I’m always amazed at the diversity of conversation and ideas on women groups. We review guidelines. We advocate for women empowerment and advocacy. We talk about agency on our bodies. While we discuss them on these forums , our aim is to let this enthusiasm and fervor diffuse through us by pure osmosis. Our love for ourselves combined with our journey through motherhood is our bond. We are part of a universe that constantly melts in and out of the world around us. We exchange intellect in exchange for intellect.
You know I’m using the word “we” loosely here, right? . Because many of us don’t get a word of what you’re talking about. Because while others are enjoying a TV show and a stimulating conversation with their husband/ teen kids/ physician girlfriend while sipping coffee, we are wrestling with our toddler over morning cereal while he’s watching…… Peppa Pig. Yes ladies, to keep this group inclusive, women like me who are living their toddlerhood all over again, not-so-vicariously through their toddler have reviews to share too. This review is for #peppapig
By the time I’m done, you’ll see how the mind of a Generation Alpha toddler’s mother is addled by the kind of shows the toddler prefers.
So where do we begin? Oh yeah, since this review is about Peppa Pig, the name “Peppa” should be used so many times (in both Mummy and Daddy Pig voices) that you start to accidentally call your daughter, Peppa and your son, George.Just like on the show.
Nothing that anyone does is complete without Peppa. Even my toddler’s imaginary train of friends isn’t complete without her. There’s Peppaland in England. There are life-size dolls of The Pigs in FAO Schwartz in NYC.
For all of you who are currently debating whether to let this nuisance of a show into your homes, I’ll let you decide by starting a breakdown and psychoanalysis of the characters. I want to provide a full disclaimer by saying that my political views about this show stand in stark contrast to what my toddler thinks about it. If there was a recognition for the love of this show, my toddler would have won that Oscar a long time ago.
1. Peppa is a precocious little piggy who is her parents’ oldest child. She gets almost everything she asks for except…… glitter. To avoid the mess that glitter creates, her parents openly lie to her about the availability of glitter in their household. Other than that, if Peppa wants a pumpkin that needs to be airlifted for the Halloween party, she gets it. If she wants a castle with turrets and towers, she gets it. If she wants chocolate cake and a fire-breathing dragon, she gets it. You get the general gist of this. She’s spoiled AF. And is teaching your toddler how to be assertive and not give two s**** about what the parents’ pathetic resourcelessness in some matters can be. Peppa wants it, Peppa gets it. The only twist I see in the future is Denny Dog asking Susie Sheep out and that’s where Peppa unfortunately will find out that the world doesn’t revolve around her little pinky toe (that actually would be in line with what happens to most spoilt people)
2. George is Peppa’s little brother. Even though George is Edmund Elephant’s age ( who knows all about prehistoric eras and is constantly correcting adults on their knowledge of the world and is nicknamed Clever Clogs) he can’t say anything but “dinosaur”. George isn’t speech-delayed either. He has been known to call himself “brilliant” on one occasion (actually his first day at playgroup), has requested a toy from Father Christmas in perfect words and hence proves himself to be Peppa’s biological brother just by virtue of being self-absorbed and reserving accolades for himself. George has a fascination with dinosaurs in an all-consuming way. The only time I’ve ever seen him playing with something besides that is once when the Rabbit siblings are visiting. Otherwise he plays with the same dinosaur model that he got the day he was born (he is at least between 18 months and 24 months old). To be honest, this unfortunate dinosaur has seen better days. It does look a little ragged. It has been lost in Italy once (as has been Peppa’s teddy) and a police officer set off on a special mission to locate Peppa’s vacationing family just so he could return the teddy and the dinosaur. Cartoon police is off-the-charts efficient in Italy. Thanks to George Pig, my toddler now has exactly thirty-nine dinosaur figurines. Most of these have sharp spines and usually come to attention when they’ve drilled a hole in my sole as I’m trying to walk through the carpet.
3. Mummy Pig is the matriarch of the family. She “seems” to be a nice person until you develop enough skills to focus on the cartoon and your toddler’s cereal simultaneously and then you can’t ignore the backhanded, underhanded remarks that she reserves for her husband, Daddy Pig. She always makes it nice though. Mummy Pig is what some people might call “Master of All Trades”. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, positively nothing, nothing that she can’t do. She can do everything. From cooking to cleaning to picking fresh herbs from the garden to planting trees to teaching her kids loads of stuff to helping Ms Rabbit run the fire department occasionally, she does it all. And she particularly does it all better than Daddy Pig.
4. Daddy Pig is actually a sorry little character. He can do nothing without making a hole in the ground accidentally, or breaking a wall or jumping through a roof and making a hole in the roof in the process. He is also the constant receiver of insults at the hands of his in-laws, wife and Peppa (you have seen how she says “silly daddy”. I hate that), George as you recall can’t talk yet. He’ll be joining ranks with his sister soon in insulting his father. But Daddy Pig has what the show is really all about. How to not let your wife’s insults or your kids’ disrespect ever come in the way of being your own person. Nothing should stop you from falling backwards in the ground and laughing your heart out at a joke that was cracked at your expense because sometimes life is easier that way 😢. He hardly ever takes a situation seriously (except when he can’t do map reading. That’s when Daddy Pig turns into a typical Pakistani husband and gets upset at everyone for making him lose his reading glasses which are delicately perched on his nose the whole time 🙄).
5. Granny and Grandpa Pig are fixtures of the show, even if not very consistently featured. They appear to be Mummy Pig’s relatives. They have an opinion of Daddy Pig that seems to be in line with the general Pakistani opinion of a son-in-law. (“What did she see in him? My daughter could have made out so much better. I still remember my best friend’s uber eligible son who was head over heels with her and this is what she chose over him? Ugh”).
6. The character that deserves the utmost mention is the remarkable Ms Rabbit. She is the grocery story owner, fire fighter, ice cream vendor, librarian, helicopter pilot, carnival manager ALL IN THE SAME DAY. One day she got sick and all hell broke loose. Please watch the episode “Ms Rabbit’s Illness” or some other clear give-away type of name. Ms Rabbit actually has been honored by the Queen (of England I’m assuming as all characters speak with a distinct British accent but won’t say where their cockney is coming from). The Queen has actually named a day after her that is observed as a national holiday.
7. Susie Sheep probably needs special mention too, just by virtue of being Peppa’s best friend but still holding her own on most occasions. She is never engaging Peppa to the dangerously narcissism-inducing limits that her parents tend to always be doing. She keeps it real. She is also a future nurse. Which is weird because anyone who spends this much time in Peppa Pig’s company isn’t going to amount to much. And that’s not because Peppa is a bad influence. Just that the entire time anyone is with Peppa, the amount of time that you need to spend kissing Peppa’s ass leaves very little time for any serious thought over their own future, life, love interests or even just the next meal.
8. It wouldn’t be fair to not count into the line-up Madam Gazelle. She’s the playgroup teacher. Surprisingly she used to be the grown-ups’ teacher too and looked exactly the same that she does now. She also used to be a singer for the rock band The Rocking Gazelles. (I can see all the 🙄, ladies. I told you imagination and creativity isn’t this show’s strong suit).
I’m sure most moms like the show because it keeps our tots busy during the dreaded morning cereal time . The show is very engaging. Very interesting. I find the British accent extremely sexy (if you don’t directly look at Daddy Pig you can even fall in love with him over that accent). But here’s my question, WHY THEY SO MEAN TO DADDY PIG?
My mind as a woman 