Good Lord, Another 'Madagascar' Movie: Penguin Spin-Off Planned With 'Megamind' Writers

Madagascar Penguins.jpg" style="margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; float: left; width: 300px; height: 202px; " />If the schedule of animated feature film releases for Dreamworks has taught us anything, it's that Dreamworks loves sequels. Currently, sequels are planned for "How to Train Your Dragon," "Madagascar," and "Kung Fu Panda," with the "Shrek" spin-off "Puss In Boots" also on the list.

Now it looks like we can add another one to the list, as Dreamworks has begun development on a  "Madagascar" spin-off. The movie will feature the continued adventures of the fan-favorite penguins Skipper, Kowalski, Private and Rico.

This won't be the first time the penguins have taken the spotlight for themselves: the Nickelodeon TV show "The Penguins of Madagascar" is now in its second season, and was the second-most-watched show on the network behind "SpongeBob SquarePants" among children ages 2-11.

This spin-off is in addition to a planned 2012 release of "Madagascar 3" mind you, so there are actually two "Madagascar" projects on the table. It seems a bit absurd that Dreamworks is willing to wring every last penny out of their material while other studios (such as, oh I dunno, Pixar) go with a new idea for almost every major film and rarely produce sequels (for theatrical release, anyway).

The positive note here is that the writing team behind the excellently-written "Megamind" are on board to write the penguin spin-off, so the movie should be a quality product.