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Spoiler warning: The information in the article below contains spoilers for both the original series and the reboot itself. So, please consider watching the episode(s) in question if you haven't seen them already. |
Pingu Runs Away (also known as Pingu Runs Away from Home) is the fourteenth episode of the first season of Pingu.
Plot
One night at dinner, Pingu is in a bad mood about having to eat his greens. When Mother tries to administer Pingu some of her beetroot, he refuses and splatters it all over her chest. Father rebukes him, but Pingu takes no notice and starts rocking back and forth in his chair until he falls, taking the tablecloth with him. All the food goes everywhere, some of the plates get broken and Pingu's parents become furious, much to his dismay. After Mother spanks him, Pingu leaves the igloo in tears, thinking that his parents no longer love him. Once outside, Pingu yells at his parents in a fit of anger and runs off into the night.
Back inside, Pingu's parents are enjoying some quiet time when Mother notices how late it is getting. She points this out to Father, who is certain that Pingu will be back soon. Meanwhile, Pingu becomes frightened when he realizes just how scary the outdoors can be at night. He nearly gets crushed by falling ice, and encounters several scary-looking mounds of ice which all look like monsters with horrible hands. Terrified, he runs away and waits for help inside a small cave.
Back home, Mother and Father are very worried that Pingu has still not returned and decide to go look for him. Mother walks ahead and calls for Pingu while Father drives close behind on his tractor sledge. Pingu hears his mother's calls and replies. Happy to see her son, Mother grabs Pingu and hugs him. Father finds them together and apologises for what happened earlier. They drive home, Mother feeds Pingu some soup and they go to bed happily.
Characters
Locations
- Pingu's Igloo
- Ice mounds
Censorship
- This episode was placed under unofficial ban from broadcast or video distribution due to Pingu's Mother spanking Pingu and Pingu running away from his house. The episode also featured some scary-looking ice monsters which have not just frightened Pingu, but a lot of very young viewers too. It was also removed from British television in 2005 and was one of the few episodes that were pulled, and later banned from all future American airings due to its offensive and over-the-top very dark material. It was still released on DVD in the United States however and on Amazon Prime Video.
Trivia
- The tractor sledge has a bell instead of a horn in this episode.
- As Pinga does not appear, it can be assumed that this episode takes place before The New Arrival.
- A rare photo shows Pingu encountering one of the mounds of ice at day rather than night.
- In Tony Wolf’s book adaptation, Pingu's Mother doesn’t try to administer Pingu some of her beetroot before he refuses, splattering it all over her chest and Pingu's Father rebuking him. Instead, she asks him if he’s alright before he says he’s not feeling hungry while rocking back and forth in his chair and ruining the dinner by pulling the tablecloth. It also says that the reason as to why Pingu was in a bad mood was because he had secretly eaten some sweets before dinner and had no appetite, as opposed to being upset with having to eat his greens.
Goofs
- As Pingu grabs the tablecloth, his spoon shifts upward.
- In the shot where the tablecloth and everything on it falls off the table, the drink cups are missing.
- The front door is opened from the inside twice, but the background outside is different at both times.
- The scary mounds of ice keep changing their positions.
Gallery
