Pingu to return to screens after 18 years

Wallace & Gromit studio Aardman and Mattel Television Studios are teaming up to bring kids series Pingu back to screens after 18 years. 

The companies are co-developing a stop motion 3D animated series featuring the mischievous titular penguin who lives in the South Pole with his mum, dad, little sister Pinga and friends. 

The Swiss-German creation by Otmar Gutmann and Erika Brueggemann ran for four series from 1990 to 2000 on SF DRS, produced by Swiss companies The Pygos Group and Pingu Filmstudio. It was revived for two more series on BBC2 from 2003 to 2006 by British companies HIT Entertainment and HOT Animation. The revival episodes were animated using stop motion and resin casts of the original clay puppets. 

Mattel acquired Pingu through its 2011 purchase of HIT Entertainment. 

Mattel’s chief franchise officer Josh Silverman said: “When we set out to bring Pingu back, partnering with the top-tier creative team at Aardman was a must. With Aardman’s stop motion magic and Pingu’s universal charm that has made him a social media hit, we are excited to create fresh snow-filled stories about our favorite penguin that are sure to warm hearts worldwide.” 

Aardman’s chief creative director Sarah Cox said: “We love collaborating with IP that shares our commitment to humour, charm and great storytelling. 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.” 

The series will be co-developed by Cox and Alan Thorpe for Aardman, and Sidney Clifton, Rob David and Melanie Shannon for Mattel Television Studios.