Pororo the Little Penguin

Pororo the Little Penguin (Korean: 뽀롱뽀롱 뽀로로, romanized: Pporongpporong Ppororo) is a South Korean 3D computer animated television series. The series premiered on EBS 1 in South Korea in 2003. The series has 8 seasons.

Pororo the Little Penguin
English Title Card
Hangul	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 language	Korean
No. of seasons	8 (9, including the revival)
No. of episodes	338 (including the revival) (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	5 minutes (Season 1-3) 11 minutes (Season 4-8)
Production companies	Ocon Animation Studios Iconix Entertainment
Original release
Network	EBS1, Disney Junior (Korea), Cartoon Network (Korea)
Release	November 27, 2003 (2003-11-27) – present

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 by Iconix Entertainment Co., Ltd, a company based in Seoul, South Korea. In 2002, prior to the first episode's airing, Okon drew attention as an inter-Korean joint animation in which he collaborated with North Korea's Samchully General Assembly. 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 third season, the characters were all given redesigns and outfits that correspond to their personalities.

Characters

Main article: List of Pororo the Little Penguin characters

English credits:

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

Korean cast

• Lee Sun: Pororo, Monkey 1
• Lee Mija: Crong, Rody(Season 3 ~ Season 7)
• Kim Hwan Jin: Poby, Dragon, Santa Claus(Season 1), Wall Clock, Shark(Season 3, 5, 6)
• Ham Soo Jeong: Eddy, Popo
• Hong So Yeong: Loopy, Nyao, Monkey 2
• Koo Ja Hyeong: Narrator, Tong-tong, Yeti, Whale(Season 1, New 1), Santa Claus(NEW 1), Robot Cook, Dinosaur Robot
• Jeong Misuk: Petty
• Kim Seo Yeong: Harry, Monkey 3, Aliens
• Um Sang-hyun: Shark(Season 4, Season 7~), Santa Claus(Season 4), Tu-tu's Creator(Season 4), King Pullala
• Jang Eun Sook: Tutu, Butterfly 1
• Jeong Sun Hye: Butterfly 2
• Lee So Yeong: Jay
• Jeong Yeong Woong: Fuzzy Wuzzy
• Kim Eun Ah: Rody(Season 8~)
• Nam Do Hyeong: Singing King Robot

English cast

Season 1

• Anna Paik: Pororo
• Tunde Skovran: Crong
• Lisa Kelley: Loopy
• Kristen Myung-hee Cho: Eddy
• Brandon Yu: Poby
• James Bondy: Narrator

Season 2

• Samia Mounts: Pororo, Viruses
• Bommie Catherine Han: Eddy, Petty, Harry, The Fairy, Good Crong and Bad Crong
• Andrea Libman -> Hannah Grace: Loopy
• Tunde Skovran: Crong
• Robert William Gardiner: Poby
• Josh Schwartzentruber: Robots, Dragon
• Nancy Kim: Aliens
• Dean Wendt: Narrator

Season 3

• Bommie Catherine Han: Pororo, Nyao
• Tunde Skovran: Crong
• John Choi: Poby
• Erica Lee: Eddy
• Anna Paik -> Samantha Kim Daniel: Loopy
• Samantha Kim Daniel -> Shannon Chan-Kent: Petty
• Jenny Cho: Harry
• John Lee: Tong-Tong
• Adam Lofbomm: Rody
• James Bondy: Narrator, Wall Clock
• Caelyn Shin: Popo, Pipi

Season 4

• Bommie Han - Pororo, Summer Island Monkey
• Tünde Skovrán - Crong
• Samantha Kim Daniel - Loopy(Most of episodes), Petty, Butterflies
• Dana Gaier - Loopy(Few of episodes)
• Erica Lee - Eddy, Summer Island Monkey
• John Choi - Poby
• Jenny Hyobin Cho - Harry
• Anna Paik - Rody, Summer Island Monkey
• John Lee - Tong-Tong, Spider
• Caelyn Shin - Tu-Tu
• Greg Irwin - Narrator

Season 5

• Monique Dami Lee: Pororo
• Lee MiJa: Crong
• Kristen Myung Hee Cho: Eddy
• John Choi: Poby, Narrator
• Samantha Kimberly Daniel: Petty, Rody
• John Lee: Tong-tong
• Caelyn Shin: Loopy, Tu-tu
• Jenny Hyobin Cho: Harry

Season 6

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

Media

Seasons

Main article: List of Pororo the Little Penguin episodes

• Season 1: 52 x 5' (2003-2004)
• Season 2: 52 x 5' (2005-2006)
• 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)
• Season 8: 26 x 11 (2023)
• Season 2 (revival): 52 x 5' (TBA)

Films and Bonus

• Pororo: to the Cookie Castle (2004)
• Pororo, Fort Boyard Adventure (2010)
• Pororo, Dance with La La (2011)
• Pororo: The Voice Adventure (2012)
• Pororo Goes to Korea (2012)
• Pororo: The Racing Adventure (2013)
• Pororo: Snow Fairy Adventure (2014)
• Pororo: Cyberspace Adventure (2015)
• Pororo: Racing Space Adventure (2016)
• Pororo, Dinosaur Island Adventure (2017)
• Pororo, Dragon World Adventure (2018)
• Pororo, Treasure Island Adventure (2019)
• Pororo, City Island Adventure (2020)
• Pororo, Car World Adventure (2021)
• Pororo, Dragon Castle Adventure (2022)
• Pororo and Friends Movie, Virus Busters (2022)
• Pororo, Dinosaur Castle Adventure (2023)
• Pororo, Godzilla vs Kong Adventure (2024)
• Pororo and Friends, Cyberspace Island (2024)

Others

Spin-offs

• Pororo Sing-A-Long: 14 x 3' (2006)
• Eddy The Clever Fox: Season 1: 13 x 5' (2010)
• Loopy, The Cooking Princess: 6 x 5' (2012)
• Pororo's English Show: 13 x 5' (2013)
• Eddy The Clever Fox: Season 2: 13 x 5' (2014)
• Pororo in My Pocket: Season 1: 10 x 5 (2017)
• Pororo Sing Along S8: 13 x 5' (2023)

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.

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.

External links

• Iconix Official Website
• Pororo the Little Penguin Official Site
• Pororo the Little Penguin Official EBS Website (in Korean)
• Pororo in Netherlands (in Dutch)
• OCON Studios
• Pororo IMDb page for Pororo the Little Penguin TV series.