Pororo the Little Penguin

Pororo the Little Penguin (Korean: 뽀롱뽀롱 뽀로로, romanized: Pporongpporong Ppororo) is a South Korean computer-animated television series. The series premiered on EBS 1 in South Korea in 2003 and ran on the channel until 2021. The series had 7 seasons.

Pororo the Little Penguin
English Title Card
Korean	뽀롱뽀롱 뽀로로
Genre	Children's television series Comedy Cartoon series
Opening theme	"Always Happy as Can Be" (seasons 1-2) "Hello Friends" (seasons 3-4) "Hello Everyone" (seasons 5-7)
Ending theme	"We Are the Best of Friends" (season 1) "We Are All Friends" (season 2) "We Are All Good Friends" (seasons 3-7)
Country of origin	South Korea
Original languages	Korean English
No. of seasons	7 (8, including the revival)
No. of episodes	312 (including the revival) (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	5 minutes (seasons 1-3 and the revival) 11 minutes (seasons 4-7)
Production companies	Ocon Animation Studios Iconix Entertainment
Release
Original network	EBS1, Disney Channel (Korea), Cartoon Network (Korea)
Original release	November 27, 2003 (2003-11-27) – February 16, 2021 (2021-02-16)

The series revolves around the adventures of a little penguin named Pororo, and his friends who live in the snowy hamlet of Porong Porong Forest, who often encounter challenges and learn practical and moral lessons in each episode.

Production

It was created in 2003 Iconix Entertainment Co., Ltd, a company based in Seoul, South Korea. Choi Sang-hyun, who was working at Iconix Entertainment, was given a project of creating a character that represents an animal living in the winter. Choi visited a zoo in order to see those animals and understand how children enjoyed watching them.

Several professional designers joined the project to come up with a character, but Choi's design was chosen as the winner, which then became Pororo. The original Pororo was a blue and white, petite penguin sporting an aviator helmet and goggles, which became popular among children. When it was introduced, it targeted children aged 4–7.

Pororo has no specific background or cultural coding, so that the series could be popular to children worldwide. Pororo's design inspirations include iconic mascots Mickey Mouse and Hello Kitty. The creators picked the colours blue, pink and white to ensure familiarity for children, as well as representing said colors for boys and girls.

When making episodes, producers focused to details that could be biased to certain cultural codes or give a historical reference, that is sensitive to viewers in certain parts of the world. For example, they ensured that the characters wave rather than bowing or nodding to each other. In the second season, the characters were all given redesigns and outfits that correspond to their personalities.^{[citation needed]}

Characters

Main article: List of Pororo the Little Penguin characters

English credits:

• English translation: Ani100
• English voice director: Anna Paik

English cast:

• Bommie Catherine Han: Pororo, Monkey 1
• Anna Desmarais: Eddy, Petty
• Nancy Kim: Harry, Monkey 3
• Anna Paik: Loopy, Tutu, Monkey 2
• Matt Anipen: Poby, Narrator, Wall Clock
• Josh Schwartzentruber: Rody, Fuzzy Wuzzy
• John Lee: Tong-tong, Yeti

Broadcast

The series premiered on EBS 1 in South Korea in 2003, until 2021.

In the USA, the show was dubbed in Spanish and aired on V-me in the late 2000s and currently aired on V-me Kids.

On October 5, 2015, it was broadcast in Brazil through TV Cultura and later on October 12 through TV Rá-Tim-Bum.

In Italy, the show aired on Rai 2.

In 2010, the series was purchased by the NPO for Zappelin in the Netherlands.

In Poland, the show was aired on MiniMini+ under the title "Mały pingwinek Popolo".

In Japan, the first season aired on Fuji TV, but other three aired on Disney Junior.

In Southeast Asia, the series aired on Disney Junior.

Media

Seasons

Main article: List of Pororo the Little Penguin episodes

Aspect ratio:

• Season 1: 52 x 5' (2003-2004)^[1]
• Season 2: 52 x 5' (2005-2006)^[2]
• Season 3: 52 x 5' (2009)
• Season 4: 26 x 11' (2012)
• Season 5: 26 x 11' (2014)
• Season 6: 26 x 11' (2016)
• Season 1 (revival): 52 x 5' (2017)
• Season 7: 26 x 11 (2020-2021)

Films

• Pororo, to the Cookie Castle (2004)
• Porong Porong Rescue Mission (2009)
• Pororo, the Snow Fairy Village Adventure (2010)
• Pororo, The Racing Adventure (2013)
• Pororo: Cyberspace Adventure (2015)
• Pororo, Dinosaur Island Adventure (2017)
• Pororo, Treasure Island Adventure (2019)
• Pororo, Dragon Castle Adventure (2022)

Others

Spin-offs

• Pororo Sing-A-Long: 14 x 3' (2006)^[3]
• Eddy The Clever Fox: 13 x 5' (2010)
• Loopy, The Cooking Princess: 6 x 5' (2012)
• Pororo's English Show: 13 x 5' (2013)
• Pororo's Adventure to Korea: 13 x 5' (2016)

Shorts

• Netflix New Year's Eve Countdown 2018 (2017)

Reception and legacy

Initially, Pororo was created solely for entertainment. Later, parents suggested to Choi Jung-il of Iconix Entertainment that new episodes with educational value be included. Producers have received many requests, ranging from what the characters should eat and how to play in episodes to what they can do for society.

Korean Air also provides Pororo-related merchandise for children including a doodle book, a colouring book and a plush toy of the character. In 2015, Pororo was chosen as the mascot for mass transportation in Seoul.

In the summer of 2016, a Pororo theme park opened at Seoul COEX Mall featuring rides and a parade of Pororo characters.^[4]

Awards and nominations

In 2007, Pororo received numerous awards from the South Korean government, including the award by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. In 2010, Pororo got the president's award for Best Animated Characters. In 2014, Pororo got the award for Creative Brands.

References

1. . Archived from the original on 2011-10-15. Retrieved 2012-05-28. Episode Guide Season 1
2. . Archived from the original on 2011-10-02. Retrieved 2012-05-28. Episode Guide Season 2
3. "뽀로로와 노래해요 1기 - Originally 14 episodes, additional 12". www.youtube.com. from the original on 2022-03-17. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
4. "코엑스몰서 '뽀로로 카니발' 개최". Ulsan Maeil. 2016-05-07. from the original on 2016-10-11. Retrieved 2016-05-08.

External links

• Pororo the Little Penguin Official EBS Website (in Korean)
• Pororo in Netherlands (in Dutch)
• OCON Studios
• [1] IMDB page for Pororo the Little Penguin TV series.