I've always been a huge soundtrack buff and while I'm no longer as extreme in my collecting as I used to be, there are still some albums that are must-haves. And naturally an action comedy score for a penguin commando group saving the world is just that!

Yes, this album contains the original score of Penguins of Madagascar motion picture, as composed by Lorne Balfe and conducted by Gavin Greenaway. The album is released by Relativity Music Group under Sony Classical label.

So, what kind of score are we talking about? Well, just like the film, the score is filled with proper, jazzy James Bond-styled spy motifs all the way through – and all of it is done tongue firmly in cheek. It's big but not boombastic, fun but not silly; in other words, the best kind of score for the super-spy Madagascar penguins!

So yeah, the album is all kinds of great and I fully recommend it. I'd go as far as to say it's one of the most delightful scores of recent times. The score also comes with a bonus CD featuring silly Christmas songs sung by the penguins themselves. Speaking of the album as a package, most of the tracks of the album are named after Latin names of penguin species (Adeliae, Forsteri, Magellanicus, etc.), which makes for a fun soundtrack buff in-joke. I presume this is a nod to Batman Begins soundtrack album, which had all its tracks named after Latin names of bats to avoid spoilers. It's not too far of a leap to make, since Lorne Balfe was indeed one of the producers of that score.