Pororo the Little Penguin

Pororo the Little Penguin
English Title Card
Korean	뽀롱뽀롱 뽀로로
Genre	Children
Country of origin	South Korea [1] North Korea
Original language(s)	Korean English
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	150 (Not counting Pororo's Sing-A-Long and Pororo the English Show Episodes) (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	10 minutes per episode of two shorts (until Season 3) 11 minutes per episode (Season 4 – present)
Production company(s)	Ocon Animation Studios Iconix Entertainment
Release
Original network	EBS1
Original release	November 27, 2003 (2003-11-27) – present
External links
Website

Pororo the Little Penguin (Korean: 뽀롱뽀롱 뽀로로) is a Korean computer animated television series created by Iconix Entertainment, SK Broadband, Ocon and Channel One with the animation done by Studio Gail and rendered by Seoul Animation Center^[2](formerly with the North Korean company Samchŏlli in Kaesong from season 1~2)^[3] Production began in 2002 and the program began airing in South Korea on EBS in 2003.

The series revolves around the adventures of 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.

Origin

It was created in 2003 by Iconix Entertainment Co., Ltd, a company based in Seoul, South Korea.

Design

Choi Sang-hyun, who was working at Iconix Entertainment, was given a project of creating an icon that represents an animal living in the winter. So, he kept visiting a zoo to understand animals and kids enjoying watching them. Many professional designers joined the project to come up with an icon, but Choi’s design was chosen as the winner, which became the first Pororo.

Characters

Main characters

A Christmas show featuring Pororo the Little Penguin at Nex, Singapore

Season 1 – present

• Pororo (Voiced by Lee Seon) is the main protagonist of the series.
• Crong (Voiced by Lee Mi-ja) is a baby dinosaur and the youngest of the group and got adopted by Pororo.
• Poby (Voiced by Kim Hwan-jin) is a polar bear with a big heart.
• Eddy (Voiced by Ham Soo-jeong) is a gold fox with an invention box.
• Loopy (Voiced by (Hong So-yeong) is a pink beaver who loves to cook.
• Goo Ja-hyeong as the Narrator

Season 2 – present

• Petty (Voiced by Chung Misook), is a penguin that joined pororo and the others in the porong porong forest.
• Harry (Voiced by Kim Seo-yeong), is a ruby-coloured hummingbird and sidekick of Poby.

Season 3 – present

• Lee Mi-ja as Rody, a robot invented and loved by Eddy
• Goo Ja- hyeong as Tong-tong, a magical dragon.
• Ham Soo-jeong as Popo
• Kim Seo-yeong as Pipi
• Hong So-yeong as Nyao

Season 4 – present

• Jang Eun-sook as Tu-tu

Animation history

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 2-4, unlike other characters devised by Iconix Entertainment that targeted children aged 2-6. Pororo is an adventurous 5-year-old penguin, who dreams of flying, and lives on a snowy island with six other animal friends. In the design, Pororo in most animations has a neutral background, so that the animation could be popular to children all around the world. The role models of Pororo in design included Mickey Mouse, the Walt Disney icon who turned 84 this year, and the Japan’s most adored character, Hello Kitty, who has been cherished for nearly 40 years. The creators cautiously picked the colors — blue, pink and white — that are familiar to children and also ones that represent both genders. When making episodes, producers paid attention 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 make sure Pororo and friends wave hands instead of bow or even nod to each other.

Awards and honors

In 2003, Pororo received numerous awards from the South Korean government, including the award by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. In 2006, Pororo got the President’s award for best animation characters. In 2013, Pororo got the award for Creative Brands. In 2014, Pororo was chosen as the mascot for mass transportation in Seoul.

Format

• Season 1 : 52 x 5' (2003)^[4]
• Season 2 : 52 x 5' (2005)^[5]
• Season 3 : 52 x 5' (2009)
• TV Movie: Pororo to the Cookie Castle : 1 x 70' (2004)
• Season 4 : 26 x 11'(2012)
• Sing-A-Long : 14 x 3' (2006)^[6]
• Pororo's English Show : 13 x 6' (2013)
• Feature Film: Pororo, The Racing Adventure : 1 x 79' (2013)
• Season 5 : 26 x 11' (2014)
• Feature Film: Pororo, Cyberspace Adventure (2015)
• Short: Netflix New Year's Eve Countdown 2018 (2017)

Opening/ending theme songs

Social impact

When Pororo was first created, it was just for entertainment. Later, parents suggested to Choi Jung-il in Iconix Entertainment that new episodes be included that have some educational value. Producers have received many requests, ranging from what the characters should eat and how they should play in episodes to what they can do for society. When these new episodes were made, kids started to follow what Pororo was doing, like crossing the road with their right hand up, being fastidious while eating food, washing and cleaning. These episodes helped children fix their attitudes in an enjoyable way. In the summer of 2016, a Pororo theme park opened in Coex Mall, South Korea that features rides and a parade of the Pororo characters. ^[7]

References

External links

• Iconix Official Website (in English)
• Pororo the Little Penguin Official Site
• Pororo the Little Penguin Official EBS Website (in Korean)
• Pororo in Netherlands (in Dutch)