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Penguins are popular around the world for their unusually upright, waddling gait, their cuteness, their magnificent swimming ability and (compared with other birds) their lack of fear toward humans. Their striking black and white plumage is often likened to a white tie suit and generates humorous remarks about the bird being "well dressed".〔March of the Penguins (2005) (reel.com) ((Archive) )〕 Penguins had a resurgence as figures in pop culture in the mid-2000s thanks to films like ''March of the Penguins'', ''Madagascar'', ''Happy Feet'', and ''Surf's Up''.〔Susan Glaser, ("Penguins are pop culture's hottest thing" ), ''The Seattle Times'' (Tuesday, December 19, 2006).〕 As an April Fools' Day joke, on April 1, 2008 the BBC released a short film of penguins in flight and migrating to the South American rainforest. ==Portrayals== The penguin is typically depicted as a friendly and comical figure, with considerable dignity despite its physical limitations. Perhaps in reaction to this cute stereotype, fictional penguins are sometimes presented as irritable or even sinister. Examples include the cute yet somewhat surly Sanrio character Badtz Maru and the penguins in the movie ''Madagascar'', intelligent creatures with devious schemes and plans, who are even capable of defeating humans. Penguins are also often portrayed as friendly and smart, for example in the anime ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', which features a warm-water penguin named Pen Pen. *The 1960s television cartoon character Tennessee Tuxedo would often escape the confines of his zoo with his partner, Chumley the walrus. *In the online role-playing game ''RuneScape'', penguins are portrayed as devious characters with a background reminiscent of the Soviet Union: their capital is Palingrad (suggesting Stalingrad); they have KGP (compare KGB) agents; and they refer to their homeland as the "Motherland". One quest in which they feature is called "Cold War" and the next is called "The Hunt for Red Raktuber", a play on ''The Hunt for Red October''. They have an enormous military complex with training facilities, living areas, interrogation rooms and agility courses. They have plans for domination similar to the penguins in ''Madagascar''. *In the animated series ''Wallace and Gromit'', a penguin called Feathers McGraw disguises himself as a chicken with a red rubber glove. *A villain in the DC Comics Universe is called The Penguin. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cultural depictions of penguins」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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