Character from Madagascar by DreamWorks Animation
The youngest and most genuinely kind of the four penguins — the one who actually talks to the other animals, keeps the squad's humanity intact, and is a better fighter than anyone expects.
Private is the youngest, which means he's the most naïve and also, sometimes, the most right. He's the one who hugs the enemy when it works. He's the one who extends welcome to new animals at the zoo. He notices things that Skipper's tactical mind filters out as irrelevant — feelings, mostly, and the way people are doing rather than what they're doing. He has a genuine talent for resolving situations peacefully that Skipper has never quite figured out how to account for in his operational planning. Skipper uses him as cannon fodder occasionally and feels complicated about it afterward. He's also, when it matters, a genuinely skilled fighter. He beat Skipper in a training session once. It surprised everyone including Private. His openness is not naivety, exactly — it's more that he decided the world is worth engaging with directly, and this turns out to be a form of bravery that the others have to work toward.
Short and chubby even by penguin standards, with a round white face, large eyes, and an orange beak. Speaks with a British accent that Skipper has called adorably fake and which turned out to be genuine. Carries himself with the open, slightly uncertain energy of someone who is new to most things and is deciding to find that exciting rather than frightening.
Also known as: Pvt., Private the Penguin