Pingu - Stinky Pingu (DVD)

Pingu is a small penguin that lives on the Icecap. He lives in an igloo with his mum, his postman dad and baby sister Pinga. His grandpa lives in an igloo nearby. Pingu loves to play; he loves to ski, sledge, play fish tennis and most of all play in the snow. He loves to learn about the world around him both alone and with his friends Seal, Pongi, Pingo and Pingg.

Pingu has been around for some time but I think the more recent episodes ...
...to the scrapes that Pingu and his friends get into but also for the added addition of the occasional burp and other bodily noises either in the bath or whilst on the toilet. However what children probably don't realise is that most of the stories have a hidden moral in them, and this DVD is no exception.

Pingu does not speak English, however the tone of his and others voices along with facial expressions makes it clear what is being ... more

Pingu is a small penguin that lives on the Icecap. He lives in an igloo with his mum, his postman dad and baby sister Pinga. His grandpa lives in an igloo nearby. Pingu loves to play; he loves to ski, sledge, play fish tennis and most of all play in the snow. He loves to learn about the world around him both alone and with his friends Seal, Pongi, Pingo and Pingg.

Pingu has been around for some time but I think the more recent episodes are much better. The story appeal highly to children due to the scrapes that Pingu and his friends get into but also for the added addition of the occasional burp and other bodily noises either in the bath or whilst on the toilet. However what children probably don't realise is that most of the stories have a hidden moral in them, and this DVD is no exception.

Pingu does not speak English, however the tone of his and others voices along with facial expressions makes it clear what is being said.

We bought the DVD when it first came out and so paid the top price for a Chart DVD, around £12 in Woolworths. You can now get hold of it for around £9. Some places also stock it on VHS for around £2 cheaper.

The Stinky Pingu DVD is 53 minutes long including the extras. Most of the episodes are around 5 minutes each which is just the right length for a child of the age they appeal to. I would say this is probably under six or seven but older children and adults will enjoy the humour too.

***The Episodes***

The DVD contains eight episodes. They are:-

~Stinky Pingu~
Pingu and family have sat down for breakfast but Pingu is not impressed with his fish porridge. Mum tells him he must stay at the table until he finishes. For a while he sits doing all the things you would expect a young child in his situation to do then when mum goes out the room he hits upon the idea of putting the porridge in his school bag. Mum, thinking he has finished allows him to go. Pingu meets up with his friend seal, trying to pass it on to him, but he is not interested and they end up having a food fight with the breakfast. Pingu then has a series of unfortunate events including a run in with a dustbin that leave him very stinky. Hence stinky Pingu. He heads off home for a bath where he quite happily jumps in with his sister just to rid the smell. All clean he joins his family at the table for dinner. And guess what mum has made for him….yep, his favourite. But mum is only teasing and soon swaps it for something that is much more appealing in Pingus' eyes.

~Pingu and the band~
Pingu and Pinga are making lots of noise. They are turning everything into instruments and mum and the neighbours are not impressed. They eventually make their way to Granddads' house who has a different view and soon gets his accordion out to join them in their music making. With Granddads lead the music improves and they head back to Pingus house where this time everyone welcomes the delightful tune.

~Pingu and the snowball~
Pingu and his friend are having snowball fights and competitions to see who can make the biggest snowball. They then spot a ski slope and decide to roll the ball up the hill. Unfortunately as they reach the top, they cannot hold the snowball any longer and it slips back down the hill taking Pingus' friend with it. Along the way it gathers more bits and pieces before finally coming to rest. Pingus' friend is Ok, but very cold so they take him home to warm up and defrost in front of the fire. There doesn't seem much to this story but it is my children's' favourite and has them in stitches all the way through.

~Pingu's stick up~
Pingu and Pinga both find some stickers in the cereal box. The stickers, green and red fish, are then used by them both to make claim on various things. It starts off with toys and some household items but gradually the whole igloo is covered. They then move outside and start sticking the fish all over the place, including on their parents. They finally reach the playground where Pinga claims the swing and Pingu the seesaw. However they have a problem. Pinga needs to be pushed and Pingu cannot make the seesaw go up and down by himself. They soon realise that they need to help each other and learn a valuable lesson in sharing.

~Pingu and the Doorbell~
Pingu and his friend are playing outside with a ball. They throw the ball at the doorbell and mum is not happy so they decide to be much more careful. Unfortunately a couple of rebounds causes the ball to bounce straight at the doorbell again and break it. Mum is really not happy now and tells Pingu that he must fix it whilst she is out. He tries very hard but is unsuccessful so heads for the doorbell shop to buy a new one. He tries various bells out and settles on a yodelling one. But later at home they all realise what a big mistake this was when every time the doorbell is rung they are sent bouncing around the igloo as the echoes of the yodelling are sent round. Pingu heads back to the shop to return the doorbell and this time comes back with the exact one they had originally. Once fitted everyone is happy again.

~Pingu plays Tag~
Pingu and Pinga are playing chase around the igloo. Dad who is busy ironi8ng is not happy, especially when they crash into him and sent a pair of knickers flying that land on his beak. So he sends them outside. Pingu decides to hide and climbs an ice block. Pinga tries hard to find him but can't so returns home. Meanwhile Pingu is left high in the sky. It gets cold and dark and Pingu gets scared. At dinner time Pinga gets worried that her brother has not returned and urges her mum and dad to go out looking for him. They eventually find him and bring him home. Pingu decides to play safe and help dad with the ironing but when Pinga tries to play tag again and Dad realises Pingu won't play he decides there is only one thing for it. For him to join in too.

~Pingu's pancakes~
Mum is making pancakes for tea. Pingu juggles with the eggs and Pinga drinks the milk so mum gets them involved to try to keep them busy. All is going fairly well until they start tossing the pancakes. Pingu cannot do it. His first ends up on the ceiling, then one on a picture and soon there are pancakes everywhere. With the help of Dad when he arrives home from work, he finally manages and at tea time Pingu serves a pancake to everyone. As he sits down all eyes are on his plate as it is empty, he does not have a pancake. But Pingu does not worry, the pancake he first tried to toss, slowly peels off the ceiling and plops onto his plate. Now everyone can enjoy their tea.

~Pingu's bedtime shadows~
It is bedtime in the penguin household. The children are sent to do their teeth but being typical children end up playing and the toothpaste gets squirted. It lands on the mirror making a monster type face shape. Once settled in bed the light is turned off. A monster face appears on the wall and Pinga is scared. Pingu realises it is the shadow of a mask and shows her how shadows are made and how you can make various shapes. They play around for sometime before Dad comes in very cross that they are not asleep. Dad is very tired though and they all end up falling asleep together.

***The Extras***

~Meet Pongi, Pingo and Pingg~
These are three of Pingus' friends and classmates. Each one gives a short description of them, their looks and likes, along with a short clip where they have featured. Children could be encouraged to try and write a short description about themselves and their friends in the same way.

~Pingus' photo gallery~
This contains stills from the DVD. You could use this section to play a game and ask children if they can remember the story that it comes from or whether they know what has just or is about to happen. This will help with memory and learning to write stories and recall them.

~Web Link~
Just that. It gives you the address of the website, which happens to be www.pingu.co.uk

~Sneak Peak~
This part shows you some short trailers from other DVDs that are suitable for children of a similar age. The excerpts shown are from The Wiggles, Bob the Builder and Fireman Sam.

~Hit Parade~
Here you have lots of pictures of well known Children's caracters. By clicking on each one you will get a short clip from one of the Videos and DVDs that have been made featuring that character.

***Overall Verdict***
We, that is my children and myself, love this DVD. It is one of those that no matter how many times you watch it, it still makes you laugh. It has been well worth the money and I am sure it will be watched for many more years to come. The situations that occur in the episodes as well as some of the endings give great starting blocks for discussing issues such as sharing and monsters with children. Also as I explained above the extras can be used to help children in an educational way.

 

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