Pingu (series 1) - Pingu Runs Away

Pingu Runs Away

Pingu and his parents are enjoying a quiet dinner, but Pingu isn't happy due to him refusing to eat his greens once again. Mother and Father decide to share their food. Father gives Mother fish, Mother gives Father greens and Mother tries to give Pingu a brown potato, but he refuses and splatters it all over Mother. Father becomes enraged and tells him off. Pingu then rocks his chair and ends up pulling everything off the table. His parents become furious and Pingu ends up getting a spanking. He tries to make amends, but gets neglected instead and runs away, feeling that his parents don't love him anymore. Pingu's parents enjoy some quiet time, but they're not really enjoying it because they are worried about Pingu because of what time it is and what they have done. Meanwhile, Pingu becomes hopelessly lost. He nearly gets crushed by falling ice, and then comes face to face with three ugly, menacing monster-faces in the snowdrifts. They look like a skull, a goblin and a dragon. Terrified, he runs and hides in an ice cave. His parents, realizing how late it is, feeling pretty bad of how they treated Pingu, so they come out and find him, with Father using his post truck to find him. Pingu notices his parents finding him and shows himself. Happy to see their son, Mother and Father both apologize to him and they take him back home. After Pingu is fed hot soup by Mother, they all go to bed together happily.

• Features Pingu, Mother and Father.
• Aired on September 17, 1990
• Pinga is mysteriously absent from this episode.
• Censorship: Since the 1990's, Pingu Runs Away was deemed controversial due to its offensive scenes (including Mother spanking Pingu and Pingu running away from home). As a result, Pingu Runs Away was placed under unofficial ban from broadcast or video distribution from the US by The Pygos Group and other rights-holders and broadcasters (including Turner Broadcasting and HiT Entertainment). Also, the episode contains dark, frightening images that have scared many young viewers.. Due to the upsetting themes in this episode also, it was removed from British television in 2005. This was also one of the few episodes pulled from Cartoon Network and Sprout due to an saying of the material