Mattel and Aardman are developing a Pingu animated television series, and I, for one, am ecstatic. As a cute animal fanatic and sassy children’s character lover (looking at you, D.W. from Arthur), it doesn’t get better than Pingu. The new series will be stop-motion and 3D-animated.
Famous claymation studio Aardman Animations is helping make the project, which is amazing considering how big of a Shaun the Sheep fan I am. Seriously, he is my profile picture on everything. Other than that, the studio has made legendary films like Wallace & Gromit, and a new film in the franchise is coming out at the beginning of next year.
“At Aardman, we love collaborating with IP that shares our commitment to humour, charm and great storytelling,” said Sarah Cox, Chief Creative Director of Aardman. “From our earliest conversations with Mattel, we felt an immediate and strong connection in our shared love of Pingu, the authentic appeal of the original IP, and comedy that transcends language barriers to speak to audiences everywhere. Aardman and Pingu is such a natural and enticing combination. The charm of the stop frame animation along with the quirky irreverence and character driven storytelling aligns perfectly with our creative approach. There are so many stories yet to tell, we can’t wait to get started.”
You may recognize Pingu even if you haven’t seen his show because of his relatively recent social media fame. His sassy personality makes him a hit on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. NOOT NOOT!
In case you aren’t the most familiar with Pingu, he is a cheeky penguin who often needs to find his way out of ridiculous situations. Pingu gets help from his mom, dad, friends, and little sister Pinga. Unsurprisingly, the previous iterations of the show have taken place in the South Pole. Pingu was originally created during the 1980s, and its popularity is attributed to the show’s unique way of speaking. A language called “Penguinese,” which is universally understandable.
Mattel acquired Pingu by purchasing British-American entertainment company HIT Entertainment in 2011. This deal gave Mattel the ownership of many iconic children’s series like Thomas & Friends, Bob the Builder, and Barney & Friends. Mattel is currently working on possible films for two of these series.
There is currently no news on when the show will premiere. To watch more Pingu content before the new show is out, head to the Pingu YouTube channel, where a lot of scenes have been posted throughout the years. Below is one of my favorites.
