Pingwings
Encyclopedia
Pingwings was an animated black-and-white
children's television series
of 18 ten-minute episodes broadcast in the UK on ITV
in 1961. It first aired on Southern Television
. Created by Oliver Postgate
and Peter Firmin
of Smallfilms
, it starred a family of penguin
-like creatures who lived at the back of a barn on Berrydown Farm. The Pingwing characters were knitted by Firmin's wife Joan and the animation was achieved using the stop motion
technique.
Some of the animated sequences were filmed in the open air. Such sequences are often intercut with live-action sequences featuring Mr and Mrs Farmer and Gay the Goat. In this way the Pingwing family interact with their neighbours on the farm.
The series was captured on 16mm black-and-white film. All of the voices were provided by Oliver Postgate and Olwen Griffiths.
A short sequence of Pingwings is available on the CD that accompanies Oliver Postgate's autobiography, and a DVD of the 18 episodes is also available from the Dragons' Friendly Society.
The music for the series was composed by Vernon Elliot
and performed by him with Sidney Sutcliffe.
Series one was broadcast from August to September 1961.
Episode 1: The Happy Event
Episode 2: The Ice Cream Tree
Episode 3: The New House
Episode 4: Baby Pingwing
Episode 5: The Sorry Birds
Episode 6: The Seaside
Series Two
Series two was broadcast from November 1962 to February 1963
Episode 7: Robinson Pingwing
Episode 8: The Fish
Episode 9: Mrs Pingwing
Episode 10: The Flying Birds
Episode 11: The Rag Doll
Episode 12: Visitors
Series Three
Series three was broadcast from August to September 1965
Episode 13: A Game of Spoonball
Episode 14: Moving House
Episode 15: Buying and Selling
Episode 16: Ice Cream for Tea
Episode 17: A Proper Kitchen
Episode 18: Mrs Pingwing's Entertainment
The father figure, portrayed as less than bright but loves his family.
Mrs Pingwing
The archetypal mother figure. Wears an apron.
Paul Pingwing
The eldest child. Technically minded and over-confident. Wears a hat.
Penny Pingwing
Paul's younger sister. Wears an apron.
Baby Pingwing
Egg laid in episode one, hatched in episode four. Frequently gets into trouble.
The Pog
A strange, wise pig-like creature Mr Pingwing often asks for advice in later episodes.
Gay the Goat
Large role in episode two, remains a background character elsewhere. She is deaf and kindly and a live action character.
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
children's television series
Children's television series
Children's television series, are commercial television programs designed for, and marketed to children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run in the early evening, for the children that go to school...
of 18 ten-minute episodes broadcast in the UK on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
in 1961. It first aired on Southern Television
Southern Television
Southern Television was the first ITV broadcasting licence holder for the south and south-east of England from 30 August 1958 until the night of 31 December 1981. The company was launched as Southern Television Limited and the title Southern Television was consistently used on-air throughout its life...
. Created by Oliver Postgate
Oliver Postgate
Oliver Postgate was an English animator, puppeteer and writer.He was the creator and writer of some of Britain's most popular children's television programmes...
and Peter Firmin
Peter Firmin
Peter Arthur Firmin is an English artist and animator. He was the founder of Smallfilms, along with Oliver Postgate. Between them they created a number of popular children's TV programmes, The Saga of Noggin the Nog, Ivor the Engine, Clangers, Bagpuss and Pogles' Wood.-Early life:He trained at...
of Smallfilms
Smallfilms
Smallfilms was a British company that made animated television programmes for children, from 1959 to the 1980s. It was a partnership between Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin . Several very popular series of short films were made using stop-motion animation, including The Clangers, Noggin the Nog,...
, it starred a family of penguin
Penguin
Penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers...
-like creatures who lived at the back of a barn on Berrydown Farm. The Pingwing characters were knitted by Firmin's wife Joan and the animation was achieved using the stop motion
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
technique.
Some of the animated sequences were filmed in the open air. Such sequences are often intercut with live-action sequences featuring Mr and Mrs Farmer and Gay the Goat. In this way the Pingwing family interact with their neighbours on the farm.
The series was captured on 16mm black-and-white film. All of the voices were provided by Oliver Postgate and Olwen Griffiths.
A short sequence of Pingwings is available on the CD that accompanies Oliver Postgate's autobiography, and a DVD of the 18 episodes is also available from the Dragons' Friendly Society.
The music for the series was composed by Vernon Elliot
Vernon Elliot
Vernon Pelling Elliott was a British bassoonist, conductor and composer.Born into a musical family in 1912, Elliott took up the bassoon at a very early age...
and performed by him with Sidney Sutcliffe.
Broadcasts
Series OneSeries one was broadcast from August to September 1961.
Episode 1: The Happy Event
Episode 2: The Ice Cream Tree
Episode 3: The New House
Episode 4: Baby Pingwing
Episode 5: The Sorry Birds
Episode 6: The Seaside
Series Two
Series two was broadcast from November 1962 to February 1963
Episode 7: Robinson Pingwing
Episode 8: The Fish
Episode 9: Mrs Pingwing
Episode 10: The Flying Birds
Episode 11: The Rag Doll
Episode 12: Visitors
Series Three
Series three was broadcast from August to September 1965
Episode 13: A Game of Spoonball
Episode 14: Moving House
Episode 15: Buying and Selling
Episode 16: Ice Cream for Tea
Episode 17: A Proper Kitchen
Episode 18: Mrs Pingwing's Entertainment
Characters
Mr PingwingThe father figure, portrayed as less than bright but loves his family.
Mrs Pingwing
The archetypal mother figure. Wears an apron.
Paul Pingwing
The eldest child. Technically minded and over-confident. Wears a hat.
Penny Pingwing
Paul's younger sister. Wears an apron.
Baby Pingwing
Egg laid in episode one, hatched in episode four. Frequently gets into trouble.
The Pog
A strange, wise pig-like creature Mr Pingwing often asks for advice in later episodes.
Gay the Goat
Large role in episode two, remains a background character elsewhere. She is deaf and kindly and a live action character.