Pingu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pingu
Genre	Stop motion/Childrens
Created by	Otmar Gutman
Starring	Carlo Bonomi (series 1-4) Marcello Magni and David Sant (series 5-6)
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	156 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	Approximately 5 minutes per normal episode.
Production company(s)	The Pygos Group HiT Entertainment (2004-2005) Hot Animation (2004-2005)
Distributor	RTSI (1986-1998) BBC (2004-2005)
Broadcast
Original channel	RTSI (1984-1998) BBC (2004-2005)
Original run	1986 – 2005
External links
Official website

Pingu was a Swiss stop-motion claymated television series, created by Otmar Gutman, produced by The Pygos Group, and distributed by HiT Entertainment and Hot Animation for RTSI from 1986 to 1998, and then switched networks to BBC from 2004 to 2005. The show is about a family of anthropomorphic penguins in the South Pole. The main character is their son and title character, Pingu.

Contents 1 Background 2 History 3 Episode lists 4 Controversy 5 Commercial VHS and DVD releases 6 Characters 7 Video games 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Background

The program is set in Antartica, where the penguin families and businesses live and work in igloos. The main characters are a family of penguins, who's son's name is Pingu. Pingu goes on awesome adventures with his sister Pinga.

One reason for Pingu's international success is the absence of human languages. All dialogue is in a honking "penguin language",^[1] and was initially performed without script by Carlo Bonomi (in a similar way to La Linea, which was also dubbed by Bonomi). This allows people of distinct linguistic backgrounds to still be able to follow the story.

[edit] History

A total of 156 five-minute episodes were originally made, from 1986 to 2005. The episodes were written by Silvio Mazzola, and directed and animated by Otmar Gutmann using clay animation, at Trickfilmstudio in Switzerland.^[2]

In 1989, David Hasselhoff released (in Switzerland only) the single "Pingu Dance",^[3] a rap song based on the Pingu shorts and featuring samples of Penguinese. A portion of this song is used as the theme to Pingu in international airings.

A special 20-minute episode ("Pingu at the Wedding Party") was also produced, in 1997, which introduced a family of green penguins and a vac-u-bot.

In 2001, HiT Entertainment bought the UK rights to the series (including the original 105 episodes) for £15.9 million^[4] and remade all classic episodes in 2002, with Bonomi dubbing again. They later produced a further 52 episodes, created at Hot Animation and first broadcast in 2004. When Bonomi could not speak English and when his behavior became a problem, he was replaced with new voice actors Marcello Magni and David Sant. Magni and Sant, Italian and Spanish actors based in London, both have a mime and clowning background and were already aware of the clown language of "Grammelot" on which the penguin language was based.

Pingu first aired in the United States on Cartoon Network's Sunday morning omnibus program Small World, which featured various cartoon shorts produced internationally, from 1996 until that show's discontinuation in 2001. The show would return to America in 2005, when episodes began to air on PBS Kids Sprout. It is currently on BBCK as part of the morning programming. As of April 23, 2009, it has currently aired on PBS KIDS Sprout, but has currently not been scheduled.

Pingu has also been a mainstay of the children's programming blocks on TVOntario since the mid-1990s.

In 2006, Pingu was featured in a music video for Eskimo Disco's first single, 7-11. Also in 2006, pop icon Madonna told Swedish talk-show host Kristian Luuk that she considered Pingu (and TV in general) to be a bad influence on children.^[5]

In India, Pingu has been on air since early 2000 and currently airs on Hugama TV and Animax.

In Japan, Pingu currently airs as part of NHK's children's program Nyanchu's World, and is also featured in Japanese KFC restaurants as part of their Kids' Meal.

[edit] Episode lists

• Alphabetic list of Pingu episode titles (includes alternative titles)
• Lists of Pingu episodes with synopses - series 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • movie

Notes

• Derivation of episode titles

No official episode title appears on screen, so the lists were initially created from the titles used on various official DVD releases. The main episode titles for Series 1 to 4 were taken from the official Japanese DVD releases, and the alternative titles from the official European DVD releases. Episode titles for Series 5 and 6 were taken from the European DVD releases.

Changes have subsequently been made to these titles to bring them more into line with English usage and practice (e.g. to correct spelling and grammar) and to relate them to the titles used on UK DVDs produced by HIT Entertainment. Alternative titles have also been appropriately added, amended, etc. Title data has also been supplemented with information from other sources, such as the titles used by the BBC for television broadcasts and on video tapes.

• BBC broadcasts

In the UK, the BBC appear never to have broadcast any of the normal 5 minute episodes from the latter half of series 3 (3.14 – 3.26) or from series 4 (4.1 – 4.26).^[6] However, all the episodes from the latter half of series 3 (3.14 - 3.26) have been featured on BBC produced videos. Of the episodes that have been broadcast, all have been broadcast since 4 September 2006 inclusive.

Since 2007, as well as episodes on a stand-alone basis the BBC have been showing "The Pingu Show" ("Pingu welcomes viewers to his secret whale-shaped funhouse for a show packed with brand new sketches, two classic episodes, and the chance to learn more about the amazing world of penguins in Penguin Facts").^[7]

[edit] Controversy

A few episodes of the show were banned due to offensive material. One episode was Pingu's Lavatory Story, which contained graphic depictions of uncensored urination. Pygos was unable to censor the urine, leading to the banning of the episode in 1990, the year it was produced. Another episode was Pingu's Dream which contained a frightening walrus trying to capture Pingu. The episode was the first to be banned in all countries except Japan. A few other episodes were banned or had scenes cut due to other reasons.

[edit] Commercial VHS and DVD releases

[edit] Characters

These are some of the characters appearing in Pingu.

• Pingu is the main character of the series. His age was five, and later seven. He commonly uses the "megaphone-like beak" gesture and "NUG, NUG!"^[8] (that could also be translitterated something like "noot, noot" or "meek, meek"; one online video series translates it as "Magnum!"^[9]) sound to indicate anger, happiness, frustration or to get attention, even though at the end of most series 5-6 episodes he says it at the end thus probably indicating his happiness. Pingu can also change himself into many shapes at will, such as a ball, or increase his length. Pingu is also very accident-prone, much to his parents annoyance.

• Pinga (called ramblanc in the early version of the lost baby) is Pingu's little sister. She first appeared in the episode Pinga is Born. In all of the series 1 and early 2 episodes she appears to be about eighteen months old. In the further episodes she is three years old. Although Pinga is seen attending kindergarten in one episode, Pingu gets jealous when she has to stay home while he has to go to school.

• Mother and Father are Pingu's parents. Pingu's father is a postman, who smokes a pipe (He would later quit in the later episodes). He has a motorised sledge to deliver the mail. Pingu's mother spends most of her time at home in the igloo. Mother and Father share a lot of the work in the home (e.g. knitting, cooking and ironing). Mother sometimes gets help from Pingu & Pinga, but in the episode Pingu Refuses to Help, the kids decide not to help her until in the end of the episode. Their real names are unknown.

• Grandfather is Pingu's grandfather and Father's father. His age is about ninety years old. He's an expert accordionist, and, as proven in "Pingu and the Braces", a former professional weight lifter from 1938. He first appeared in Pingu Has Music Lessons From His Grandfather. His wife (grandmother) is possibly deceased because she is not in the series.

• Robert 'Robby' the seal (called Seymour the baby seal in the audiobooks) the seal is Pingu's best friend. His name is a pun; 'Robbe' is German for 'Seal'. He first appeared in the episode Pingu Goes Fishing, stealing Pingu's baits, but in the end of the episode they became friends.

• Pingi is Pingu's girlfriend. She first appeared in in the episode Pingu's Admirer.

• Pingo is a friend of Pingu. He has a long beak, essentially flat at the bottom but slightly rounded on the top, which is slightly shorter than that of Pingg, also his head is wider and taller. He usually tries to get Pingu to do wild and silly things. His best friend is possibly Pingg.

• Pingg is a friend of Pingu. He is shorter than Pingo, his head is also shorter and his beak is slightly longer and more pointed than that of Pingo.

• Pongi is a friend of Pingu. He wears glasses. He first appeared in Pingu Plays Ice Hockey.

• Punki is another of Pingu's friends. He has tufts on the top of his head and wears striped trousers. He first appeared in Pingu Helps To Deliver The Mail.

• Bajoo is also one of Pingu's friends. He is revealed by HiT Entertainment as a 'strange newcomer to the antartic in the appearance of an abominable snowman!' He is actually an abominable snowman who recently appeared on the last Pingu episode Pingu and the Abominable Snowman. He also appeared in the music video and in the Pingu show which is a broadcasting device and not an episode by itself.

• The Schoolmaster is Pingu's teacher. He lives in a nearby school and rings the bell when it is time for school to begin or end. He first appeared in Pingu at School, and he only appeared on episodes involving Pingu at school, however he appears as a minor character in some episodes.

[edit] Video games

There were two video games released in Japan only based on Pingu. The first one was called Fun! Fun! Pingu, released by Sony and Pygos in 1999 for Playstation. The second was called Pingu's Wonderful Carnival!, released by Square Enix in 2008 for the Nintendo DS, allthough Pygos wasn't invovled in development. Pingu's Wonderful Carnival will be released in the US in 2009.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Toonopedia article
• Pingu at the Internet Movie Database
• Pingu at the Open Directory Project

v • d • e Pingu Episodes List of Pingu episodes · Pingu series 1 · Pingu series 2 · Pingu series 3  · Pingu series 4  · Pingu series 5  · Pingu series 6  · Pingu Special episodes Miscellaneous List of Pingu DVD and VHS releases