Skipper is the leader of the penguins in the Madagascar films.
Skipper is a tactical, commanding penguin who directs the team’s plans and missions. His group consists of Kowalski, Rico and Private, and the four birds are introduced as unusually capable residents of the Central Park Zoo. Their military-style language and elaborate escape plans provide a recurring comic subplot.
Skipper’s leadership role continues in the 2014 feature Penguins of Madagascar and in the television series The Penguins of Madagascar. In those productions, the team undertakes missions involving espionage, rescues and elaborate mechanical schemes.
The names are easy to confuse because each penguin has a distinct specialty. Kowalski is generally the team’s strategist and inventor, Rico specializes in retrieving objects, and Private is the youngest and most inexperienced member. Skipper is the commander who gives orders and usually sets the mission in motion.