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Peppa Pig

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the show. For the characters, see List of Peppa Pig characters § The Pigs.
Peppa Pig
Peppa Pig.png
Genre
  • Preschool
Created by
Written by
Directed by
  • Neville Astley
  • Mark Baker
  • Phillip Hall (2011)
  • Joris van Hulzen (2011)
Starring
Narrated byJohn Sparkes
Theme music composerJulian Nott
ComposerJulian Nott
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series7
No. of episodes329 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersOlivier Dumont (2016–present)
Phil Davies (2019–present)
ProducerPhil Davies (2004–2018)
Running timeabout 5 minutes
Production companies
  • Astley Baker Davies Ltd
  • Contender Entertainment Group (series 1)
  • Rubber Duck Entertainment (series 2)
  • E1 Kids/Entertainment One Family (series 3–4)
  • Entertainment One (series 5–present)
  • The Elf Factory Limited (series 5)
  • Gaston's Cave Ltd (series 6-present)
Distributor
  • Contender Entertainment Group (2004–09)
  • Entertainment One (2009–)
Release
Original network
  • Channel 5
  • Nick Jr.
Picture format576i (SDTV)
1080i (HDTV)
Original release31 May 2004 (2004-05-31) –
present
Chronology
Related showsBen & Holly's Little Kingdom
External links
Website

Peppa Pig is a British preschool animated television series by Astley Baker Davies. The show revolves around Peppa, an anthropomorphic female pig and her family and peers. The show originally aired on 31 May 2004. The seventh season began broadcasting on 5 March 2021. Peppa Pig has been broadcast in over 180 countries.[1]

On 31 December 2019, Hasbro acquired Entertainment One, including the Peppa Pig franchise, for a US$3.8 billion deal.[2]

On 31 January 2020, Harley Bird announced that she would be stepping down from the role of Peppa Pig.[3]

On 16 March 2021, it was announced that the series was renewed until 2027. However, the original creators and studio (Astley Baker Davies) are going to leave production, and will be replaced by Karrot Entertainment (producers of Sarah & Duck).[4]

Background

Each episode is approximately five minutes long. The show revolves around Peppa, an anthropomorphic pig, and her family and friends. Each of her friends is a different species of animal. Peppa's friends are her age, and Peppa's younger brother George's friends are his age. Episodes tend to feature everyday activities such as attending playgroup, going swimming, visits with their grandparents, cousins, and friends, going to the playground or riding their bikes.

The characters wear clothes, live in houses, and drive cars, but still display some characteristics of the animals on which they are based. Peppa and her family snort like pigs during conversations in which they are speaking English, and the other animals make their respective noises when they talk, with some exhibiting other characteristics, such as the Rabbit family's squeaking sounds and enjoyment of carrots. The Rabbit and Mole families are also the sole exceptions to the rule of human-like habitation, as they live in a burrow in a hill, though it has windows and is furnished in the same way as the other houses. The characters also blush when embarrassed and their mouths express other emotions such as sadness, happiness, irritation, bewilderment, and confusion. Although the main characters—mostly mammals—are anthropomorphic, other animal characters are not, such as Tiddles the tortoise, Polly Parrot, and the ducks. The narrator of the series, John Sparkes, reinforces the action and humour, saying things like "Oh, dear" when something unfortunate happens (such as George starts crying) or "Look out!" when a character is doing something unsafe (such as Peppa riding her bicycle without looking where she's going).

Production and airing

Peppa Pig is a children's programme telecasting on Channel 5 and Nick Jr. (UK) in the UK, Nickelodeon/Nick Jr. (US) in the US, ABC 4 Kids in Australia and Discovery Kids in Latin America, including Brazil.

The first series of 52 five-minute episodes started on Channel 5 on 31 May 2004, and had its first run in the US as part of Cartoon Network's Tickle-U preschool television programming block from 22 August 2005 to 2007, redubbed with US actors.[5] However, there were no other official releases of this dub outside of these airings, and every US airing since 2008 uses the original British soundtrack.[6]

In 2008, Peppa Pig moved to Noggin in the US as part of Noggin Presents (a series of interstitial shorts). Since February 2011, the series airs as a half-hour show on the Nick Jr. US channel, and on the separate Nick Jr. block on Nickelodeon as of November 2013. For each episode, 5 segments are put together (though for the special containing "Golden Boots" and the episode containing "Around the World", only 3 segments are used) to make the runtime 25 minutes.[6] As of June 2021, there are 9 seasons (and 1 standalone special) of Peppa Pig in the US.[7]

It can also be seen on Nick Jr. in the UK, Portugal, Italy, Benelux, Scandinavia and Australia. In Taiwan, the show aired on Playhouse Disney. The second series of 52 episodes began on Channel 5 on 4 September 2006, with Cecily Bloom replacing Lily Snowden-Fine as Peppa, among other cast changes. The third series started telecasting on Channel 5's preschool-targeted block Milkshake! on 4 May 2009 with Harley Bird replacing Cecily Bloom and Lily Snowden-Fine as Peppa.

Peppa Pig is animated using CelAction.[8]

Characters

Main article: List of Peppa Pig characters

Episodes and DVD releases

Main article: List of Peppa Pig episodes
SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
15231 May 2004 (2004-05-31)30 November 2004 (2004-11-30)
2524 September 2006 (2006-09-04)20 June 2007 (2007-06-20)
Christmas special225 December 2007 (2007-12-25)
3524 May 2009 (2009-05-04)17 December 2010 (2010-12-17)
45223 May 2011 (2011-05-23)28 December 2012 (2012-12-28)
Specials314 February 2015 (2015-02-14)6 March 2016 (2016-03-06)
55224 October 2016 (2016-10-24)21 September 2018 (2018-09-21)
Film7 April 2017 (2017-04-07)
6525 February 2019 (2019-02-05)7 October 2020 (2020-10-07)
7TBA5 March 2021 (2021-03-05)TBA

Other media

Books

There is a series of books based on Peppa Pig, one of which, Peppa Meets the Queen, was written to coincide with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

Film and "cinema experience"

A 15-minute film called Peppa Pig: The Golden Boots[9] was released on 14 February 2015[10] alongside several episodes of the TV series.[11] As of December 2015, it had grossed £2,326,328.[12]

A second film, branded a "cinema experience" was released on 16 March 2017, and was shown in cinemas on 7 April 2017. It features nine exclusive new episodes, four of which share the same theme, Peppa's holiday in Australia. Between the episodes are segments with a live-action host named Daisy (played by Emma Grace Arends) and Peppa and George as hand-made puppets, based on the Peppa Pig Live stage show.

Peppa Pig World

Peppa Pig at a personal appearance in the UK

Peppa Pig World, a themed area based on the series opened on 9 April 2011 at Paultons Park, New Forest, Hampshire, UK,[13] with attractions such as nine rides, an indoor play zone, a muddy puddles water splash park, kid-sized play areas and themed buildings.

Merchandise

Peppa Pig, the Entertainment One (eOne) brand, grossed over £200 million in UK merchandise sales in 2010, doubling the 2009 figure of £100 million. According to NPD figures for 2010, Peppa Pig had become the number one pre-school property in the total toy market, moving up four places from its 2009 position. As of May 2018 Peppa Pig was stated to have over 1,000 licensees wordlwide, and 80 in the US,[14] up from 63 licensees in 2010.[15]

Episode DVDs and a variety of licensed Peppa Pig products including video games and other toys such as playsets, playing cards, vehicles, and stuffed toys are sold. The range was expanded to include household items such as bathroom products, stationery,[16] bed-linen, food, drink, clothing, and jewellery. A music album titled My First Album was released in July 2019.[17]

Video games

Peppa Pig: The Game was developed by Pinnacle Inc. and published by Asylum Entertainment in the UK, and Ubisoft in the US. It was released on 27 November 2009 for the Nintendo Wii console and Nintendo DS hand-held game system. It is a children's video game to learn and play, and it contains 11 games and activities.

A second game, Peppa Pig: Fun and Games was developed and published by the same companies as the previous title. It was released on 22 October 2010 for the Nintendo Wii console and Nintendo DS hand-held game system.

A third game, My Friend Peppa Pig was developed by Petoons Studio and published by Outright Games. It is set to be released on 22 October 2021 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Windows.[18][19]

Criticism, controversy, concerns and influence

Comparison of identical frame in original (top) and re-edited versions of the Series 1 episode "Bicycles", with cycle helmets added.

Peppa and her family did not wear seat belts in cars in the first two series. After receiving several complaints, Astley Baker Davies announced that all future animation would include characters wearing seat belts, and that the relevant scenes in the first two series would be re-animated to include them.[20] Similar changes were also made to add cycle helmets to early episodes with characters riding bicycles.[21]

Peppa was used to promote the pre-2010 Labour government's Sure Start programme, which had the aim of "giving children the best possible start in life".[22] In April 2010, during the UK General Election campaign, E1 Entertainment said that Peppa would not attend the launch of the Labour Party's families manifesto "in the interests of avoiding any controversy or misunderstanding".

An episode called "Mister Skinnylegs" was made, showing spiders as harmless and friendly. Given the prevalence of deadly venomous spiders in Australia, in 2012 the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), in response to a complaint, deemed the episode inappropriate for Australian audiences; it was not broadcast.[23]

In late May 2014, the ABC's Mark Scott expressed fears about the future of Peppa on Australian television, given Australian federal budget cuts to ABC funding that were said to affect its ability to pay for, and broadcast, overseas media products such as Peppa Pig. Australian media noted the character's appeal to Australian toddlers and echoed concerns about the future of her Australian distribution rights. Australian Federal Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce made reference to the character as a menu item at a Thai restaurant, while conservative columnist Piers Akerman thought that Peppa "pushes a weird feminist line".[24] On 28 May 2014, Minister for Communications Malcolm Turnbull tweeted: "Contrary to media rumours, Peppa's is one snout we are happy to have in the ABC trough".[25]

In 2015 Norman Lamb, a former UK health minister, said that programmes such as Peppa Pig should include gay characters, because having arbitrary boundaries as to what relationships are acceptable in children's television was "not equitable".[26]

The British Medical Journal carried a light-hearted article in its Christmas 2017 edition, which suggested that although the programme includes numerous "positive public health messages, encouraging healthy eating, exercise, and road safety", it ran the risk of "contributing to unrealistic expectations of primary care" by depicting general practitioner Doctor Brown Bear as making out-of-hours home visits as soon as contacted about apparently trivial illnesses, and dispensing medicines rather too freely.[27] The media company responsible for Peppa Pig offered no comment when contacted about the article by the BBC.[28]

Since 2019, it has been observed that children in the US, where Peppa Pig had become an extremely popular program, had been acquiring some specifically English, rather than American pronunciation and vocabulary. For example, tomato and zebra are pronounced in the English, rather than American way; words such as satnav, petrol, mummy and "biscuit" (instead of "cookie") are used; and comments such as "how clever", "Oh dear", and "can I have a go?" picked up.[29][30][31] This phenomenon was not an issue for many parents; it trended witht the hashtag "#PeppaEffect".[29] Linguistics experts find those conclusions to be "likely exaggerated".[32] A written statement by Entertainment One Ltd. when asked of this phenomenon went on saying: "Young Peppa fans see her as a friend…and, as we do with friends that we admire, pick up some of their characteristics...imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."[31]

Peppa Pig in China

Peppa Pig is popular with mainstream China, and has been featured by official news media such as People's Daily,[33] and even endorsed by People's Liberation Army[34] and Chinese weapons manufacturer Norinco.[35] However, social media posts featuring concerned parents complaining against Peppa Pig have also gone viral.[36] In May 2018, digitally manipulated contents featuring adult content with Peppa Pig were blocked on the video app TikTok, also known as Douyin in China, due to concerns about exposure of adult content to children.[37] According to some media estimates, some 30,000 clips referenced under "#PeppaPig" were removed by the site.[38] The ban was in response to the prevalence of adult content featuring Peppa Pig created by shehuiren (simplified Chinese: 社会人; traditional Chinese: 社會人; pinyin: shè huì rén; literally "society person") subculture, which used Peppa Pig as a criminal "mobster" icon, with members of the subculture creating adult-humoured memes and tattoos using imagery from the cartoon. Original Peppa Pig cartoons remain accessible on all online platforms, including TikTok (Douyin).[citation needed]

Despite the above controversy, the series and character remain popular within mainstream Chinese culture, as two Peppa Pig theme parks are set to open in Beijing and Shanghai in 2019.[needs update][39] In early 2019, to celebrate the Year of the Pig, the 81-minute animation/live-action film Peppa Pig Celebrates Chinese New Year was released in China.[40][41] Before the film's release, a five-minute live-action promotional trailer went viral on social media in China, garnering a billion views and being re-posted by numerous state media outlets.[40] The film opened on 6 February 2019, and made US$14 million in the first three days.[42]

Awards and nominations

Awards

  • British Academy Children's Awards
    • 2012, Winner for Best Pre-School Animation[43]
    • 2011, Winner for Best Pre-School Animation[44]
    • 2011, Winner for Best Performer (Harley Bird)
    • 2005, Winner for Best Pre-School Animation series
  • Annecy International Animated Film Festival 2005, Winner of the Grand Prize, The Crystal for Best TV Production[45]
  • Bradford Animation Film Festival 2005, Winner of Best Children's Animation Series
  • Cartoons on the Bay Festival 2005, Winner of Pulcinella Award for Best European Programme of the Year
  • Cartoons on the Bay Festival 2005, Winner of Pulcinella Award for Best Pre-School Series
  • Cartoons on the Bay Festival 2005, Children's audience award for Best Pre-School series

Nominations

  • British Academy Children's Awards
    • 2013, Nomination for Best Pre-School Animation[46]
    • 2013, Nomination for Best Writing[46]
    • 2013, Nomination for Best Multiplatform (Peppa Pig's Holiday game)[46]
    • 2010, Nomination for Best Pre-School Animation
    • 2010, Nomination for Best Writing
    • 2009, Nomination for Best Pre-School Animation
    • 2009, Nomination for Best Writing
    • 2008, Nomination for Best Pre-School Animation
    • 2007, Nomination for Best Pre-School Animation
    • 2004, Nomination for Best Pre-School Animation

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
UK
[47] 		SCO
[48] 		IRL
[49]
My First Album 79 26 91
Peppa’s Adventures: The Album — — —

Singles

Title Album Released
“Theme Music From Peppa Pig” Theme Music EP 1 April 2016
"Bing Bong Zoo" My First Album 14 June 2019
"Bing Bong Christmas" Non-album single 25 October 2019

Extended plays

Title EP details
Theme Music EP
  • Released: 1 April 2016
  • Type: 2-track EP

References

  1. ^ "Peppa Pig moved from Labour event". BBC News. 27 April 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  2. ^ "Hasbro Closes Deal of Takeover of Studio Behind Peppa Pig". TV Shows. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  3. ^ Davies, Hannah J. (31 January 2020). "Peppa Pig voice actor Harley Bird quits after 13 years". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  4. ^ "'Peppa Pig' Creators Step Back as eOne Kids Phenomenon is Renewed Until 2027". 16 March 2021.
  5. ^ "Cartoon Network Launches Tickle U To Humor Preschoolers". Animation World Network. 22 August 2005. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "Peppa Pig: On Track for U.S. Success". June 2011.
  7. ^ "Shows A-Z - peppa pig on nick jr | TheFutonCritic.com". www.thefutoncritic.com.
  8. ^ "Links".
  9. ^ "PEPPA PIG: THE GOLDEN BOOTS". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  10. ^ Simmy Richman (13 February 2015). "TV cartoon Peppa Pig – now worth $1bn a year – is making the leap to the big screen". The Independent. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  11. ^ "Peppa Pig: The Golden Boots review". Den of Geek. 16 February 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  12. ^ "Peppa Pig: The Golden Boots – International Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 22 February 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  13. ^ "Peppa Pig World". Paultons Park. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  14. ^ Willmot, Mairaed (22 May 2018). "Entertainment One adds more partners for Peppa Pig". LTW.MEDIA. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  15. ^ "Record-breaking year for Peppa Pig". LTW Magazine. 2010. Archived from the original on 17 June 2011.
  16. ^ "Personalised Childrens Books". Penwizard. Archived from the original on 26 October 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  17. ^ "Piggy-Azalea: Peppa and Iggy's album feud plays out on Twitter". CTV News. 17 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  18. ^ "'My Friend Peppa Pig' Video Game Trailer Shows You How to Become Friends with the Animated Icon". 20 May 2021.
  19. ^ "Yes, I'm buying My Friend Peppa Pig". 21 May 2021.
  20. ^ "Peppa Pig in seatbelt safety row". BBC. 15 January 2009.
  21. ^ Loveday, Samantha (14 December 2010). "ABD adds seatbelts to Peppa Pig episodes | Latest news from the licensing industry". Licensing.biz. Archived from the original on 30 September 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  22. ^ "Peppa Pig moved from Labour event". BBC News. 27 April 2010.
  23. ^ "Complaint: Peppa Pig, (received), 6th August 2012". ABC. 24 September 2012.
  24. ^ Maley, Jacqueline (28 May 2014). "Peppa Pig held aloft as sacrifice to god of prosperity". The Age. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  25. ^ Malcolm Turnbull [@TurnbullMalcolm] (28 May 2014). "Contrary to media rumours, Peppa's is one snout we are happy to have in the ABC trough" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  26. ^ Murphy, Joe (1 July 2015). "Kids' shows like Peppa Pig should have gay characters, says Liberal". Evening Standard.
  27. ^ Bell, Catherine (2017). "Does Peppa Pig encourage inappropriate use of primary care resources?". British Medical Journal. 359 (Christmas 2017): j5397. doi:10.1136/bmj.j5397. PMID 29229662. S2CID 3479066.
  28. ^ Westbrook, Ian (12 December 2017). "Peppa Pig's GP visits copied by fans, says doctor". BBC News. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  29. ^ Jump up to: a b Yang, Maya (19 July 2021). "Having a go: US parents say Peppa Pig is giving their kids British accents". The Guardian.
  30. ^ Brunetti, Nic (12 February 2019). "Children in U.S. 'are talking with British accent because of Peppa Pig'". Metro.
  31. ^ Jump up to: a b Rana, Preetika; Meghan, Bobrowsky (18 July 2021). "Peppa Pig, a Pandemic Favorite, Has American Children Acting British". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  32. ^ Horton, Adrian (14 February 2019). "Telling porkies: no, Peppa Pig is not giving American kids British accents". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  33. ^ "Qing-style porcelain cup painted with English cartoon figure Peppa Pig goes viral in China". People's Daily. 22 April 2018.
  34. ^ "Plaudits for PLA's Hong Kong garrison on the march with Peppa Pig in Lunar New Year video that ends with a giggle". South China Morning Post. 3 February 2019.
  35. ^ "Lunar New Year puts seal on Peppa Pig". South China Morning Post. 4 February 2019.
  36. ^ "Peppa Pig is a bad influence, vents parent in viral social media post". People.cn. 15 November 2017.
  37. ^ "China bans Peppa Pig because she 'promotes gangster attitudes'". The Independent. 2 May 2018.
  38. ^ Ong, Thuy (1 May 2018). "Peppa Pig blocked on popular Chinese video app for association with counterculture". The Verge. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  39. ^ Haas, Benjamin (1 May 2018). "Peppa Pig, subversive symbol of the counterculture, in China video site ban". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  40. ^ Jump up to: a b "See The Heartfelt 'Peppa Pig' Video That Got A Billion Views In China". NPR. 5 February 2019.
  41. ^ "Peppa Pig Celebrates Chinese New Year (xiao zhu pei qi guo da nian)-film 1010370" – via www.britinfo.net.
  42. ^ Mendelson, Scott. "Box Office: 'The Wandering Earth' Is China's First Big-Budget Sci-Fi Blockbuster". Forbes.
  43. ^ "2012 Children's Pre-School Animation | BAFTA Awards". BAFTA. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  44. ^ "2011 Children's Pre-School Animation | BAFTA Awards". BAFTA. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  45. ^ "2005 – The Cristal for a TV production". AIAFF. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  46. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Children's in 2013 | BAFTA Awards". BAFTA. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  47. ^ "PEPPA PIG | full Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company.
  48. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 1 August 2021.
  49. ^ "Ireland Albums Top 100 (November 7, 2019)". acharts.co. Archived from the original on 1 August 2021.

External links

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