From 1990 to 2000, a total of 104 five-minute Pingu episodes were made at Trickfilmstudio in Russikon, Switzerland. The episodes were written by Silvio Mazzola, and were directed and animated by Otmar Gutmann using clay animation. A special twenty-five minute episode called "Pingu at the Wedding Party" (also known by its home video title A Very Special Wedding) was produced in 1997.
The British-American entertainment company, HIT Entertainment (namely known for children's TV franchises such as Bob the Builder, Barney & Friends, and Thomas the Tank Engine), bought the rights to Pingu in 2001. The series was revived from 2003 to 2006 for a further 52 episodes, with the production moved to the United Kingdom.
The characters in Pingu practice "grammelot" or "Penguinese", gibberish that imitates language and can not be translated. Episodes are not subbed or dubbed due to the lack of real language.
Regarding episode titles, the main title listed for each episode in series 1-4 originates from BBC television broadcasts and European home video releases. Where applicable, several episodes that were redubbed in the late 1990s additionally have alternative titles that were first introduced on the official Japanese DVD releases, which were subsequently translated for North American audiences. Episode titles for the revival series are taken from the European DVDs.
Some episodes may contain intense or controversial subjects, and are censored (if not banned) in certain countries. The episode titled "Pingu Runs Away", for instance, was banned on British television and was never broadcast in America.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
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