Some time ago, Husband found the show Pingu, and the Cat thought the titular character's funny-speak was funny, indeed. For awhile, the Cat would exclaim, "Nert-nert!", an imitation of Pingu, when he was excited or otherwise interested in attracting attention. Pingu's antics have kept the Cat' laughing with glee. Although he's had other favorite shows, only Pingu has endured.
Of course I jumped at the chance to receive Pingu's first DVD, On Thin Ice
The DVD contains eight episodes and runs about an hour. Having all those back-to-back episodes is amazing since on television the seven-minute blocks are typically between other shows rather than next to each other. And so the fun is over quickly and the show must be replayed (and replayed, and replayed.) The Cat and Splig are great with the TiVo remote, so I don't bear the brunt of the "again, again!" that some parents may have with such short episodes, but I remember it wasn't long ago that I had to restart favorite shows.
With an hour's worth of Pingu, life is good in the Karianna Household.
The Cat and Spliggle give it four enthusiastic thumbs-up, and a chorus of honking "Nert-nert!" approval.
The Cat is intrigued about snow since in California we don't get much unless we're in the mountains. Stories about snow and ice are naturally pleasing. Meanwhile, Spliggle loves hockey, and has taken to "skating" around on our hardwood floors using socks. Every day he asks, "We going to hockey today?" So of course he loves watching Pingu and his friends slipping and sliding on the ice.
One unfortunate coincidence is that the Cat has been calling everyone "Stinky." When I saw that one of the DVD's episodes is "Stinky Pingu" I slapped my forehead. Fortunately, the mentions of "Stinky" haven't increased, although they were pretty high to begin with!
Pingu is visual comedy. Although he expresses himself with the aforementioned "Nert-nert!", the action is physical. This means speakers of any language can understand the show. In fact, Pingu is a Swiss show that has had international success. Young children or those with receptive language delays can appreciate the show without needing to decipher spoken plot.
When Husband first introduced Pingu to our household, he told me (and Wikipedia has confirmed) that In 1989, David Hasselhoff released (in Switzerland only) the single "Pingu Dance," a rap song based on the Pingu shorts and featuring samples of Pinguish. Part of this "Pingu Dance" is the theme song for the North American version of the show. Pingu! Pingu! That Hoff! (Hey, I met the Hoff one day unexpectedly while he was making an appearance at a random mall. And indeed, he is a random man, what with all the German Pop-Star and Swiss Rap-Star titles!)
On Thin Ice
