‘Why was this thing on a kids’ TV show?!”
An old Pingu episode was banned in the UK because one of the characters was deemed too scary for children.
This week, it was announced that a new Pingu series is on the way, 18 years after the last episode of the kids’ TV show was made.
The remake comes as part of a team up between toy company Mattel and award-winning animation studio Aardman, of course known for Wallace and Gromit, Chicken Run and a collection of other classics.
The studio will produce the new Pingu series in stop-motion, bringing the Emperor Penguin and his family back to the silver screen after an 18 year absence.
But despite being a beloved children’s show, there are actually some episodes of Pingo that are banned in the UK.
Some of the episodes were pulled by creators The Pygos Group because they were deemed inappropriate, offensive, or violent for children, and some were even deemed to be too frightening for kids, the Metro reports.
This includes one episode which has been labelled “nightmare fuel” because of one particular character.
In 1991 episode ‘Pingu’s Dream’, viewers follow Pingu through a dream he’s having in which he is chased by a pretty creepy walrus.
As you can see for yourself, there’s something about the hollow eyes and gaping mouth that just makes this walrus incredibly unsettling.
It’s little surprise that it was eventually banned from screens for simply being too scary for young kids.
Remembering the episode on social media, one person wrote: “Nightmare walrus from Pingu TERRIFIED me.”
Another wrote: “Scared the f**k out of me and often showed up in my nightmares as a child. Especially when it eats the bed. Why does it look like it has real teeth!?!?”
A third exclaimed: “WHY THE F**K WAS THIS THING ON A KIDS SHOW!!!”
“Anyone else get creeped out by the walrus on Pingu? Dude looks like an primordial serpent. Nightmare fuel…” someone else said.
Other banned episodes include a number where Pingu is smacked by his parents, one where he is stuffed inside a cupboard, and another in which he pretends to throw-up.
Pingu was originally made for Swiss TV, created by Otmar Gutmann in the 1980s and was later aired in the UK on BBC One in 1990.
The show was unique for its incomprehensible language spoken between characters with the penguin known for his iconic catchphrase “Noot! Noot!”
Speaking about the series return with Aardman, Josh Silverman, chief franchise officer of Mattel, told The Hollywood Reporter at MIPCOM Cannes on Monday: “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.”
