From the wildly popular "Madagascar" series, DreamWorks released the spin-off title "Penguins of Madagascar" on Wednesday in time for the holiday weekend, and reviews are surprisingly positive.

The latest picture is directed by Eric Darnell, who is responsible for the three previous Madagascar features, and Simon J. Smith of "Bee Movie" and "Far Far Away Idol." This penguin sequel doesn't feature any of the other crossover characters in this new adventure, apart from the main Arctic birds, whose voice actors have returned to reprise the roles.

The film begins by telling the tale of how the penguins became a team and ended up at the New York City Zoo, where audiences first met them along with all the other animals back in 2005.

The original actors who tackled the four flightless birds are back: Skipper, voiced by Tim McGrath, was the leader, in charge of Kowalski, Rico and Private, voiced by Chris Miller, Conrad Vernon and Christopher Knights respectively.

Besides the main four characters, several new friends join the penguins on their mission, with some big-name actors fleshing out their voices. An animal espionage group known as The North Wind, much like the penguins, joins them. They meet a wolf who goes by "Classified," played by Benedict Cumberbatch, who leads his own team of a polar bear named Corporal, voiced by Peter Stormare, an owl named Eve, played by Annet Mahendru, and Short Fuse, a seal played by "The Hangover's" Ken Jeong.

The animated family film is "comedic gold" according to Liberty Voice reviewer Michael Smith.

"The jokes and gags come at a rapid machine gun pace," he explained. "There are a plethora of puns, mainly in terms of names of things and people some fall flatter than others but that is okay, if one does not hit the funny bone just right, the joke right behind that one will. This blend of machine gun pace and shotgun delivery means that there are parts in the film that should please most of the audience."

Check out the trailer below:

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