It was the morning of the first Tuesday in November 2009, and the Central Park Zoo was crowded with many families with children who had the day off from school. The visitors all enjoyed walking through the zoo and seeing its exhibits of creatures from all around the globe, but noticeably absent were the zoo's four penguins, who were not standing on their habitat's platform and smiling and waving as they typically do.

It was Election Day, and while many New Yorkers were at the polls casting their ballots for mayor and other local offices, the city's municipal election was not the only election going on in the Big Apple. Unbeknownst to visitors and other animals at the zoo alike, the penguins were in their underground HQ preparing to re-elect Skipper to his seventh term as Penguin Leader.

"Where are those silly penguins this morning?" Julien asked his subjects as he looked towards the empty penguin habitat from atop his throne. "It's not like they just up and flew away."

"I'm not sure, your majesty," Maurice replied after first swallowing the piece of a banana he was eating. "Perhaps they're down below."

"Yes, you are probably right," the king said. "But I still think that something is up. And by up, I mean down, going on down below the ground, down there. Yes, that is it. And I feel that it is only right for me, the king, to find out what is going on. But I suppose you could come along, too."

"You go on ahead first," Maurice replied. "I'll come join you when I'm through with this banana."

On that note, Julien leapt from his throne and began to walk over to the penguin habitat to investigate.

Meanwhile, in the penguins' HQ, Rico stood patiently outside of a voting booth that had been set-up for the election, which, even though Skipper's victory had always been a foregone conclusion, allowed each of the penguins to democratically elect their leader via the legitimacy of a secret ballot.

"Just another 30 seconds until 10 a.m.," Kowalski declared, looking at his watch. "Then, Rico, you may enter and cast your vote."

"Hmm, I wonder who I'm voting for," Rico joked, looking over at Skipper, who chuckled at the joke.

When Kowalski's watch was just two ticks away from the top of the hour, Julien suddenly and unexpectedly entered through one of the HQ's doors.

"Anybody home, neighbors?" he called out upon entering.

"Over here," Rico mumbled, beginning to waddle over to Julien instead of into the voting booth.

The other three penguins followed Rico's lead.

"So, what have we here?" Julien asked.

"We have here an intruder on our secret penguin agenda!" Skipper shouted to Julien.

"It's Election Day," Private told Julien. "We're about to re-elect Skipper to another term to lead our force."

"Private!" Skipper began to yell at Private for disclosing what they were doing, but then he decided that there was really no reason to keep it classified. "Well, yes, I am running for re-election to lead my men here at the zoo."

"What is this about re-election?" Julien inquired.

"On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in odd-numbered years, we assemble to reaffirm Skipper's role as our leader by voting him into office," Kowalski responded. "While Skipper's skills and leadership qualities are enough for us to want him to lead us alone, Skipper takes great pride in being confirmed by the ballot under a system of free elections, so we biennially re-elect him through the protocol prescribed in the Constitution of United Penguins."

"Take a breath, Kowalski," Skipper said after Kowalski's deluge of information to Julien.

Maurice then entered the penguins' HQ with Mort following close behind.

"You down here, your majesty?" Maurice asked before spotting the king and beginning to head over to him.

"What, is every lemur and his brother coming over this morning?" Skipper called out as the two meddling mammals entered. "It's a good thing we've got until 8 p.m. before the polls close."

"The smart one was just telling me about how these guys vote every two years to pick which one of them is the silliest of the silly penguins," Julien told Maurice.

"No, we vote to determine who will lead the brigade," Skipper corrected.

"Yes, whatever," Julien said, waiving a paw to dismiss what Skipper had said. "Silliest penguin? Leader of the penguins? What's the difference?"

"Hey, you appointed yourself king, lemur – that's monarchy!" Skipper shouted. "At least I was elected through democracy."

"Then certainly I, King Julien, should be participating in this Democrat thingy, too!" the said monarch declared.

"That's democracy, lower mammal, not Democrat!" Skipper corrected. "Democracy is when the people – or penguins – not egotistical kings, choose their leaders. A Democrat is a member of the Democratic political party."

"We lemurs love to party," Julien said as he began doing a little dance, cuing in on the word "party" that Skipper had just spoken.

"Oh, this is just disturbing," Skipper said.

Kowalski covered Private's eyes to shield him from Julien's dance routine.

"Political party, mammal," Skipper called out. "Not party, party."

"What political party are you a member of, Skipper?" Maurice then asked.

"That's classified!" Skipper informed him.

"Oh, come on, penguin," Julien said, stopping his dance. "Don't be a party pooper."

"Classified!" Skipper affirmed.

"Really? Is that the only word you penguins know?" Julien responded, critical.

"No!" Skipper replied, turning then to Kowalski. "Kowalski: Synonyms!"

"Synonyms for the word 'classified' can and do include the following: confidential, privy, secret, top-secret, private, and restricted," Kowalski stated.

"Well, there's a politician for you," Julien said in a denouncing tone. "Never wanting to tell the truth or give a direct answer."

"Fine, lemur!" Skipper declared, giving in. "I'll have you know I'm a member the GOP!"

"GOP? So you're a Republican, then?" Maurice asked.

"No, not exactly," Skipper replied. "The Grand Old Party tends to frown on non-humans enrolling as members. So I formed my own party just for penguins, the Grand Old Penguin Party. And I'd bet you'd never guess what our party symbol is."

"A penguin?" Maurice asked.

"Not bad, lemur," Skipper replied. "You're smarter than you look, or something."

"Well, certainly I could beat anyone who is a member of a party that uses a flightless bird as its official symbol," Julien stated as he chuckled. "After all, it is Affection Day."

"Election Day!" Skipper corrected, smacking a flipper on his forehead in frustration. "Do you ever try paying attention?"

"What was that?" Julien asked, confused.

"Oh!" Skipper groaned as he began to walk away from Julien.

"Where are you going, penguin?" Julien asked. "Are you not up to my challenge?"

"What challenge?" Skipper asked, turning around.

"That I, your humble king, run against you in the election," Julien stated.

"What?!" Skipper shouted. "You can't run for Penguin Leader! You're a lemur!"

"Technically, Skipper, the Constitution of United Penguins does not bar a member of a different species from running for Penguin Leader," Kowalski informed his commander.

"Kowalski! Where are your alliances?!" Skipper chastised.

"With you, sir," Kowalski replied. "But the law is the law."

"But shouldn't it be a penguin elected to the office of Penguin Leader?" Skipper asked. "I mean, the word 'penguin' is part of the title!"

"Should be and has to be are two different things, sir," Kowalski replied.

"Hooray for King Julien!" Mort suddenly expressed.

Skipper looked at the floor and exhaled quickly. He then looked at Julien, believing that he had figured out a technicality that could block the monarch's challenge.

"You're not a natural-born citizen, mammal!" Skipper shouted. "You're a native of Madagascar!"

"Actually, Skipper," Kowalski began with the law again, "there's no such citizenship requirement to be Penguin Leader like there is to be President of the United States. So long as they're a resident of this zoo, anyone can serve. And besides, you're not a natural-born citizen either."

"What are you talking about, Kowalski?!" Skipper asked in an objecting tone. "I am indeed a natural-born citizen! You know full well that I'm originally from Pennsylvania, which is part of the United States!"

"Ah, the Keystone State: Entered the Union on December 12, 1787," Kowalski replied. "But are you forgetting that you're part of the order Sphenisciformes?"

"I'm not forgetting because I have never known what that means to begin with," Skipper replied.

"It means you're a penguin," Kowalski said. "You weren't born anywhere – you hatched from an egg."

Skipper paused for a moment to formulate a comeback.

"And you're an egg-head," he replied, smirking a little.

Skipper then began looking around the room. It suddenly came to him that there were four penguins and only three lemurs present. He smiled.

"Penguin huddle," Skipper called, the other penguins then beginning to form a circle next to him.

"Kowalski, tell me just who exactly is allowed to vote for Penguin Leader," he whispered into Kowalski's ear.

"The Constitution of United Penguins states that all penguins registered to vote at the zoo or other established quarters where the election is to be held shall have one vote for Penguin Leader," Kowalski informed him. "Additionally, any non-penguin candidate who has expressed their desire to run shall be given one vote, as shall any other non-penguin who is not a candidate if so granted by the incumbent Penguin Leader and agreed to by all candidates."

"Good to know," Skipper stated. "If Julien's candidacy gives him one vote and I grant the other two lemurs voting privileges, I'm still in no danger of losing because there are four of us penguins."

"But you don't have to grant Maurice and Mort a vote, sir," Private said.

"True, Private," Skipper replied. "But if I do it, I'll show that monarch a thing or two about the democratic process and show him that I'm not afraid of a challenge. Plus, maybe after he loses and goes home, we'll get a little bit of peace around here."

"A top-notch strategy, sir," Kowalski said. "You've got my vote."

"Uh-huh!" Rico agreed.

"Alrighty then, time to tell the king," Skipper said as he broke the huddle.

"Ring-tail: Front and center," Skipper called out to Julien, who then approached Skipper as such.

"All right, monarch, time to teach you the penguin way," Skipper declared. "I accept your challenge, but trust me, it'll all be a waste of your time in the end."

"We'll see, my friend," Julien replied smugly. "We'll see."

"And I'll even let your two loopy lemur buddies vote, too," Skipper confidently added. "You do know that there's four of us penguins and only three of you lower mammals, right? That means you'll only get three votes to my four, and you might only get two if Mort can't reach your lever in the voting booth."

"Actually, Skipper," Kowalski waddled over to inform him, "the Help America Vote Act of 2002 would require Mort to be provided with a method of being able to cast his vote."

"Can he jump?" Skipper asked.

"I suppose that would be acceptable," Kowalski replied before waddling away.

"The point I'm trying to make here, lemur, it that you've got a dodo's chance in Antarctica of winning this election," Skipper affirmed. "But far be it for me to prevent your hopeless endeavor. Have at it."

"Don't count your hatch before your chickens!" Julien declared. "The dodo is a flightless bird, too. I mean, was."

"Save your drivel for your campaign speech," Skipper responded. "You know, your concession speech."

"Concessions? When do we eat?" Julien asked.

"It's not a food thing, mammal," Skipper replied. "It means you lose."

"A king cannot lose!" Julien exclaimed. "And now I am all fired-up and ready to run!"

"Then go see Kowalski to register for the election," Skipper said.

Julien walked over to Kowalski.

"Klondike–" Julien said, Kowalski then cutting him off.

"Kowalski," Kowalski corrected.

"Yes, smart one," Julien continued. "I'd like to register for today's election."

"Very well," Kowalski said as he picked up a plain white sheet of paper. "I'll need you write down on this sheet of paper just a simple statement of candidacy. Use your full name and then sign it at the bottom."

Julien took the paper from Kowalski and wrote the following words upon it: "I, King Julien Julius Jules XIII, will run against the silly penguin today." He signed it and handed it back to Kowalski.

"Talk about a simple statement of candidacy," Kowalski joked as he read it. "Oh, and I almost forgot: What political party do you want to run with on the ballot?"

"Well, certainly I must run as the king, which is me, of course," Julien replied.

"The King Which is Me Party," Kowalski said as he wrote it down. "Got it."

Skipper then waddled over.

"All right, ring-tail, how about you and your buddies go away for a few hours," he suggested. "It'll be a little while before Kowalski can get your name on the ballot, so we'll come get you later when it's time to vote."

"OK, see you later, then," Julien said as he left, the other lemurs following their king out.

A few minutes later, the penguins heard a familiar rattle coming from outside; Alice was filling up the penguins' food dish with some nice tasty herring.

"Fish time!" Rico declared as he and the others began making their way outside from the HQ, Rico arriving at the food dish first.

"Not you, little guy," Alice said to Rico as she reached to pick him up, although she wasn't quite sure why she was talking to a penguin. "It's time for your check-up."

As Alice was just about to place Rico inside of a cage, he managed to wiggle out of her arms and dive into the water. The other penguins then dove off their platform into the water and swam alongside Rico, hoping that they would all blend together so Alice couldn't tell them apart. Fearing that he'd probably soon be captured anyway, however, and fearing that an X-ray might be performed, Rico regurgitated all of the items inside of his stomach below the water in a spot out of Alice's line of sight.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think that these birds had planned this," Alice said to herself as she reached for a net.

As the penguins came near her as they continued to circle around in the water, Alice dipped her net in and scooped up Private.

"No scar on this one," she said as she looked at Private, then took him out of the net and placed him up on the platform.

When she dipped her net in for the second time, she came up with what she wanted.

"Gotcha!" she said as she identified the penguin she was targeting.

As Alice placed Rico in a cage, Skipper and Kowalski joined Private up on the platform to watch as their comrade was taken captive.

"We're going to get Rico out of this, aren't we, Skipper?" Private asked.

"Operation: Rescue Rico is now in effect," Skipper declared. "We'll give that zookeeper a few minutes so she doesn't suspect anything, then we're off to bust our buddy out of that infernal veterinary station."

As the three began their waiting, Rico soon arrived at the veterinary station.

"Hey, doc!" Alice called out as she walked in. "I've got that spiky-haired penguin here for you."

"I'm jammed up so much today, Alice," the doctor said. "Maybe this penguin can wait until tomorrow or Thursday."

"You wouldn't believe what I went through to get this penguin for you," Alice argued. "Please don't make me have to do it again another day."

"Fine, Alice," the doctor said. "But put him in the back storage room because I won't be able to get to him until this evening."

Alice then went and placed Rico in the veterinary station's back storage room. She then got a call on her radio to go feed the rhinoceros, so she walked out of the building. After she was a few feet away from the veterinary station, Skipper jumped out from behind a bush near the door, followed by Kowalski and Private. The three then entered the building and saw the doctor at work weighing a porcupine on a scale.

"Ooh, we meet again, Dr. Deranged," Skipper said as he set his eyes on the veterinarian. "If I'm not mistaken, I'd say it's time to commence Operation: Give the Doctor His Medicine."

Out of the vet's line of sight, Kowalski and Private helped lift Skipper up to a shelf about six feet off the ground. As the other two hid in the corner of the room, Skipper patiently stood hidden between two veterinary books on the shelf and waited a few minutes until the doctor walked by.

"I've won all my fights by knockout," Skipper said as he then lunged forward on the shelf and used his right flipper to hit the doctor in the back of the neck, temporarily knocking him out.

Skipper then jumped down from the shelf.

"No worries, folks, he'll be just fine," Skipper said, briefly breaking the fourth wall. "But that should give us a good 20 or so minutes to get Rico out before the doctor comes to."

The team then began hunting for Rico, and Kowalski spotted him through the glass of the back storage room door. Kowalski then tried pushing on the door, but it would not open.

"How about all three of us give it a go," Skipper suggested, with all then trying without success to use their bodies to force the door open.

"I think I've determined the problem," Kowalski stated. "The door is locked."

"Well, there's a surprise," Skipper said sarcastically.

"Wait, Skipper, look," Private said as he pointed up to the locking device of the door. "It looks like one of those locks that you can only open with a keycard."

Sure enough, the zoo had recently installed keycard lock systems on many doors throughout the zoo, and the veterinary station's back storage room was one of these locations. Few zoo employees were given a keycard for this particular lock, but among those who had were Alice, zoo security, and the zoo veterinary staff, including the unconscious veterinarian on the floor.

"Private, check the doc's wallet and pockets for the keycard," Skipper told Private.

Private then waddled over to the doctor and went through his pockets, finding no such keycard. Unbeknownst to the penguins, the vet had left his wallet in his car, and since he hadn't had to go into the back storage room yet that morning, he never realized he was without it.

"I've found a pen, four pretzels, a Leatherman multi-tool, and plenty of lint, but no wallet or keycard," Private reported after searching the doctor's pockets.

"Hoover Dam!" Skipper shouted. "Well, Kowalski, maybe you can take the lock unit apart and rig it to get us inside without the keycard."

Private then handed Kowalski the doctor's Leatherman multi-tool to use to take apart the lock unit. Kowalski was able to use the tool's flathead screwdriver to pry off the unit's cover, then he began to use the tool's pliers and wire cutter to work on the wiring.

As Kowalski continued to try to electrically bypass the door's security system, there was a sudden pop and a zap from the unit as the light in the room flickered off.

"Holy J. Robert Oppenheimer!" Kowalski exclaimed, taking the name of the nuclear physicist in vain. "I think I just blew a fuse."

"Well, fix it!" Skipper ordered. "We're not going to leave our buddy behind."

Kowalski looked Skipper dead in the eye.

"I can't, sir," he said. "I'm sorry."

"Well, can't we just stick a penny in for the fuse?" Skipper asked. "It should give us enough time to get Rico out at least."

"Negative," Kowalski replied, pointing through the shatterproof laminated glass of the door of the room Rico was in. "Because the fuse box is in there."

"Well, I'm sure Rico's bound to have–" Skipper began to say before Private pulled on his flipper.

"Rico's empty, sir," Private said. "He regurgitated all that he had in him before Alice got him. And the door seems too tight to the ground to slide anything in for Rico to use."

"Rico!" Skipper shouted through the door, banging a flipper against the glass.

Skipper then turned to Kowalski.

"The election, Kowalski!" he suddenly remembered. "Well, that's OK, Rico can just vote from here and call his vote out through the door."

"Now you're really going to hate me, sir," Kowalski replied. "The Constitution of United Penguins does not allow for absentee or proxy voting."

"Which means?" Skipper asked.

"Unless Rico is on the floor of our HQ, our official polling place, his vote will not count," Kowalski stated. "Now whenever you want to slap me, I'm ready."

"Slap you?" Skipper asked. "But why?"

"Because it was my action which blew the fuse, thus trapping our colleague and fourth vote," Kowalski replied.

Skipper sensed the tremendous guilt that Kowalski was feeling. He looked at the non-functional card slot on the door, then to the fuse box inside the room Rico was in. He ran a flipper then along a pipe containing a wire which connected the room's light to its nearby switch.

"The wiring in this building is lousy anyway," Skipper said. "Something was bound to go sooner or later."

"But Skipper, I still–" Kowalski began before Skipper broke in.

"You're just too smart for this to have been your mistake," Skipper told him. "You did nothing wrong, and we'd be worse off if you hadn't tried anything at all. Now forgive yourself, and that's an order."

"Thank you for your confidence in me, sir," Kowalski replied.

"Think nothing of it," Skipper said. "You know why you are here and why there are four of us in the team?"

"Because random chance brought us all to the Central Park Zoo and we all became friends?" Kowalski asked.

"There's some truth to that, yes," Skipper replied. "But it's really because we need four. We all offer something important, and Kowalski, now we're going to need that brain of yours to help us figure out what to do next."

"I'll do my best, Skipper," Kowalski said. "And maybe, just maybe, a little bit more."

"I like your commitment," Skipper said. "Now we must go back to the HQ and regroup."

Skipper then turned to the glass of the door of the room Rico was in and gave him a salute to indicate that he hadn't been forgotten. Rico returned the salute, as well as the waves that Kowalski and Private gave him. Skipper then led his unit back to the HQ, down one man.