Sexist pig who’s made her creators £140M
As children’s favourite Peppa Pig conquers the world . . .
DADDy Pig, on the other hand, is an obese serial incompetent who fails at every menial task and is a general disappointment to his litter. As every Peppaholic knows, one of her standard phrases is: ‘Silly Daddy.’ To this day, it is a regular chorus parroted by all three of my children.
Most of the other fathers in the series are borderline cretins, as is that amiable oaf, Grandpa Pig.
To which one might well say: ‘So what? Get a life. Switch over.’
Except that the female adult characters are largely models of perfection, especially the ubiquitous Miss Rabbit. She pops up as everything from shopkeeper to pilot of the air ambulance to all-round saviour of the day.
In the early years of the show, many assumed she was also the unmarried mother of Peppa’s friend, Rebecca Rabbit.
There was much online grumbling when it emerged that she was actually Rebecca’s aunt, and thus not a superheroic single mum.
Some even accused the producers of being sexist. Which, indeed, they are — except that it is not feminists who have grounds for complaint. It’s us chaps.
I am all in favour of my children having wholesome f emale role models, but, af t er years of subliminal bombardment from the Pig family, it is hardly surprising that they view their father and his ilk as a breed of lovable blunderers to be mocked and pitied.
It is much the same, of course, with other dunderhead dads like Fred Fli ntstone and Homer Simpson. But with Peppa, they are being indoctrinated while they’re still in nappies.
And it is pure hogwash coming from Peppa’s three monumentally successful creators — two of whom are Daddy Pigs themselves.
Their own fairytale story began in the unlikely surrounds of Middlesex Polytechnic in the Eighties.
Davies was running the animation department, Baker was a teacher and Astley a student. During the Nineties, Baker and Astley worked on various short animation projects while Davies, who once aspired to be a rock star, produced cartoons at Channel 4.
In 2000, over a drink in a pub, they came up with the idea of Peppa Pig. She would definitely be a she — in contrast to the prevailing trend for male pre- school heroes such as Postman Pat and Fireman Sam — and she would be an animal.
They then came up with 52 fiveminute storylines and American children’s network Nick Junior and Channel Five immediately spotted her potential.
Though by the time Peppa was finally commissioned, her creators had almost given up on her.
More than a decade on from her first appearance in 2004, she has made her creators very rich — long before the conclusion of last week’s share deal. For Peppa is now a global industry.
Besides the royalties from more than 200 episodes, there is the income from all 12,000 branded spin-offs — a bewildering array of merchandise ranging from a £100 Peppa Pig electric scooter and a £100 Peppa Pig kitchen to a £2.99 pack of six Peppa Pig balloons.
Though the trio can now enjoy the lifestyles of film stars or uberbankers — Davies is said to be eyeing up a private jet — the three cartoonists are very much still hands-on at their London HQ, the Elf Factory.
The name refers to another lucrative idea. After Peppa’s initial success, Astley, Baker and Davies went on to create Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom, a tale of elves and fairies (aimed at a slightly older, post-Peppa market).
It goes without saying that a series as astronomically successful as Peppa Pig has a great deal to commend it. Indeed, I am amazed that Peppa Pig has lasted ten years without some Leftie pressure group complaining about how middleclass it is.
Here is a family who speak in posh voices and do wholesome things like walk in the countryside or enjoy village fetes in a world devoid of austerity, cuts, deprivation — and sex.
Earlier this year, Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb claimed that the time had come for the Peppa Pig series to include a gay character or two. Thus far, however, there is no sign of Pedro Pony developing a tendresse for Danny Dog.
And the cartoon is also one huge, pink, porcine embarrassment to the BBC. For Peppa is a reminder that the Beeb is not the great champion of original programming it professes to be.
In f act, in t hi s c ase, t he management proved even more incompetent than Daddy Pig. Back in 1999, the Peppa team took their first cartoon series, The Big Knights, to the BBC which bought it but then made a complete hash of it.
With erratic scheduling and no fixed times (crucial to building an audience, especially one involving children) the show bombed.
When the trio came up with Peppa, they resolved that the last outfit they wanted to work with was the BBC. As Phil Davies l ater recalled: ‘ It [ the BBC] is very negative in its approach.
‘The commissioners just put up problems and reasons why the idea should not be commissioned, rather than the other way round.’
So PEPPA was steered away from the state behemoth and into the private sector. There she has not merely thrived, but gone on to conquer the world.
And now she has cracked the biggest market of them all — China, where she is going down like sweet and sour pork.
In the last three weeks alone, Chinese fans have downloaded more Peppa Pig apps than any other country on Earth. Little wonder her owners are predicting a doubling of global retail turnover in five years — to an astonishing £1.3 billion.
Little wonder, too, that politicians have been so keen to grasp her curly tail. Just before the 2010 election, Labour attempted to hire Peppa Pig to l aunch Gordon Brown’s ‘ Families Manifesto’, but her creators decided against it. However much Labour are enjoying pig gags of late (on the back of fanciful claims in Lord Ashcroft’s biography of David Cameron) it’s safe to say that Jeremy Corbyn is unlikely to seek an alliance with a posh-voiced grunter who has just sent her owners soaring up the Rich List.
However, there are still a few parts of the planet left to conquer. Peppa may be established i n several countries not known for their love of pigs — including Israel and Pakistan — but she has yet to take root in the Arab world. India and Japan are also Peppa-free zones.
Perhaps it’s not just a pig thing. These are also patriarchal societies that may not want their children growing up to regard fathers as useless, bumbling prats.
If Peppa’s new owners really want to crank up their profits — and they clearly do — maybe it’s time to let Daddy Pig put up a shelf without bringing the house down.