The Penguins of Madagascar is a spin-off of the Madagascar films. The series follows the adventures of the four penguin protagonists: Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private, who perform various paramilitary-like missions to protect their home in the Central Park Zoo. The penguins often have to deal with problems caused, or made worse, by King Julien XIII (a ring-tailed lemur), Maurice (an aye-aye), and Mort (a mouse lemur).
It is not known how the penguins and lemurs arrived at the zoo after their adventures in both Madagascar films, although the penguins and chimpanzees are seen flying away in a plane at the end of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. During the show's opening title, the penguins are also seen opening a crate that reads "Madagascar" and contains the three lemur characters.
