Pingu

All my kids like Pingu, from the 7-year-old down to the 2-year-old, and I have to admit to watching it when the kids aren't even home. It's humorous and innocent, the characters are endearing, and the fact that the characters don't speak any language -- the dialogue is in "Penguinese" -- means that they convey their stories wholly with action, vocal inflection and body language. This is extremely intriguing.

Pingu is refreshingly unlike all the mainstream toddlers' programs out there, which are either excruciatingly heartwarming, unbearably didactic or just plain inane. It's a bit hard to find; at this point we're only able to get it from Time Warner On Demand cable. There are some DVDs available too. But if you have young kids, do check it out. The whole family will enjoy it.

First and foremost, Pingu is entertaining and adorable. It is one of the few shows that I care to allow my two year old to watch, mainly because she laughs whenever he makes his silly sounds, but also because she learns from Pingu. The alphabet and numbers? No, but Pingu teaches little social lessons if one cares to pay attention. For instance, Pingu becomes jealous of his little brother in one episode. He spends the entire episode trying to get his mother to stop feeding and soothing the baby so that he can have her complete attention. The episode ends with Pingu's mother rocking and playing with both of them. It's a simple and easy way to deal with a small child's jealousy of a new sibling and the attention that they must have. Pingu also throws tantrums, plays, basically behaves just like a toddler or three-year-old. Even the theme song is catchy and easy for a toddler to sing. In this day and age when courtesy is not a prized commodity on children's television, Pingu is a breath of fresh air. The message? It's normal to be angry, to be jealous, to have any of the other complex and confusing emotions, but we must learn to be courteous and respectful with each other so that everyone can be happy.

Pingu is a *very* refreshing break from the (many, many, many!) more mundane children's shows currently on the air. Pingu himself is an irreverent, irrepressible little fellow who relentlessly does his own thing (and often takes the heat from his parents for it). In fact, Pingu is so confident and independent that American audiences might have a hard time swallowing it.

In addition to shrugging off parental objections to his activities, Pingu sometimes quarrels with his friends (I'm talking about rolling-around-in-the-snow, knock-down/drag-outs here), and is not afraid of a bit of "biological" humor.

These things are, however, a part of the charm. If you are looking for good, edgy children's programming, Pingu is the way to go.

Hey, everyone make nice by the end of the episode! Go on...check it out!

I really used to like Pingu as a young kid. To be honest, which 3-year-old idiot doesn't like seeing a little clay penguin getting into rather childish adventures? Well, I did. Pingu is always enjoyable - though there's no real wit or any words spoken, it speaks a lot through action and sound. The animation isn't Happy Feet standard, but Pingu's charm lies in its simplicity, and it isn't badly done either, considering it's 20 years old. If only more Antarctic fun could be produced by TV nowadays rather than s**t like cooking shows and bilge like Tweenies. Other characters included Pinga who was Pingu's sister, Pingu's mum and dad, and that grey seal - I've forgotten his name. They all had their charms too, and helped to make this show even more fun. The shows are only 5 minutes long each, ensuring Pingu never gets boring. I mean, I'm just 14 years old, and already this can give me a sense of nostalgia. Those were the good old days... when the Simpsons was good, when we didn't have cr*p like Strictly Come Dancing on, when the music charts weren't full of rubbish... 9/10

Netflix has its share of undiscovered foreign offerings (YouTube also knows a thing or two about dark corners), but "Pingu" is worth the dice roll. I love the dialogue (even though I have no idea how they come up with that wonderful gibberish language) and the claymation has its own physically comedic charm. I'm a cynical adult and I can watch this with my kid any time of the day, which is not something I'd say often about children's TV. There's surprising entertainment value in hearing a clay penguin squeal, "Noot Noot!". Thirty years old, and it's still fresh.

I love this stuff.

8/10