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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Pingu-Pingu in Paradise (1986)

Pingu-Pingu in Paradise (1986)

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Released 15-Mar-2005

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Childrens Main Menu Audio
Rating Rated G
Year Of Production 1986
Running Time 53:42 (Case: 50)
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Ads Then Menu
Region Coding 1,2,3,4,5,6 Directed By None Given
Studio
Distributor

Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring None Given
Case Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI $19.95 Music None Given


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio None
16x9 Enhancement No
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles None Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    Pingu is a series of short animated children's shows which are shown locally on the ABC but actually originated in Switzerland. The series is about a young penguin from the south pole called, surprisingly enough, Pingu. He lives in an igloo with his mother, father (who is the local postman) and his younger sister, Pinga (although she was not included when the series was first made in 1986). He pretty much behaves like any young child, getting into trouble, trying to avoid helping around the house, teasing his younger sibling and playing games with his friends. He is also very likeable. There is no understandable dialogue as the characters speak a language of their own, and the stories are told by means of vocal intonation and the characters' actions. Each show only last about 5 minutes and over 100 of them have been made. Some of the stories are quite surreal and a little odd whereas others are relatively normal childhood adventures which happen to be set at the south pole. This is a fun series and most young kids get some fun out of it. My young son finds it enjoyable and funny.

    There are ten episodes made in 2002 included here which are:

  1. Pingu in Paradise - Pingu dreams of a land where everything can be eaten or drunk. This episode is a bit weird but enjoyable nonetheless.
  2. Pingu is Curious - Pingu wants to open his birthday present but has been told not to.
  3. Pingu Builds a Tower - Pingu and his friends try their hand at building after seeing a picture of a tower, with amusing results.
  4. Pingu Refuses to Help - Pingu's mother needs his help but he stubbornly refuses.
  5. Pingu and the Big Fish - Pingu goes fishing but is not immediately successful.
  6. Pingu and his Cup - Pingu is in a sports championship with his friends but wins in an unusual way.
  7. Pingu helps Grandfather - Pingu's grandfather calls to say that he has injured himself and Pingu saves the day.
  8. Pingu teases Pinga - Pingu gives Pinga a hard time.
  9. Pingu and the Magnet - Pingu tries to trick his friend but his plan backfires.
  10. Pingu the King - Pingu imagines that he is a King and tries to lord it over his friends.

    Pingu is a fun and different children's show based on plasticine stop-motion style animation.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    The video quality is very good.

    The feature is presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio non 16x9 enhanced which is the original aspect ratio.

    The picture was clear and sharp throughout, with no evidence of low level noise, although there was some light grain.

    The colour was very good with no issues to report.

    The only obvious artefacts were mild MPEG compression artefacts, which considering that only 50 minutes of material is included, is a bit of a shame. These included some minor aliasing, jagged edges and some macro-blocking in the white backgrounds. They are not really all that distracting and the kids certainly won't notice.

    There are no subtitles mostly because there is no dialogue!
    

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio quality is fine and does all that is required for a show of this type.

    This DVD contains a Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack encoded at 224 Kb/s.

    The music and sound effects were clear and had no discernible issues.

    The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

    None!

Menu

    The menu was simple allowing for episode selection or to Play All.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    I can find no evidence of this particular Pingu title being available outside of Region 4. This disc is coded for all regions.

Summary

    10 episodes of a fun and different children's animated television series.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is fine.

    The disc has no extras.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Daniel Bruce (Do you need a bio break?)
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Review Equipment
DVDPioneer DV667A DVD-V DVD-A SACD, using Component output
DisplaySony FD Trinitron Wega KV-AR34M36 80cm. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 576i (PAL)/480i (NTSC).
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationPioneer VSX-511
SpeakersBose 201 Direct Reflecting (Front), Phillips SB680V (Surround), Phillips MX731 (Center), Yamaha YST SW90 (Sub)

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