Pingu Set to Make a Comeback on Screens with Aardman’s New Adaptation
Beloved children’s television series, Pingu, is poised to make a return in a fresh adaptation by Mattel, the company behind Barbie, and the renowned creators of Wallace & Gromit, Aardman Animations.
The original Pingu first aired on BBC One in 1990. Produced in a Swiss-German collaboration and created by Otmar Gutmann, the show revolved around the mischievous escapades of a penguin residing in the Antarctic. The character became famous for its signature catchphrase, “Noot noot”.
Initially running until 2000, Pingu briefly resurfaced on British TV screens between 2003 and 2006. The upcoming adaptation will retain the stop-motion animation style that was a hallmark of the original series. Mattel Television Studios, a division of toy giant Mattel, gained the rights to Pingu in 2011 through its acquisition of HIT Entertainment.
Describing the collaboration between Mattel and Aardman, Mattel’s chief franchise officer, Josh Silverman, expressed his excitement in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Silverman stated, “You couldn’t ask for a more perfect marriage [than between Mattel and Aardman]. I was just with their team. We are overjoyed about the project. It’s going to be really, really special. Pingu just continues to, organically, have a tremendous amount of affection and attention. And a tremendous amount of relevance.”
Meanwhile, Aardman is concurrently working on a new Wallace & Gromit sequel titled Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. Scheduled to premiere on BBC One in the UK around Christmas, the film will see the return of the villainous Feathers McGraw, the malevolent penguin first introduced in the 1993 Wallace & Gromit short, The Wrong Trousers.
During Deadline’s Contenders London event on October 12, executive producer Carla Shelley hinted that Vengeance Most Fowl would be an emotional journey for fans of the iconic duo: “I think we’re going to make everybody cry. We’re going to surprise everybody and make you laugh as well. It’s really emotional. That’s what’s at the heart of it.”
Vengeance Most Fowl marks the first full-length Wallace & Gromit adventure since 2005’s The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Aardman’s recent sequel to the popular 2000 animation, Chicken Run, received a three-star rating from The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey, who remarked, “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget may not quite rise to its predecessor’s level, but if this is the closest Aardman ever comes to selling out, then there’s still hope for animation’s future.”
The return of Pingu and the upcoming Wallace & Gromit sequel promise to delight fans with their blend of nostalgia and fresh storytelling, marking an exciting era for these beloved animated characters.