A beloved cheeky penguin is waddling onto screens once more. Mattel is teaming up with Aardman, the studio behind Chicken Run and Wallace & Gromit to develop a new stop-motion Pingu animated series.
Created by Otmar Gutmann and Erika Brueggemann in 1984, Pingu won the hearts of many with his cheery, mischievous nature and signature catchphrase, “Nug, Nug!” (more commonly referred to as “Noot, Noot!”). The show ran for six seasons and spawned multiple spin-offs including 2017’s Pingu in the City, and ABC for Kids concert shows.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter during MIPCOM Cannes, Mattel’s chief franchise officer Josh Silverman explained how their partnership with Aardman was a “perfect marriage”, and expressed excitement over the upcoming project. “It’s going to be really special, Pingu just continues to, organically, have a tremendous amount of affection and attention, and a tremendous amount of relevance.” he described.
The upcoming Pingu series will be co-developed by Sarah Cox and Alan Thorpe for Aardman, alongside Sidney Clifton, Rob David and Melanie Shannon for Mattel, which previously acquired the rights to the series via its purchase of HIT Entertainment in 2011.
According to Silverman, the revival of such a beloved series stems from Mattel’s ongoing mission to capitalise on shows that resonate with both children and adults. Dubbed “new-stalgia”, this move brings the company’s long-lasting legacy to a wider audience spanning all ages.
The Pingu animated series is currently in the early stages of development, with no release date announced.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
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