Smallscreen News

NPH's Dr. Blowhole back on Nick's Penguins of Madagascar, “Blowhole Strikes Back

By April MacIntyre Sep 8, 2011, 14:41 GMT

07/24/2011 - Neil Patrick Harris - "The Smurfs" World Premiere - Arrivals - Ziegfeld Theatre - New York City, NY, USA © Janet Mayer / PR Photos

Neil Patrick Harris returns as the title characters’ sinister nemesis, Dr. Blowhole, in Nickelodeon’s brand-new Penguins of Madagascar special, “Blowhole Strikes Back,” premiering Friday, Sept. 9, at 8:00 p.m. (ET/PT). 

The hour-long special features Harris performing in four original musical numbers, two of which he is singing alongside The Penguins of Madagascar characters. 

The multi-Emmy winning series ranks as one of the top five animated series on all TV with kids 2-11.*

“Our viewers loved Dr. Blowhole in the first special, so we were excited to bring the character back and work with the very talented Neil Patrick Harris again,” said Brown Johnson, President, Animation, Nickelodeon.  “In this second special, he has expanded his role with unforgettable vocal performances, including a stand-out power ballad.”

In the special, Skipper arrives in Shanghai on a super secret solo mission that leads him waddling right into a Dr. Blowhole trap.  Without his men, who are back at the zoo, he is helpless and his memory gets wiped away by Blowhole’s “Mind-Jacker.”  Blowhole’s despicable plan uses Skipper’s memories to locate Kowalski, Private and Rico, blast them with his “Diabologizer,” and render them evil monsters who destroy their headquarters.  The  lyrics from the special—which includes six original songs—were written by series executive producers Robert Schooley and Mark McCorkle and composed by Adam Berry, who recently won a Daytime Emmy Award for his work on the series.

BONUS

Leading up to the premiere, Nick.com will help get fans ready for Dr. Blowhole’s return with training games and top secret videos.

Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private are a group of penguins who believe they are an elite strike force with top-tier commando skills that is headquartered at New York City’s Central Park Zoo. Their orderly world is disrupted by the arrival of the lemurs, who are led by the imperially deluded King Julien.

On September 1, fans can play “Menace of the Mind-Jacker,” a brand-new puzzle game based on the special, where Dr. Blowhole is stealing Skipper's memories and players must match memory bubbles in order to fill Dr. Blowhole's memory trap. Additionally, Nick.com and Nick’s social media channels will roll out songs from the episode and there will be a dedicated Penguins category on Nick’s video-on-demand. 

Following the premiere, Nickelodeon will air an encore of the special on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 10:00 a.m. (ET/PT).

Harris currently stars as Barney Stinson in the hit series, How I Met Your Mother and has performed in both musical and dramatic roles on several Broadway productions, including the musical revival of Assassins as well as Cabaret, Proof and Sweeney Todd.  Harris will be receiving a star this year on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Andy Richter (Late Night with Conan O’ Brien) and Tom McGrath (co-creator of the penguin characters and director of both Madagascar films) reprise their roles as Mort and Skipper from the feature films.  Nicole Sullivan (Rita Rocks) voices the role of Marlene the otter, Jeff Bennett (Enchanted) voices Kowalski, James Patrick Stuart (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation) voices Private, John DiMaggio (Futurama) voices Rico and Danny Jacobs (Futurama) stars as Julien, King of the Lemurs.