[4] In the first four series, all the characters were performed by Italian voice actor Carlo Bonomi, using a language of sounds he had already developed and used earlier for Osvaldo Cavandoli's La Linea.
[4] A computer-animated revival series produced in Japan, entitled Pingu in the City, ran for two seasons on NHK from 7 October 2017 until 30 March 2019.
In 1984, Erika Brueggemann was working at Schweizer Fernsehen (the German-speaking division of SRG SSR) when she was introduced to animator Otmar Gutmann.
Gutmann was not immediately convinced, since he had already created many sea lion characters out of plasticine, but he eventually pushed forward with the penguin idea too.
[8] From this framework, Brueggemann, Gutmann and their team created a seven-minute pilot, "Pingu: Eine Geschichte Für Kinder Im Vorschulalter", which was finished in 1986.
[9] Its positive reception persuaded the director of Schweizer Fernsehen, Ulrich Kündig [de], to commission an entire series of Pingu cartoons.
[15] On 29 October 2001, HIT Entertainment bought the rights to the series, including the original 104 episodes and the wedding special, for £15.9 million.
[17] The HIT Entertainment episodes were made by a completely new team at HOT Animation, but co-creator Erika Brueggemann still traveled to the company's headquarters in the United Kingdom to check on production.
I traveled to Manchester last summer and met their highly motivated team who worked with great commitment, humor and responsibility towards children.
When HIT Entertainment bought the rights, Carlo Bonomi was replaced with new voice actors Marcello Magni and David Sant.
Various merchandise exclusive to the country has been created, including tie-in toys with KFC and Mister Donut, as well as various video games.
[24] It features voices by Ryota Iwasaki and Fumiya Tanaka, in a similar style to Carlo Bonomi, David Sant, and Marcello Magni.
Common Sense Media gave it 4 out of 5 stars, stating: "Parents need to know that this claymation series is funny, endearing, and entertaining.