p-p-p-p, p-p-p-p, Pingu! Pingu!

I've fallen in love with Pingu, an animated TV series from Switzerland that was broadcast, chiefly, in the 80's and 90's with a brief revival in the mid oughts. The show concerns itself with the shenanigans of a young penguin (titular) and his family and friends. It's all done in very spare, sometimes crude, claymation, but it's charming and often hilarious. The voice work--all grumbles, screeches, and babble--is perfect and by itself very funny. The show is for kids, but I think grown-ups will get a kick out of it too. You can find a batch of episodes (all around 5 minutes long) on Netflix, but Net searches will bring up some bits on Youtube and a bunch of web stuff that's more contemporary--games, merchandise, and other nonsense. From what I can see, the best of Pingu  is the old, creaky animation: very Euro, very silly, utterly delightful. Check out this episode, "Pingu Goes Fishing":

And what's a cute little Eurokid cartoon without a Hasselhoff connection? That's right. Check this out too:

Now get THAT out of your head!

~ C.D.