OK, just to clarify, first of all, this is not a very good series and I know it. The animation's not great, the stories and jokes are predictable and the penguins are not as psychotic as in the film.
That's not to say that I don't like it. It's entertaining, the voice acting is solid, the animation, while choppy, is still expressive, and the penguins still get to do whatever the hell they want without any care for discretion, though you wonder if the zoo ought to get more discipline if its animals are running about the city all the time and visiting each other's cages. Artifact Title aside, this is definitely something of an alternate continuity. The Zoosters are still missing, so it gets to focus on the Ensemble Darkhorse s of the show.
And here's a reason why I like the show, and I don't think I realized this until now. The penguins are described on their collective page as Jerkasses. Here, they're more Jerks with Hearts of Gold. They actually get to show a softer side, moments where they care, actually care about others and each other. Skipper's always there for his crew when he needs them, and when he isn't he does everything in his power to make sure he is keeping his men in line, Kowalski feels terribly lost without him, Private is one they have an occasional Team Dad/ Big Brother Instinct towards... even Rico has been shown that side of him! And one other good thing about this is that I get to know each of them individually, and see them really interact. Maybe I was younger and didn't know any better when I saw the first film but I could barely tell them apart.
The characters being more exaggerated than they are... and I think that's fine. To be honest, the comedy is pretty trial and error, so the characters can be exaggerated as long as it works as a gag. I find Kowalski's egomania, while sometimes annoying, to be hugely entertaining. He's not as annoying as Julien, but even he has an alleged softer side.
I also find it hilarious how everyone is just rampantly gay with everyone; with the exception of Kowalski's crush on Doris, if they declare or express their love for each other, they're like "Yeah, we're cool with that."
All in all, a surprisingly entertaining series, if hugely flawed. I ignored this one back in '08 and I didn't know what I was missing.
My Guilty Pleasure
OK, just to clarify, first of all, this is not a very good series and I know it. The animation's not great, the stories and jokes are predictable and the penguins are not as psychotic as in the film. That's not to say that I don't like it. It's entertaining, the voice acting is solid, the animation, while choppy, is still expressive, and the penguins still get to do whatever the hell they want without any care for discretion, though you wonder if the zoo ought to get more discipline if its animals are running about the city all the time and visiting each other's cages. Artifact Title aside, this is definitely something of an alternate continuity. The Zoosters are still missing, so it gets to focus on the Ensemble Darkhorse s of the show. And here's a reason why I like the show, and I don't think I realized this until now. The penguins are described on their collective page as Jerkasses. Here, they're more Jerks with Hearts of Gold. They actually get to show a softer side, moments where they care, actually care about others and each other. Skipper's always there for his crew when he needs them, and when he isn't he does everything in his power to make sure he is keeping his men in line, Kowalski feels terribly lost without him, Private is one they have an occasional Team Dad/ Big Brother Instinct towards... even Rico has been shown that side of him! And one other good thing about this is that I get to know each of them individually, and see them really interact. Maybe I was younger and didn't know any better when I saw the first film but I could barely tell them apart. The characters being more exaggerated than they are... and I think that's fine. To be honest, the comedy is pretty trial and error, so the characters can be exaggerated as long as it works as a gag. I find Kowalski's egomania, while sometimes annoying, to be hugely entertaining. He's not as annoying as Julien, but even he has an alleged softer side. I also find it hilarious how everyone is just rampantly gay with everyone; with the exception of Kowalski's crush on Doris, if they declare or express their love for each other, they're like "Yeah, we're cool with that."
All in all, a surprisingly entertaining series, if hugely flawed. I ignored this one back in '08 and I didn't know what I was missing.