Pingu (Franchise)

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Pingu is a Swiss-British-American media franchise originally created by Otmar Gutmann and Erika Brueggemann and owned by HIT Entertainment, Universal Pictures, and DreamWorks Animation that began in 1990 with the stop-motion television series Pingu by HIT Entertainment (The Pygos Group), which focuses on a family of anthropomorphic emperor penguins who live in the South Pole with the family's son and title character, Pingu, who goes on unique adventures both big and small with his diverse group of friends. and spends life with his family.

The Pingu franchise consists of two tv series; The original Pingu series from 1990 to 2000 by Swiss company The Pygos Group (originally called Editoy AG), including its 5th and 6th seasons from 2003 to 2006 by British companies HIT Entertainment and HOT Animation and a Japanese revival/continuation of the series, titled Pingu in the City, from 2017 to 2019 by NHK Enterprises and Polygon Pictures, and three animated films by Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Animation, and Animal Logic: Pingu: The Movie (2018), Pingu 2: Lost in the Arctic (2021), and Pingu 3: Take Me Home (2023). A fourth film was recently announced for 2025, as well as a possibility of a fifth film in 2027. It also includes two-holiday specials: Scared Pingu-less (2023) and Ice The Halls: a Pingu Christmas (2023), and three television films: Pingu at the Wedding Party (1997), Pingu: The Show Must Go On (2022), and Pingu: Return to the Arctic (2024). The first film was directed by Nick Herbert and Liz Whitaker, while the second and third films were directed by Nick Herbert (and Liz Whitaker as the producer of future Pingu films).

Produced on a total budget of $185 million, the Pingu films have grossed more than $880 million worldwide (including $239 million in the United Kingdom), becoming the 24th highest-grossing animated franchise of all time. Both the two tv series revised critical acclaim. The first and third film received critical praise from critics and audiences while the second received mixed reception.

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