on by emotional stress.

** '''Narrowly Defined Interests''': [[ForScience SCIENCE!]] Kowalski loves to experiment, invent and talk about science, even if the person listening to him clearly isn't interested or doesn't know what he is talking about. This is where the Savant syndrome comes in - Kowalski is clearly the most intelligent one of the group when it comes to logical thinking, math and science, even if he is the second least physically capable member after Private and is quite socially awkward. While it's partly because he is very intelligent, Kowalski focuses so much of his free time ( and sometimes even work time, considering that he IS the team's strategist and analyst ) on science that he tends to forget to focus on anything else, gaining extensive knowledge of science and having only handful on friends, he is always happy to share his discoveries with his teammates, while forgetting that they aren't interested, so he tends to get angry if they dismiss him.

** While Kowalski is capable of lying, he is pretty honest most of the time. In fact, in one episode where he stole Mort's game, he tried to hide it from Private, only for him to get so frustrated that he just admitted to Private what he was hiding.

** '''Logical Thinking''': This is obvious - Kowalski is the most logical of the entire team and always thinks before he acts. However, this sometimes causes problems. In "The Hidden", he is so concentrated on thinking logically that he doesn't know how to react to things on instinct. He learns from this, however, but he is still the most logical of the group.
** '''Literal Thinking''': This shows up less often, but it appears from time to time. For another example from "The Hidden", there's this quote from Kowalski: "Time to listen to that gut. [[LiteralMinded Even though technically a gut cannot vocalize]]." He also took the phrase "[[NeverSayDie sleeps with the fishes]]" seriously, noting that fish technically do not sleep, before realizing what the phrase actually meant.
** '''Narrowly Defined Interests''': [[ForScience SCIENCE!]] Kowalski loves to experiment, invent and talk about science, even if the person listening to him clearly isn't interested or doesn't know what he is talking about. This is where the Savant syndrome comes in - Kowalski is clearly the most intelligent one of the group when it comes to logical thinking, math and science, even if he is the second least physically capable member after Private and is quite socially awkward.
** '''Speech Issues''': While he is able to speak normally and even in a more sophisticated, intelligent manner than other penguins, he is very prone to SesquipedalianLoquaciousness.

** He is sometimes shown talking to himself while thinking.

** Also, while this is not a proof and you shouldn't take this at face value AT ALL, he does show two stereotypical traits associated with people with Asperger Syndrome - InsufferableGenius and NoSenseOfHumour.
* Julien basically embodies the SmallNameBigEgo trope, making him quite the easy candidate for Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

* Just like Rico above, it's possible that Kowalski may be displaying symptoms of high functioning autism or Asperger Syndrome ( I am writing this as a person with high functioning autism or Asperger Syndrome myself ). Now, I am not saying that all people on autism spectrum are geniuses, there are people on autism spectrum whose problems are so severe they need assistance of others, but yes, many people with autism can live fulfilling, normal lives and even have "Savant Syndrome" ( when an autistic person is so interested in something that they develop extreme knowledge of that hobby ) - the thing that makes people assume that autistics are geniuses. Now, let's look at symptoms of AS from TV Tropes' Useful Notes page and look at how they apply to Kowalski:

** '''Literal Thinking''': This shows up less often, but it appears from time to time. For another example from "The Hidden", there's this quote from Kowalski: "Time to listen to that gut. [[LiteralMinded Even though technically a gut cannot vocalize]]."

** '''Speech Issues''': While he is able to speak normally and even in a more sophisticated, intelligent manner than other penguins, he is very prone to SesquipedalianLoquaciousness

** Also, while this is not a proof and you shouldn't take this at face value AT ALL, he does show two stereotypical traits associated with people with Asperger Syndrome - InsufferableGenius and NoSenseOfHumour.

! Private, the Sane Man?

You're probably going to feel great relief when I say that Skipper's terminology is way off. Rico is not a Psychopath, at least not by psychiatric terms. Psychopaths, like sociopaths, have no empathy, no emotional ties, no concern for any needs other than their own, and while Rico can be disobedient, there is no malice present; he doesn't disobey with the knowledge that another person will be hurt. You can't factor his regurgitation skills into the diagnosis; it's a physical ability, and Rico can up-chuck almost anything asked of him perfectly safely.

Like it or not, Rico's showing a bunch of the symptoms of Autism - the inevitable low intelligence and poor verbal skills, but also the poor social skills and shaky impulse control. Rico doesn't seem to make new friends as easily as the other penguins - his family is usually his social circle. This is all complicated by his personal area of interest - high explosives. He doesn't blow things up to hurt people - he blows things up to see them blow up. When Skipper shows concern that Rico could as easily hurt himself as other people, it becomes clear that Rico doesn't need somebody to control him; he often needs people to ''take care'' of him, because he's not always capable of taking care of himself.