I had this wild idea..... (don't laugh, I sometimes think of the craziest things)

This is what I'm looking to do:

Create a flash where a penguin drops in from the top of the screen, flattens at the bottom before regaining his shape, starts jumping up and down and then explodes in to a bunch of little penguins that are all jumping up and down. (It would REALLY be awesome if it were Badtz-Maru)

I want this to be a project to learn how to do this, as I have no idea where to start. I don't even know if something like this is possible, but I'd like to give it a try. Could I get some opinions from veteran Flash users. Maybe someone who will be willing to help me (not do the work for me) but sort of guide me in what I would have to do to accomplish this. I'm assuming something like this would take some time to make it smooth. It would even be cool for them to say something funny as you roll the mouse over them (and I know how to do that.)

I'm looking for help along the lines of movement and animation..positioning....

Anything would help!