Penguins of Madagascar

2015 kicks off with a stupendously silly but mostly amusing animated film that is best enjoyed with easy-to-please toddlers chuckling by your side. After stealing the limelight in the Madagascar trilogy, the awesome foursome get their own adventure, complete with globetrotting hijinks, high-flying acrobatics and extravagant escapes. Filled to the brim with physical comedy and written quips (a string of celebrity themed puns are hilarious), this spin off adheres to the franchise's humour-formula of quantity over quality, but is so light in tone it's hard to begrudge it. The eponymous flightless seabirds – Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private – are as intrepid, idiotic and cuddly as ever, but are arguably better suited to stealing scenes at second fiddle rather than leading from the front for a whole movie. There's an underpinning message – don't underestimate the little guy – that permeates throughout the swift runtime, building up to a stock standard finale that skimps on laughs in favour of a moral payoff. Penguins lacks the adorability of Paddington, the exhilaration of Big Hero 6, or the intelligence of either, yet remains a decent option for families looking to waste a couple of hours during the school break.