Peppa Pig Kindles Love

Guancha.gmw.cn January 18

A video, What Is Peppa?, recently went viral. It’s the trailer of a live-action-animation movie featuring the cartoon figure Peppa Pig and is scheduled to hit the screen on February 5, the first day of the Chinese Lunar Year of the Pig.

In the video, a grandfather who lives in a remote village asks his grandson on the phone what he wants as a new-year gift. The grandson wants Peppa Pig, the popular character from the namesake British preschool animated TV series. However the grandfather has no idea what Peppa Pig is and asks his fellow villagers. In the end, he makes a Peppa model out of an iron-and-steel air blower.

The video, which shows a grandfather’s love for his grandson, echoes the warm relations between family members presented in the Peppa Pig series. The affection between family members is universal although it is expressed in different ways in different cultures. The video is touching because it arouses people’s memories and emotions and this is where the value of art lies.

The popularity of the video shows that art which reflects ordinary people’s emotions and lives is more likely to strike a chord with the audience. Also, the contradiction between urban and rural areas, younger and older generations as well as tradition and modernity explored in the short video requires more attention.

The video points out the direction for creation of artistic work in future, which is to focus on themes that reflect reality and resonate with the viewers.