Pingu
Encyclopedia
Pingu is a British
-Swiss
stop-motion claymated
television series created by Otmar Gutmann
. The series was produced by The Pygos Group and Trickfilmstudio
for Swiss
television. The show is about a family of anthropomorphic
penguin
s at the South Pole
. The main character is the family's son and title character, Pingu.
The show ran originally for 4 seasons from 1986 to 1998 on SF DRS. In 1998, there were two Pingu episodes made (one of them being "Pingu & the Doll") that never aired due to schedule problems. In 1999, they showed the two episodes with a Pingu marathon between commercials. However, HiT Entertainment's request for more episodes convinced Pygos to bring back the show in 2004, with two more series.
s. The main character Pingu belongs to one such family. He frequently goes on adventures with his little sister Pinga, and he often gets into mischief with his best friend Robby the Seal.
One reason for Pingu's international success, is the mix of swedish and swiss human languages. Some dialogue is in a loud honking "penguin language", and was initially retroscripted
by Carlo Bonomi
, who also did all the other sound effects. This allows people of different linguistic backgrounds to still be able to follow the story.
using clay animation
, at Trickfilmstudio
in Russikon
, Switzerland
.
In 1989, David Hasselhoff
released (in Switzerland only) the single "Pingu Dance", 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, and was also heard in the new version of the "Pingu Looks After the Egg" episode and replaced the Woodpeckers From Space
song from the original version which it does shown on Cbeebies
.
A special twenty minute episode ("Pingu at the Wedding Party") was also produced, in 1997, which introduced a family of green penguins.
In 2001, HiT Entertainment
bought the UK
rights to the series (including the original 105 episodes) for £15.9 million and remade all classic episodes in 2002. The original cartoon title card (series 1 and 2) of the show was replaced with a claymated inspiration (series 3 and 4) of the intro and the music is half of the Pingu Dance single. Carlo Bonomi reprises his roles and these versions are the only versions broadcasting today. Later, HiT decided to bring back the show, and produced a further 53 episodes, created at Hot Animation
Studios in 2004, continuing in stop motion but using resin casts of the original clay puppets which had deteriorated by this time. Cbeebies
only shown the original version episodes of Pingu with the original cartoon title card (series 1 and 2) from 53 episodes, and shown 13 episodes from (series 3) with the claymated inspiration intro. Contrary to some sources, there was never any CGI used in these later episodes. When Bonomi's non-English language 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. In 2005, after the last episode aired, Pingu finally ended its 19 1/2-year run on TV.
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 the show's discontinuation in 2001. The show would return to America in 2005, when episodes began to air on PBS Kids Sprout
. On April 11, 2010, HiT Entertainment removed Pingu from the Sprout schedule due to low ratings.
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.
In India, Pingu was aired by Doordarshan
in the late 1980s & early 1990s. Since 2000, it is aired by 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.
In the UK, Pingu was featured in the Children In Need
2009 video by Peter Kay
which contained many other popular characters. This was shown on live television across the UK & then sold on both CD and DVD.
A Japan-only game made for the Nintendo DS
known as Pingu no Waku Waku Carnival (Translated: Pingu's Wonderful Carnival) was made by Square Enix
and released in November 2008. This game is a series of mini games starring Pingu and his friends, including one where Pingu's mother and father bake a heart-shaped cake, with the gameplay style resemblant to that of Cooking Mama
.
In Canada, the show aired between programs during lunchtime hours on YTV from 2004 until 2006. It can still be seen on TV in that country since APTN
airs "The Pingu Show" as part of its morning children's programming block "APTN Kids" and the show is available in English
and French language
versions. Some of the controversial episodes such as "Pingu Quarrels With His Mom" and "Little Accidents" have aired uncut on APTN Kids.
Notes
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
stop-motion claymated
Clay animation
Clay animation or claymation is one of many forms of stop motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually Plasticine clay....
television series created by Otmar Gutmann
Otmar Gutmann
Otmar Gutmann was a German television producer, animator, and director. He is perhaps most memorably known for his long running creation, Pingu....
. The series was produced by The Pygos Group and Trickfilmstudio
Trickfilmstudio
Trickfilmstudio was an animation studio located in Russikon, Switzerland. The studio was perhaps noted for being the claymation location of the Swiss television hit Pingu. The show ran from 1986 to 1998, and the studio was later closed for reasons unknown.-External links:*...
for Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
television. The show is about a family of anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
penguin
Penguin
Penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers...
s at the South Pole
South Pole
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole...
. The main character is the family's son and title character, Pingu.
The show ran originally for 4 seasons from 1986 to 1998 on SF DRS. In 1998, there were two Pingu episodes made (one of them being "Pingu & the Doll") that never aired due to schedule problems. In 1999, they showed the two episodes with a Pingu marathon between commercials. However, HiT Entertainment's request for more episodes convinced Pygos to bring back the show in 2004, with two more series.
Background
The program is set in Antarctica and centres around penguin families who live and work in iglooIgloo
An igloo or snowhouse is a type of shelter built of snow, originally built by the Inuit....
s. The main character Pingu belongs to one such family. He frequently goes on adventures with his little sister Pinga, and he often gets into mischief with his best friend Robby the Seal.
One reason for Pingu's international success, is the mix of swedish and swiss human languages. Some dialogue is in a loud honking "penguin language", and was initially retroscripted
Retroscripting
Retroscripting is a term for two techniques used in movie and television programs.-Plot outline:A retroscripted script contains a plot outline and leaves dialogue deliberately vague for interpretation by the actors through improvisation...
by Carlo Bonomi
Carlo Bonomi
Carlo Bonomi is an Italian voice actor, who provided the voices for the claymated TV series Pingu on SF DRS. He voiced all the characters without a script, using a language of noises which were dubbed Pinguinese, a voicing which he also used for La Linea. He voiced many other characters for the...
, who also did all the other sound effects. This allows people of different linguistic backgrounds to still be able to follow the story.
History
A total of 157 five minute episodes were originally made, from 1986 to 1998, and then again from 2004 to 2005. The episodes were written by Silvio Mazzola and were directed and animated by Otmar GutmannOtmar Gutmann
Otmar Gutmann was a German television producer, animator, and director. He is perhaps most memorably known for his long running creation, Pingu....
using clay animation
Clay animation
Clay animation or claymation is one of many forms of stop motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually Plasticine clay....
, at Trickfilmstudio
Trickfilmstudio
Trickfilmstudio was an animation studio located in Russikon, Switzerland. The studio was perhaps noted for being the claymation location of the Swiss television hit Pingu. The show ran from 1986 to 1998, and the studio was later closed for reasons unknown.-External links:*...
in Russikon
Russikon
Russikon is a municipality in the district of Pfäffikon in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.-History:Russikon is first mentioned in 775 as Ruadgisinchova. In 1247 it was mentioned as Rusinchon.-Geography:...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
In 1989, David Hasselhoff
David Hasselhoff
David Michael Hasselhoff is an American actor, singer, producer and businessman. He is best known for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the popular 1980s US series Knight Rider and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch...
released (in Switzerland only) the single "Pingu Dance", a rap
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
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, and was also heard in the new version of the "Pingu Looks After the Egg" episode and replaced the Woodpeckers From Space
Woodpeckers From Space
Woodpeckers From Space is the most popular song from the italo disco group called VideoKids. The Music Video featured Peter Slaghuis who was the lead singer, who died in a car accident in 1991. Bianca Bonelli was also in the band. The video also featured a space animal that was used for a Woodpecker...
song from the original version which it does shown on Cbeebies
CBeebies
CBeebies is the brand used by the BBC for programming aimed at children 6 years and under. It is used as a themed strand in the UK on terrestrial television, as a separate free-to-air domestic British channel and used for international varients supported by advertising, subscription or both...
.
A special twenty minute episode ("Pingu at the Wedding Party") was also produced, in 1997, which introduced a family of green penguins.
In 2001, HiT Entertainment
HIT Entertainment
Hit Entertainment is a British-American entertainment distribution company established in 1989, and originally the international distribution arm of Jim Henson Productions called Henson International Television...
bought the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
rights to the series (including the original 105 episodes) for £15.9 million and remade all classic episodes in 2002. The original cartoon title card (series 1 and 2) of the show was replaced with a claymated inspiration (series 3 and 4) of the intro and the music is half of the Pingu Dance single. Carlo Bonomi reprises his roles and these versions are the only versions broadcasting today. Later, HiT decided to bring back the show, and produced a further 53 episodes, created at Hot Animation
Hot Animation
HOT Animation is a British stop motion animation studio based in Broadheath, Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. It was established in 1998 by Jackie Cockle, Brian Little and Joe Dembinski....
Studios in 2004, continuing in stop motion but using resin casts of the original clay puppets which had deteriorated by this time. Cbeebies
CBeebies
CBeebies is the brand used by the BBC for programming aimed at children 6 years and under. It is used as a themed strand in the UK on terrestrial television, as a separate free-to-air domestic British channel and used for international varients supported by advertising, subscription or both...
only shown the original version episodes of Pingu with the original cartoon title card (series 1 and 2) from 53 episodes, and shown 13 episodes from (series 3) with the claymated inspiration intro. Contrary to some sources, there was never any CGI used in these later episodes. When Bonomi's non-English language became a problem, he was replaced with new voice actors Marcello Magni and David Sant
David Sant
David Sant is a Spanish English actor and voice actor. He was born in Catalonia, Spain. He is best known for the role of Cartoon Head from series two of the British television show Ideal and is also known for playing the title role and the other male characters in the season 5-6 revival of...
. 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
Grammelot
Grammelot is a term for a style of language in satirical theatre, a gibberish with macaronic and onomatopoeic elements, used in association with pantomime and mimicry....
" on which the penguin language was based. In 2005, after the last episode aired, Pingu finally ended its 19 1/2-year run on TV.
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 the show's discontinuation in 2001. The show would return to America in 2005, when episodes began to air on PBS Kids Sprout
PBS KIDS Sprout
PBS Kids Sprout is a U.S. digital cable television channel, video-on-demand service, and website providing PBS Kids shows and original programming for preschoolers and their families...
. On April 11, 2010, HiT Entertainment removed Pingu from the Sprout schedule due to low ratings.
Pingu has also been a mainstay of the children's programming blocks on TVOntario
TVOntario
TVOntario, often referred to only as TVO , is a publicly funded, educational English-language television station and media organization in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority, a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario...
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
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
told Swedish talk-show host Kristian Luuk
Kristian Luuk
Ants Robert Kristian Luuk is a Swedish comedian and talk show-host of Estonian descent. A graduate of the Stockholm School of Economics, he is currently working for the broadcaster SVT after previous spells at TV4, ZTV and SR public radio...
that she considered Pingu (and TV in general) to be a bad influence on children.
In India, Pingu was aired by Doordarshan
DoorDarshan
Doordarshan is an Indian public service broadcaster, a division of Prasar Bharati. It is one of the largest broadcasting organizations in India in terms of the infrastructure of studios and transmitters. Recently, it has also started Digital Terrestrial Transmitters. On September 15, 2009,...
in the late 1980s & early 1990s. Since 2000, it is aired by 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
KFC
KFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, termed a concept of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global...
restaurants as part of their Kids' Meal.
In the UK, Pingu was featured in the Children In Need
Children in Need
Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
2009 video by Peter Kay
Peter Kay
Peter John Kay is an English comedian, writer, actor, director and producer. His work includes That Peter Kay Thing , Phoenix Nights , Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere , Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and other independent productions which have included two sell out tours.-Early career:Peter Kay...
which contained many other popular characters. This was shown on live television across the UK & then sold on both CD and DVD.
A Japan-only game made for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
known as Pingu no Waku Waku Carnival (Translated: Pingu's Wonderful Carnival) was made by Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
and released in November 2008. This game is a series of mini games starring Pingu and his friends, including one where Pingu's mother and father bake a heart-shaped cake, with the gameplay style resemblant to that of Cooking Mama
Cooking Mama
is a cookery simulation-styled minigame compilation video game for the Nintendo DS and iOS developed by Office Create and published by Taito, Majesco Entertainment, and 505 Games. It was awarded IGN's "Best Of E3" award for 2006 and was joined by a sequel for the DS, Cooking Mama 2: Dinner with...
.
In Canada, the show aired between programs during lunchtime hours on YTV from 2004 until 2006. It can still be seen on TV in that country since APTN
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network is a Canadian broadcast and cable television network. APTN airs and produces programs made by, for and about Aboriginal Peoples...
airs "The Pingu Show" as part of its morning children's programming block "APTN Kids" and the show is available in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
versions. Some of the controversial episodes such as "Pingu Quarrels With His Mom" and "Little Accidents" have aired uncut on APTN Kids.
Episode lists
-
-
- Alphabetic list of Pingu episode titles (includes alternative titles)
- Lists of Pingu episodes with synopses - series 1Pingu episodes series 1This is a list of episodes with synopses for Series 1 of the stop motion animated television series Pingu, which ran from 1986 to 1999.*Director and Animator. Trickfilmstudio Otmar Gutmann*Copyrights. SRG/ZDF/Telepool. 1986/1999....
• 2Pingu episodes series 2This is an list of episodes with synopses for Series 2 of the stop motion animated television series Pingu, which ran from 1991 to 1994.*Director and Animator. Trickfilmstudio Otmar Gutmann*Copyrights. SRG/ZDF/Telepool/Editoy. 1991/1993....
• 3Pingu episodes series 3This is an list of episodes with synopses for Series 3 of the stop motion animated television series Pingu, which ran from 1995 to 1996.* Director and Animator. Pingu Filmstudio Switzerland.* Copyrights. 1995/1996 Pingu BV...
• 4Pingu episodes series 4This is an list of episodes with synopses for Series 4 of the stop motion animated television series Pingu, which was broadcast in 1998.-Pingu's Disadvantage:...
• 5Pingu episodes series 5This is an list of episodes with synopses for Series 5 of the stop motion animated television series Pingu, which was broadcast from 2003 to 2004.-Pingu's Bouncy Fun:...
• 6Pingu episodes series 6This is an list of episodes with synopses for Series 6 of the stop motion animated television series Pingu, last broadcast from 2005 to 2006.-Pingu's Sledge Academy:...
• Pingu at the Wedding Party
-
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 appears 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). 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 September 4, 2006 inclusive.
- Since 2007, in addition to standalone episodes the BBC and APTN in Canada 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, narrated by Marc SilkMarc SilkMarc Silk is a voice actor from Solihull, England.His work includes appearances in Chicken Run and as the U.S. voice of Bob in Bob the Builder, the roles of Aks Moe in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace and Johnny Bravo, and commissions for Disney.- Animation & Cartoons :* Bob The Builder -...
and the chance to learn more about the amazing world of penguins in Penguin Facts").
Characters
These are some of the characters appearing in Pingu.- Pingu is the title character of the series. In the beginning of the series, he was twelve years old. Despite the actual running length of the series, Pingu was twelve years old when the show ended. His catchphrase is "Nug, Nug!?" if he makes a megaphone shaped like beak sound to indicate anger, happiness, frustration or to get attention. Pingu can also change his shape (for instance, he can morph into a ball) and increase his heightHeightHeight is the measurement of vertical distance, but has two meanings in common use. It can either indicate how "tall" something is, or how "high up" it is. For example "The height of the building is 50 m" or "The height of the airplane is 10,000 m"...
.
- Pinga is Pingu's baby sister. She first appeared in the episode "The New Arrival". In all of series 1 and early series 2 episodes she appears as a baby. In series 3 and early in series 4 she is three years old, however, as series 4 progresses, she becomes four years old. It has been shown in some episodes that she can also roll into a ball.
- Mother and Father are Pingu's and Pinga's parents. Father is a postman who smokes a pipe (he has quit in later episodes). He has a SnowcatSnowcatA snowcat is an enclosed-cab, truck sized, fully tracked vehicle designed to move on snow. Snowcats are often referred to as 'trail groomers' because of their use for grooming ski trails or snowmobile trails...
to deliver the mail with the help from Pingu. Mother spends most of her time cooking and does all the work in the home. Mother sometimes gets help from Pingu & Pinga and she always gives them a cuddle. Their real names are unknown at this time.
- Grandfather is Pingu and Pinga's grandfather. He is the father of Pingu and Pinga's Father. He is an expert accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
ist, and this was shown in the episode "Pingu & the Braces". He is also a former professional weight lifter and political activist from 1938. He first appeared in the episode "Music Lessons".
- Bruce is a homeless man who owns a barrel organ who is occasionally helped by neighbors, or by Pingu. He first appeared in "Pingu and the Barrel Organ", and "Pingu the Chef".
- Robby is Pingu's best friend. His name is a pun; "Robbe" is German for "Seal". In the first four series, he is appeared in mixed blue and gray but in the last two series he is light gray in color. He first appeared in the episode "Pingu Goes Fishing", in which Pingu and Robby fight over the fish Pingu was trying to catch, but make up by end of the episode.
- Pingo is a friend of Pingu. He has a long beak, essentially flat at the bottom but slightly rounded on the top; also his head is wider & taller. He is a bit of a daredevil and often persuades Pingu to do wild and silly things with him.
- Pingg is a friend of Pingu. He also has a long beak, but a shorter head than Pingo. In some episodes he is also with Pingo, except in the episodes "Pingu's Disadvantage" and "Green Eyed Pingu".
- Pongi is a friend of Pingu who wears glasses and has a short round beak. He first appeared in the episode "Ice Hockey".
- Punki is also one of Pingu's friends. He first appeared in the episode "Pingu Delivers The Mail". He has a tuft on his head and wears striped trousers. He only appeared in a few cartoons.
- Bajoo is also one of Pingu's friends. He is revealed by HiT Entertainment as a "strange newcomer to the Antarctic in the appearance of an abominable snowman!" He is actually an abominable snowman who debuted back in 2005 with the year of 2006. He appeared on the last Pingu episode "Pingu & 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 the episode "School Time" and he only appeared on episodes involving Pingu at school, however he appears as a minor character in some episodes.
- Pingi is Pingu's love interest and Pinga's friend. She has thick, white eyelashes and a somewhat mushed beak. She first appeared in the episode "Pingu's Admirer". Pinga is sometimes jealous of Pingi because Pingu pays more attention to Pingi than to her.
- Seagull is the mischievous seagull. It first appeared in the episode "Pingu and the Seagull" when it started to plagued Pingu even more. It catches every fish in the episode "Pingu and the Strangers". It steals Pingu's fish, then he helped feed its chicks in the episode "Pingu and the Mother Bird". It can sometimes annoy Pingu if it squawks on to him.
- Pengy is Pingu's classmate that most notably appears in the episode "Pingu on the School Excursion", season 2. He also appears in other episodes involving Pingu at school. He doesn't actually have a given name, but Pengy is a name lots of fans tend to give him.
- Inflatable Chair is Pingu's chair full of air that appears in "Pingu and the Barrel Orgain", "Pingu Finishes the Job", and "Pingu and the New Scooter". It has patches so that they can keep the chair inflated.
- Giant Walrus/Leapord seal is the creature that tried to capture Pingu in Pingu's Dream. Several ways it tried were putting the igloo on and off, stretching and squashing Pingu and eating his mattress like a chocolate bar only having Pingu and his bed to run away. Pingu's Dream was banned due to the walrus/leapord seal because it had a frightening design, voice and moustache. Its only appearance is in Pingu's Dream.
Awards
- 1987 Berlin Film Festival (Kleinan Baren)
- 1989 International Children's Festival (Best short film)
- 1991 Prix Jeunesse (Best children's show, Runner-up)
- 1998 BMG Video International (Video sales +1 mil.)
- 2005 Stinky Pingu at Indies (Best animation)
- 2005 Pingu & the Band NY International Children's Film Festival (Audience Award)
- 2005 Stinky Pingu Prix danube (Adult mention)
- 2006 Stop-motion shows that rocked your world (Audience award)