Chris Madden Cartoons

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Environment cartoons – polar bear and penguins marching to save the ice caps

July 24, 2014 by chrismadden

penguins and polar bear environment cartoons

Environment cartoons – penguins marching to stop global warming

An illustration showing an environmental protest march of penguins and a polar bear

The penguins in this image are inspired by natural history documentaries about penguins that show the penguins marching in line from their nest site to their feeding ground many miles away.
This cartoon is meant to be a motivational and inspirational image, motivating people to get up and do something for the benefit of the environment (specifically in the areas of climate change and global warming).
Original version drawn: 2011
Cartoon reference number: a664
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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Birds, Climate Change cartoons, ENVIRONMENT, Penguins

Flying penguins cartoon. Penguins flying using balloons

December 20, 2011 by chrismadden

penguins flying using balloons cartoon

Penguin cartoons. Penguins flying with the aid of balloons.

A cartoon showing penguins in flight.
Who said penguins were flightless birds?

A cartoon about overcoming adversity, overcoming physical restrictions or disabilities, ambition, ingenuity, enterprise.
This cartoon would probably make a very nice greetings card.

Original version drawn: 2001
Cartoon reference number: a026

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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Birds, Penguins

Penguin cartoons. A penguin sunbathing on a tropical beach

December 20, 2011 by chrismadden

sunbathing penguin cartoon

Penguin cartoon. A penguin sunbathing on a tropical beach.

This cartoon isn’t a joke so much as just a slightly silly and humorous image of a penguin sunbathing on a subtropical beach.
The penguin is obviously on holiday.
The cartoon has no specific meaning. It’s just that a penguin on a tropical beach is somewhat incongruous, therefore funny.

Cartoon reference number: a023

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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Birds, Penguins

Cartoon penguin with Mickey Mouse ears

December 19, 2011 by chrismadden

penguin with mickey mouse ears cartoon

Cartoon penguin with Mickey Mouse ears.

I’ve been drawing quite a few penguins recently, and they’ve started mutating.
This one means whatever you want it to mean.
I probably thought up the idea because Mickey Mouse is a very simple black and white shape, just like penguins.
I like its air or slight weirdness. An ambiguous mix of cute and unsettling.

Cartoon reference number: a022

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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Birds, Penguins

Global warming cartoon. Penguins and polar bear march against shrinking polar ice caps

December 19, 2011 by chrismadden

 environment cartoon - polar bear and penguins against global warming

Global warming cartoon.

Global warming cartoon showing polar bear and penguins marching to protest against global warming and the shrinking ice caps.

One of the humorous points about this cartoon is that polar bears and penguins live at opposite poles (penguins in the Antarctic and polar bears in the Arctic), and thus never meet in normal circumstances (apart from in cartoons). In this cartoon the fact that they are in the same cartoon is meant to convey the notion of solidarity and of the whole world mobilising to fight climate change.
A cartoon about shrinking ice caps, shrinking polar caps, climate change, global warming.
Cartoon reference number: a021b

A longer version of this cartoon (with more penguins) can be found here, and a slightly different version here.


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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Birds, Climate Change cartoons, ENVIRONMENT, Penguins

Global warming cartoon. A polar bear and penguins marching

December 19, 2011 by chrismadden

environment cartoon - polar bear and penguins cartoon

Environmental cartoon. Global warming cartoon showing polar bear and penguins marching to protest against global warming and the shrinking ice caps.

One of the humorous points about this cartoon is that polar bears and penguins live at opposite poles (penguins in the Antarctic and polar bears in the Arctic), and thus never meet in normal circumstances (apart from in cartoons). In this cartoon the fact that they are in the same cartoon is meant to convey the notion of solidarity and of the whole world mobilising to fight climate change.
A cartoon about shrinking ice caps, shrinking polar caps, climate change, global warming.

Cartoon reference number: a021a

A narrower version of this cartoon (with fewer penguins) can be found here.


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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Birds, Climate Change cartoons, ENVIRONMENT, Penguins, Wildlife in danger

“Bad penguin” cartoon. A penguin dressed as a gangster

December 19, 2011 by chrismadden

penguin gangster cartoon

Penguin cartoons. Even bad penguins look cute.

A cartoon about anthropomorphism and penguins and the fact that penguins always look cute (which annoys some penguins who want to look tough).

This cartoon is funny because it has a penguin as a gangster or similar criminal type, which goes against penguins’ anthropomorphic character type of being cute and clown-like.
A secondary joke is that the gangster penguin is carrying a machine gun case that is shaped like a fish (rather than the usual violin case).
Original version drawn: 2001
Cartoon reference number: a020

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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Birds, Penguins

Penguin cartoon. Penguins look like little people: people look like penguins

December 18, 2011 by chrismadden

anthropomorphism and penguins cartoon

Penguin cartoons. It’s impossible not to look at a penguin and anthropomorphise it into a person. Do penguins do it back?

A cartoon about anthropomorphism and penguins.

The joke in this cartoon is that the roles of the penguins and the people are reversed. It is also funny because of the use of the work ‘cute’, partly because we don’t normally think of ordinary people as being cute – but penguins (which we think are cute) seem to think that we are cute too.
It’s a cartoon about anthropomorphism, projection, role reversal.
Original version drawn: 2001
Cartoon reference number: a019

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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Birds, Penguins

Penguins cartoon. A penguin playing a guitar

December 18, 2011 by chrismadden

penguin playing guitar cartoon

Penguin cartoons. A penguin playing a guitar.

A cartoon showing a penguin playing the guitar in a band. Another penguin is playing the drums.
The guitar playing penguin is thinking “Playing chords is really hard when you’ve only got flippers”.

This cartoon is partly funny because penguins look like humans but don’t look like the sort of humans who would be in a band playing guitar and drums.

Original version drawn: 2001

Cartoon reference number: a018

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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Birds, Penguins

Penguin cartoons – a penguin up a tree in a tropical jungle, with a parrot

December 18, 2011 by chrismadden

penguin and parrot cartoon

Penguin cartoon. Showing a penguin up a tree in a tropical jungle, with a parrot.

A cartoon showing a penguin perched on the branch of a tree in a tropical rain forest or jungle.
The penguin has just told a parrot about the existence of snow. The penguin was saying that it has forty different words for snow (similar to the eskimo or inuit claim to have many words for snow).
The parrot is surprised, as it doesn’t know what snow is, having never experienced it.

The penguin is probably a tourist on holiday from the cold Antarctic, visiting a hot tropical holiday destination.
One of the funny aspects of the cartoon is that the penguin is perched in a tree – which is incongruous as penguins can’t fly and most of them have never seen trees as there are no trees at the South Pole or in Antarctica.
Cartoon reference number: a017

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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Birds, Penguins

Penguin cartoon – penguins at a fancy dress party in drag looking no different to normal

December 18, 2011 by chrismadden

cartoon penguin fancy dress party

Penguin cartoons. Penguins at a fancy dress party, wearing drag.

A cartoon showing penguins wearing drag at a penguin fancy dress party – they look no different to normal, as male and female penguins look identical and indistinguishable from each other.
The problem for penguins as female impersonators, as there are no obvious (to humans) sexual identifiers or distinguishers between the sexes of penguins.

Original version drawn: 2001
Cartoon reference number: a016

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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Birds, Penguins

Nonconformist penguin cartoon. One penguin standing out from the crowd

December 18, 2011 by chrismadden

penguin cartoon one different colour

Penguin cartoons. A flock of penguins all the same – apart from one penguin which is a different colour.

A cartoon about uniformity of fashion or social conformity and conventionality. The colourful penguin is a rebel, nonconformist, individualistic penguin following the dictum ‘Dare to be different’.

A cartoon about conformity, uniformity, following the crowd, how to stand out from the crowd
The title of the cartoon is ‘One in a Million!’.

Original drawn: 2001

Cartoon reference number: a015

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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Birds, Penguins

Penguin cartoons. A rebellious teenage penguin

December 18, 2011 by chrismadden

cartoon teenage penguin

Penguin cartoons. Penguin with rebellious teenage son who is a typical stroppy youth.

A cartoon showing adult penguins and an adolescent or teenage penguin. The teenager is going through a typical teenage rebel phase. A cartoon about stroppy youths. .

Original version drawn: 2001

Cartoon reference number: a014

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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Birds, Children, Penguins

Penguin cartoons. Hiking penguins

December 18, 2011 by chrismadden

penguin hikers studying map

Penguin cartoons. Penguins planning a hiking expedition, trek or walk.

A cartoon showing penguins looking at a map to plan a recreational walk. Part of the joke is that the map is showing nothing but ice everywhere, because the terrain or landscape in which the penguins live is the same featureless ice everywhere. So it really doesn’t matter where the penguins go for their walk.
The cartoon makes reference to the long march carried out by emperor penguins, made famous by the film ‘March of the Penguins’.

A cartoon about Antarctica, the South Pole, rambling, the ramblers, orienteering.
Original version drawn: 2001
Cartoon reference number: a013

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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Birds, Penguins

Penguin cartoon. Penguins that are any colour except black

December 18, 2011 by chrismadden

penguin cartoon fashion colours

Penguin cartoons. Penguins that are all different colours – because black is no longer fashionable (for penguins)

A cartoon showing multicoloured penguins.
The joke is that penguins are all black, which happens to be a fashionable colour in some areas of human fashion. Penguins are often thought of as wearing dinner jackets, so in this cartoon I’ve given drawn brightly coloured penguins as though they can change their colours to suit fashion.

Original version drawn: 2001
Cartoon reference number: a012

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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Birds, Penguins

Global warming cartoon – a man and a penguin worrying about the shrinking ice caps

September 11, 2011 by chrismadden

Global warming cartoon. A man and penguin on shrinking iceberg

Environmental cartoons
Global warming cartoon

A man and a penguin on a shrinking ice flow, worrying about the shrinking polar ice caps
The man is thinking “We’re on thin ice here!”

A cartoon about shrinking ice caps, penguins, climate change, icebergs, environmental impact, rising sea levels
Drawn: 1991
Cartoon reference number: env010

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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Birds, Climate Change cartoons, ENVIRONMENT, Penguins, Wildlife in danger

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