Saturday, April 26, 2014

Tooniversary: Peppa Pig (2004)

England's Peppa Pig made her debut 10 years ago, and emigrated to the US about a year or so later on Cartoon Network, which really didn't know what to do with her. Gee, there's a shock for you, but then, the network didn't really put a lot of promotion into their short-lived Tickle U morning block, which also featured Gerald McBoing-Boing and Krypto the Superdog, both of which have previously been reviewed. Currently, Peppa makes her American home on Nick Jr.(check your listings).

Four seasons have been produced over the course of 7 years (2004-11), and the animation looks as though Peppa and her family came from the pages of a children's book, though I have yet to verify if this is the case.

So what has been the problem? For one thing, it's been difficult for any of the cable networks to make hay with a foreign-produced cartoon. Nick, for one, was looking for something to complement their hit series, Dora the Explorer, and while Peppa Pig hasn't been quite as popular here as her countryman, Fireman Sam, for example, the fact that the series has stayed in production for as long as it did should say something.

Here's a sample short:



Parents, your kids will love this.

Rating: A.

No comments: