Benedict Cumberbatch and John Malkovich Really Commited Themselves to Their ‘Penguins of Madagascar’ Roles

Penguins of Madagascar Mockumentary
Skipper is the Penguins’ fearless leader in ‘The Penguins of Madagascar’ (Photo Credit: DreamWorks Animation)

DreamWorks Animation and 20th Century Fox have put together a special ‘mockumentary’ for the animated penguin-filled comedy The Penguins of Madagascar directed by Simon Smith and Eric Darnell. The behind-the-scenes video features Benedict Cumberbatch discussing his process of getting into his animated character and Ken Jeong talking about actually creating a baby seal costume so he could literally get inside his character.

And apparently, John Malkovich went to great lengths to play an octopus while Tom McGrath was so into Penguins that he never broke character over the entire lengthy shoot.

The Penguins of Madagascar opens in theaters on November 26, 2014.

The Plot: Super spy teams aren’t born…they’re hatched. Discover the secrets of the greatest and most hilarious covert birds in the global espionage biz: Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private. These elitists of the elite are joining forces with a chic undercover organization, The North Wind. Led by handsome and husky Agent Classified (we could tell you his name, but then…you know), voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch. Together, they must stop the villainous Dr. Octavius Brine, voiced by John Malkovich, from destroying the world as we know it.