Voiced by:
- John DiMaggio
Rico does not really talk much. He is similar in physical features to the other penguins in the movies, but he has a tuft of feathers shaped like a Mohawk and a scar of unknown origin on his left cheek in the television series. Skipper describes him as a "world-class psychopath". Rico appears to be not merely particularly psychotic, but also mentally deficient. In "Friend in a Box" Kowalski points a mind-reading device at him which, while functioning for everybody else, picks up only the word "Fish" being thought by Rico. According to Skipper, it was a mystery how Rico passed the psych test.
He mostly communicates with various grunts, squeals, and gibberish, (though his language seems to have improved by the second season, as he is able to speak short fragments such as "Allow me" and "You're the King") and has displayed a fondness for a plastic doll toy. He's the team's weapons expert and his main function is to regurgitate any necessary tools that Skipper may need for a mission (as the fact that his stomach operates as a hammer space, several items being as big as himself or weighing a large amount, with no effect on himself or anything/any character he might be on). He's very fond of explosives, and his answer to problems would always be "Kaboom!", if Skipper did not stop him. In one notable episode, "All Choked Up", the penguins attempt to destroy a robotic zoo guide that has recently been installed, assuming that they will be replaced by robotic animals. Rico eventually regurgitates a time bomb that Skipper then activates. Meanwhile, Alice, upon noticing that Rico is constantly regurgitating, forces him to drink a liquid medicine as a remedy. The penguins then must try to get him to regurgitate the bomb before it explodes inside Rico. The penguins try many methods of making Rico regurgitate but none help until the end, when the penguins think it is too late and start sobbing over him, which sickening "mushy stuff" causes Rico to finally regurgitate the bomb. It lands in the robotic zookeeper's hands, and explodes, destroying the robot.
Rico has little tolerance for "mushy" stuff, and often becomes sick when Private gets overly emotional and "lovey-dovey" about something. On the other hand he seems to be the second most emotional penguin next to Private and is deeply in love with a doll called Ms. Perky. Another characteristic of Rico is that he might be incredibly superstitious, as, after receiving a rather dismal sounding fortune in a fortune cookie, Rico was a victim of pranks by King Julien who was trying to prove it was right. Even after revealing that Julien was behind the accidents, Rico still needed to have him "take away the curse." He is also insanely skilled with knives and bladed objects, able to make sashimi or carve a Christmas tree from ice in a matter of seconds and destroy bowling pin dummies with a chainsaw while blindfolded.
Rico's psychosis needs to be controlled at all times, by Skipper limiting his use of destructive solutions, often involving explosions. Giving him free rein to destroy to his heart's desire, Rico builds up enough psychotic pressure that he literally becomes a vortex of destruction, spinning out of control and destroying everything in his path. Kowalski once estimated Rico was capable of destroying the entire zoo in this state.
Rico appears to have outstanding opera voice when excited (as seen in episodes "Go Fish", "Herring Impaired", "High Moltage", "Hair Apparent", etc.).
In episode "Herring Impaired", he is actually most responsible of penguins and because other penguins have "Pisces Dementia", Rico must watch, if no penguin have another fish. That means, he can be serious and responsible when have his friends big problem
Rico is in Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.
Read more about this topic: List Of Madagascar Characters, Main Characters, The Penguins