“Noot, noot!” Pingu is coming back! Mattel, the company behind the hit summer blockbuster Barbie, has officially announced their partnership with Aardman Animations, known for Wallace and Gromit, to bring everyone’s favorite stop-motion penguin sliding back onto the screen.
Created by Otmar Gutmann, Pingu is a claymation style kids’ show originally produced in 1990 by two Swiss companies, The Pygos Group and Pingu Filmstudio, and aired on BBC. The series was revived from 2003 until 2006 by the British producers HIT Entertainment and HOT Animation, finding its way onto Cartoon Network and gaining popularity with kids around the world.
Since Mattel bought HIT Entertainment in 2011, the curious and mischievous penguin will be brought back from the depths of forgotten early 2000s childhood characters. The CFO of Mattel, Jason Silverman, told The Hollywood Reporter of their collaboration with Aardman Animations to create a new Pingu series for modern audiences.
“You couldn’t ask for a more perfect marriage [than between Mattel and Aardman]. I was just with their 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.” – Josh Silverman via THR
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Aardman Animations is certainly the best choice for the job, with other successful stop-motion animation titles like Chicken Run and Flushed Away under their belt. The new Pingu series will be developed by Sarah Cox and Alan Thorpe from Aardman and Sidney Clifton, Rob David and Melanie Shannon from Mattel Television Studios.
Mattel Wants to Capitalize On “New-stalgia” Franchises
Mattel has quite the lineup for future productions based off of the toys and other IPs that they own, including a Thomas & Friends movie from the director of Disney’s Christopher Robin and a Polly Pocket film from MGM set to star Lily Collins. The children’s toy company is maximizing its presence in film to capitalize on a feeling that they have termed “new-stalgia.” The term combines adults’ nostalgia for their childhood, especially the media and toys they held dear, and modern, new kids’ content.
Barbie is a perfect example of Mattel’s idea of bringing adults and kids together by creating a project that kids can enjoy and parents are excited for as well through their nostalgia for the content being reintroduced. The toy company’s upcoming roster also includes a horror-comedy film centered around the Magic 8 Ball, a Barney film produced by Daniel Kaluuya’s production company, and a Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots film from Universal.
Nostaglia-based media has been all the rage since the strong wave of 80s appreciation took over pop culture in the last decade. With names like Greta Gerwig and Daniel Kaluuya getting involved in the trend, there are no signs of the waves of nostalgia slowing down, and Mattel is ready to ride that wave all the way to the box office.