International House of...Cartoons?

Around here Aubri and I like to mix up a bit. We're constantly looking for ways to broaden our horizon. One such way is through cartoons. When we first got cable a year ago and we realized PBS wasn't the only channel offering cartoons...we instantly gravitated toward, "Go Diego Go!". Mom thought it was great because we learned about animals and nature and even picked up on a little Espanol, which certainly couldn't hurt considering our Arizonan roots. Although, it can be a little confusing at times when Aubri, who is still learning English, comments in Spanish instead and mom has no idea what she wants! (I keep telling mom, she should watch it with us)


Soon a little Spanish wasn't enough and we added, "Ni Hoa Kilan" to our growing list of favorite shows. Kilan is a playful, adventurous little girl living in China who speaks English and Mandarin. And why wouldn't we want to learn Mandarin? (Ni Hao means, "Hello") Mom thought it was a little interesting that we were so enthused with Chinese culture and values, but thought it certainly couldn't hurt.

Next in the Nielson household came "Netflix on demand" and with that we found, "Angelina Ballerina".
This instant admiration of ours was a no brainer for mom. Angelina is a British mouse with a lovely accent that attends a dancing school and thinks ballet is the key to life and all it's problems. Of course 2 little girls would love it! We dance right along with her and we're improving our dance skills. (Now Aubri even wants to wear a dress everyday.)

Mom thought our love for foreign entertainment had finally reached its peak...until one day recently we begged her to click on a cute looking cartoon featuring a penguin.

Enter Pingu.

"Pingu" is a Swiss, claymation cartoon about a little penguin that takes place in Antartica.

"It centers around penguin families and buisnesses who live and work in igloos. Pingu frequently goes on adventures with his little sister Pinga & often gets into mischief with his best friend Robby the Seal. One reason for Pingu's international success is the absence of human languages. All dialogue is in a honking "penguin language".

How do we feel about it? The first time we watched we both laughed for 10 minutes straight. My mom just doesn't get this one at all. No Language? Claymation??? I tell her it's wonderful...but she's beginning to think we're moving backwards in our cartoon progress.