The sad thing to me about Tim Burton's "monstrous" reinvention of the Penguin is that Danny DeVito would've been perfect for a more comics-authentic version of the Penguin, a small and comical figure whose innocuous facade masks a ruthless criminal mastermind. He wouldn't have needed any more makeup than a prosthetic nose extension like Burgess Meredith had.
These days, when I try to think of someone who'd be good as the Penguin, my thoughts tend toward Patton Oswalt, Matt Lucas, or maybe Toby Jones.
