[yasr_overall_rating]
“Peppa Pig: Around The World” follows Peppa, her brother George, Mummy Pig, and Daddy Pig as they set off to the park to celebrate the beginning of the summer holidays. But when their car breaks down, Miss Rabbit lends them her plane for the day and they get swept off on an adventure all around the world.
Peppa the Pig, a strangely drawn British cartoon, shows small blurbs about a preschool pig and her family. I am not a fan of the show, of course, I am not four years old. My six-year-old daughter was quite drawn to the colorful pig and other barnyard animals living on steep hills and talking with English accents. Peppa spends her days with family and friends playing and learning life lessons.
In this DVD, “Peppa Pig: Around The World,” your preschooler gains ten episodes, most of which are just a few minutes long, perfect for the short attention span associated with small children. The bonus episode takes the Pig family around the world in a plane to accidentally ruin Peppa’s friend’s vacations. Other episodes include a new treehouse, a visit to a museum, a trip to the car garage, a visit from a TV star, and a train rescue. My favorite episodes focus less on events and more on concepts new to youngsters, such as chattering too much, their concept of age and time, playing outside, and understanding other countries.
Precocious pig Peppa spends her days daydreaming about jumping in mud puddles, and fat shaming her father. I’m not joking, in almost every episode Peppa points out her father’s pudgy belly, which he takes rather graciously. I’m not sure if Britain is simply less tactful and this behavior of painful honesty is normal or if American’s are too sensitive to blunt honesty. Either way, I think Peppa should focus on learning how to read, not on making her daddy feel bad about his waistline. I would prefer my children are not so callous in their observations of others.
Beyond this rather glaring discrepancy, children will learn valuable information while watching Peppa play. Eating healthy is encouraged, as is family time, and oddly enough, consideration for others. The simplistic cartoons are less than aesthetically pleasing, but the plots seem to be engaging for budding imaginations to look past the coloring book characters. Focus on the imaginative scenarios which will engage your youngster, but remember to tell them the definition of tact and calling people fat will hurt their feelings.
Now available on DVD
