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Peppa Pig Tales #2 Rant

Reviewed: 12/28/2022

Old School Peppa Pig Is Back! Sort of Part Deux!

Well, since Peppa Pig the series has been slowing down and there's only four episode left in the pot, I was going to resume TaleSpin work this year. An easy series that gives me great joy in terms of mockery and enjoyment. There is still lots let to do before I can finally wrap that show up? Sadly, TaleSpin has been delayed until at least 2023, because my second love and enjoyment decided to really run interference on me. How so you ask? Welcome to the Rant Shack: Peppa Pig Tales! And after the very first episode, I cannot resist and I'm going to rant on these "shorts" because Baby Alexander is back and creating a lot more questions than answers. Peppa Pig Tales is a series of short 3-3 1/2 minute episodes (Literally up to 75% of an average "Peppasode".) of Peppa Pig doing stuff without the original voices or creators with most of the "filler" cut out. That's basically it. It is awkward listening to this when you are so used to seeing the show, however; it is basically the same in term of premise. So, I'll be doing eight episodes per block like I always do until this series gets sick and tired of this and goes back to the actual Peppa Pig series which has reached eight series up to this point. How do these episodes fare? Let's rant on shall we..?!

Football Party and Christmas Lunch are written by Tod Gidman, with head writer being Ryan Denham for all episodes involved. Snorkelling and Mystery Box are written by Ryan Denham. Pillow Fort and Sports Day At Playgroup are written by Bita Joudaki. Christmas With Baby Alexander and Board Games are written by Jessica Silcock and Naomi Smith. The animation and production is for EOne Entertainment (who published DVD's for WWE in the past in Canadian markets), done by Lil CritterWorkshop in Malaysia, although the company has invested in a studio in the UK recently. According to the link I provided: LCW launched in Malaysia in 2015 and has produced two 2D-animated comedy series, Hogie the Globehopper (52 x 11 minutes) in 2016 and Buck & Buddy (60 x six minutes) in 2020. After debuting in Malaysia, Hogie was picked up by Netflix in 2017, where it airs globally, and it has since sold to linear broadcasters Discovery Kids MENA and CITV in the UK. The prodco’s first CG-animated show Billy Fei and the Cloud Trials (26 x 22 minutes) is an action-adventure series for children ages six to 10 and is co-produced by fellow Malaysian animation studio Scribble Studios. The two companies received an undisclosed amount from Epic Games’ US$100 million MegaGrant program to fund the project last year.

Pillow Fort: We start with Peppa and Rebecca Rabbit literally making a pillow fort in a nice nod to continuity from Hot & Cold, literally inside Peppa and George's bedroom. Peppa is trying way too hard to put a yellow flag on top of the fort. Peppa puts the flag up and almost flops into the fort from a blue chair, but Rebecca stablizes Peppa and both are safe. Rebecca and Peppa clean up the floor, and Peppa just took Mr. Dinesaur (sic)! How dare she?! George isn't going to like this at all! Peppa calls for Mummy Pig and Mummy Pig comes in looking impressed at the large pillow fort. Rebecca and Peppa want something good to eat and Mummy Pig just agrees to it without much incident and walks away telling them to stay right there. So, did she mean, don't go into the fort? If so, they disobeyed her by going into the fort to set up the inside. Peppa wants to pretend that the pillow fort is huge. No problem there, since the fort takes up about 75% of the room already. Dream sequence ensues as the fort is about about 75% of the volume of the entire room now instead of 10% like it was in reality. Peppa and Rebecca are in awe, so they decide to kill time by playing with the conveniently place spotty ball. Rebecca ups the ante by pretending that the floor is a bouncing trampoline, because of course it is. It's a dream sequence, it can be whatever it wants to be. The bouncy ball has a mind of it's own and goes away stage right, somehow, the fort in reality has not collapsed at all. The kids go into the green tent and dream up that the ground is sticky green goo that attaches to their shoes. Ooookkkkaaaayyyyy then. The kids go into the blue area and they pretend that it's a literal freezer. That made me go brrrrr. The kids find the ball and walk back stage left, and know they have no idea where they came from. In a pillow fort that only goes two ways and they are clearly going back. In comes Mummy Pig with a tray of egg and ham sandwiches on white bread and lettuce. Mummy Pig calls for them and Rebecca is informing Mummy Pig that they are somehow stuck at the end of the fort. HOW?! It's Mummy Pig to the rescue! The kids are like "No, you're not small enough to fit" and Mummy Pig is like "Yes, I am". Mummy Pig is so dumb that I betcha she pops in and destroys the pillow fort. I check the video...Damn, I'm so good and yes, the narrator does proclaim that Mummy Pig is stuck. If you listen closely, you can hear Daddy Pig laughing all the way to the bank. Peppa Pig is even more hungary now as they all pop from the pillow tomb as Mummy Pig realizes that the food is buried in the pillow tomb now. Everyone laughs to end the episode at 3:04. A fairly fun episode. *** 1/4 (65%).

Football Party: We begin this one outside in the garden at the house on the hill as we are at a picnic table filled with fruit (pineapple, watermelons, bananas, cherries, strawberries and peaches). There is also a giant cake made as a giant trophy and a soccer ball destroys it at once. We see Daddy Pig, Mummy Pig (both with dough in their faces) and Grandpa Pig in regular gear, although Grandpa Pig is wearing oven mitts with lightning bolts on the front. Mandy Mouse and Peppa Pig are wearing white soccer uniforms and red cleets as Peppa is #3 now. Zoom out as Grandpa Pig clearly is at fault here since he yells "whoops" and the rest are horrified by this. Cameos: Mr. Bull, Granny Pig, George Pig, and Suzy Sheep not in uniform, with Danny Dog and Rebecca Rabbit in blue soccer uniforms. The narrator proclaims that they are all here to watch the soccer match today via a projector screen since there are chairs set up in such a fashion. Apparently, the storyline is that they are watching the World Cup 2022 Soccer quarterfinals between England and France according to the official video on Youtube. Well, Delphine Donkey's family was really happy because France beat England 2-1 and made it to the final, only to lose to Argentina. Hey, all of you, be grateful your team made it as far as they did. Canada didn't make it out of the preliminary stage and got it's asses kicked. Sometimes, reality sucks. By the way, Mummy Pig created the trophy cake and Grandpa Pig apologizes for it. Mummy Pig forgives him and decides to make a new one, even though there is ten minutes left before the quarterfinals officially start. The group featuring the white team, Daddy Pig, Mummy Pig, Granny Pig and George Pig all head to the supermarket without taking a car as Grandpa Pig and Suzy Sheep decide to play soccer with the blue team. We head inside the shop as Miss Rabbit is on high alert and not reading any magazine whatsoever. Okay, that was interesting. So, they all split up as Mummy Pig and Peppa Pig do the cake, Mandy and Granny do the icing because Peppa is the steak and Mandy is the sizzle, so to speak. Daddy and George have to find the sprinkles, because they are such little puny men. Mummy Pig blows the whistle and so does Grandpa Pig who is the goaltender.

Grandpa Pig tells Danny Dog to go to the top right corner and literally gives him the opening to hit it and score a goal. What does Danny Dog do? He clocks it by hitting the middle where Grandpa Pig makes an easy save. They are still treating Danny Dog like a total loser at this point. To be fair, that was his gimmick well before the Series 5 reboot shift, so I'm not surprised. Back to the supermarket as Daddy Pig finds the sprinkles and uses George to grab the sprinkles from the top shelf and brings it down without incident and they did it first! Back to the garden as Mr. Bull kicks the soccer ball, Grandpa Pig does the worst attempt at blocking a shot ever and the ball goes into the back of the net. Mr. Bull made Grandpa Pig look like a total dork on that one. Back to the supermarket as Mandy and Granny find the icing and put it in the green basket. Back to the garden as Grandpa Pig proclaims that he can make three saves at once, and then he does on Danny, Rebecca and Suzy! So, basically he have four saves out of five. Just let Mr. Bull play the rest of the game by himself, the kids look like total losers at this point. Back to the supermarket as Peppa grabs the three spongecakes (one is the dome cake we will see in Christmas Lunch later on) under plastic from the shelf and the day is saved! Apparently, it's all been paid because the items are in green plastic recycling bags already. Mummy Pig cheers and we head to the kitchen as the dome cake is for the top upside down, the little spongecake is for the pole and the bottom middle is for the wooden engraving on the bottom. So, yes; the trophy is not hollowed out on the top for some reason. The trophy cake is assembled and decorated as according to what it was before it got destroyed. Back to the garden as the kids finally solve the riddle of Grandpa Pig's goaltending: Just kick the ball over and over again under Grandpa Pig tires out. Wow, they used the definition of insanity and it worked! In comes the white team with the trophy cake. Apparently, Grandpa Pig's record is 101 goals on 105 shots now. The trophy cake is placed back on the table as everyone cheers. Everyone gets a slice of cake as Daddy Pig sets up the projector and turns it on. The day is saved because the game is about to start. In other words; Grandpa Pig literally allowed 101 goals in eight minutes in real time. Worst goaltender ever! He would be pulled after four goals if he were on the Toronto Maple Leafs, and give Steve Dangle a heart attack. That ends the episode at 2:44. The soccer subplot was funny, the supermarket main plot was boring; so *** (60%). Someone needs to do an animated GIF of the kids scoring on Grandpa Pig and put it on loop for 90 minutes.

Snorkelling: Short opens with George in his swimming costume and swim wings making a sand castle with a seashell on the bottom. Daddy Pig and Mummy Pig grab George because he's too close to the beach to get swamped by a wave which destroys the castle. George still is happy though and doesn't bawl his eyes out. Everyone is in swimming costumes as Peppa Pig and Emily Elephant are in the water with swim wings. Emily and Peppa splash water into their faces for fun as the waves adjust themselves. Peppa cosplays a fish for a while. The kids giggles and then Emily has a great idea: I'm going to use my trunk as an airway device and do some snorkelling underwater even though there is no way BS&P is going to allow them to go any deeper than their waists. So, in essence, Emily is cosplaying a snorekelling diver. That amused me. There is fish in the area; though that might have been a fantast sequence since when Emily comes up there is just sand and literally nothing else. I like to say that it's a fantasy sequence because it's either that of it's a gaping logic break. When Peppa Pig walks back onto the beach, it's clear that it's a logic break since Emily hunkers down and there is fish and terrian; but it's gone once the next camera angle is shown when Peppa leaves the water. It's so obvious, I'm sorry for calling it a fantasy sequence. Peppa is frowning because she cannot snorkel; so Mummy Pig comes with her into the water. By the way, Emily's goggles on her face were basically the GADGET TRICK OF DOOM and Mummy Pig's are the same, only with the long breathing tube included. Peppa puts on the breathing tube and goggles as Emily is giggling at her expense, since she only needs the goggles to back her up since her trunk is the breathing tube, DUH! Also, Peppa sounds funny with a breathing tube. Emily's words, not mine. Peppa then decides to channel Daddy Pig and dive as deep as possible despite Mummy Pig warning her that the water is going to go into the breathing tube. Peppa is choking, but she quickly gets up to a standing positioning coughing up water. That was really dangerous. Peppa is not happy as Mummy Pig tells her that the horrible water is salt water. Trust me, chorine water is way worse in taste than salt water. Emily tells Peppa to take long, deep breaths and then demonstrates what this is to Peppa. Peppa practices this for a while and then Mummy Pig asks if she is ready to try again. Peppa says "yes" and takes a deep breath, puts on the breathing tube and manages to do it properly, making sure the breathing tube is not even close to being completely underwater. Peppa sees the fish and then comes up for air, as Mummy Pig thanks Emily for helping Peppa. Daddy Pig and George arrive for the secret way to get the taste of salt water out of their mouths: four ice cream cones. Of course! Everyone cheers to end the episode at 3:00. This was just an average episode and little else, although Peppa came close to drowning as BS&P would allow. ** 1/2 (50%).

Christmas With Baby Alexander: Short opens with Daddy Pig and returning for the first since The Noisy Night, Uncle Pig, opening a Christmas Cracker in the kitchen with Peppa sitting down with Baby Alexander in his second appearance on Peppa Pig Tales alone! I think he only had three appearances in the main show. There are potatoes, corn, an empty bowl and a bowl of sprouts on the table and Baby Alexander bawls it's eyes out like George Pig now. Okay, the empty bowl contains mashed potatoes with chives. Baby Alexander meal is gravy, mashed potatos with chives and a literal baby carrot. Again, in Britian; it's Happy Christmas rather than Merry Christmas. There are decorations in the background in probably the worst place to put Christmas decorations. Mummy Pig arrives with a purple plate of carrots and a mug of hot chocolate, I think. Mummy Pig claims that this is Baby Alexander's first Christmas which means this is a Series 4 timeline episode. There is a log cake on the counter that looks too close to being a legit firewood log. Peppa decides to make Alexander's first Christmas a memorable one. Yeah, trouble. BA is in da zone now as he throws carrots and splatters potatos over everyone and everything that moves. HAHA! I always love the baby making an ass out of everyone, and I do mean everyone. BA is now officially smiling. Peppa scolds BA for this and BA frowns again. We head to the sitting room as Uncle Pig is reading the newspaper on the love seat. They might be different families, but they are way too similar anyways. Where's Auntie Pig and Cousin Chole?! Now I'm more confused than ever. Did something horrible happen to this family after The Noisy Night? Peppa and BA are on the floor in front of the holiday tree wrapping a drum for a present. Peppa offers BA to put the bow on top and BA throws the lime green bow (which literally looks like a piece of string) and opens the already wrapped present. HAHA! Peppa takes the gift, scolds BA and wraps up the present again...only for BA to open the present, AGAIN! HAHA! Peppa wraps up another present, and puts masking tape out of nowhere; because surely that would prevent BA from opening it. Nope! BA opens the present with ease. HAHA! Then Peppa literally makes an ass out of herself by getting tied up in the masking tape! HAHA! I love this comedy of errors and Peppa the troll is really paying her dues in this episode, that much I am certain.

BA is loving life so much, pieces of paper are landing on top of Uncle Pig's head, just to accent the carnage of paper BA is committing to right now. Then BA bawls right out of nowhere, and it sounds a lot better than the siren bawling Baby Alexander usually does. Maybe it's time for the voice acting on the main show change to this new voices, since they sound much more natural and a lot less contrived. Jump cut to the kitchen as Mummy and Daddy Pig are cleaning dishes with the sink running. Peppa comes in and proclaims that BA hates Christmas. I don't believe you Peppa, I watched BA and he was more than enjoying himself. It's only when you scolded him that he didn't like Christmas and that's because you are a rude jerk who was ruining his buzz. Even Mummy Pig calls her out on that nonsense, so you know Peppa is not believable. Peppa is so not buying this, so Daddy Pig has to remind her that BA is a baby and they need to do stuff that BA can do on his own without screwing it up. Peppa is like "Christmas for babies", which normally is infantization, but it's Alexander we are talking about here, so it's accurate. We head back in the sitting room with both families, minus Auntie Pig and Cousin Chole. I don't know why they didn't add those two, it's not like Uncle Pig has said anything in this episode so far. BA and Peppa are passing out presents; while later on we see them making a mess with Christmas crafts which is basically a call back to the episode Painting, only BA is making the mess as usual. Next segment: Christmas carols with George playing the drum one handed. Peppa's singing is the softest voice I have ever heard, probably to prevent BA from bawling again. I don't think George has bawled his eyes out once in Peppa Pig Tales yet. Uncle Pig is slow clapping while the rest are nodding to the song's beat. I should note that BA is wearing antlers and a red nose, so he's Rudolph tonight. More slow claps from the families as BA gets assistance in putting the tree topper star (which is completely home made since it contains splashes from BA and the Christmas craft spot. So, a good attention to detail there from the writers. Mummy Pig says it all as everyone giggles while the camera zooms out to a snowy day at the house on the hill to end the episode at 3:06. One of the better Christmas episodes out there for Peppa Pig as Baby Alexander trolled on Peppa hard for my pleasure. Still, what happened to Cousin Chole and Auntie Pig?! We demand answers to this outrage and until we get them, this is a Dang-It! *** 1/2 (70%).

Sports Day At Playgroup: Short opens with Emily Elephant and Rebecca Rabbit doing the sack race on a track. We zoom out as it's pink vs. blue and at least both sides have at least one boy in the group. Team Pink: Emily, Zoe Zebra and Freddy Fox. Team Blue: Rebecca, Danny Dog and Peppa Pig. Gigi Gazelle is your special guest referee for this event as Rebecca becomes way too cocky thinking she has won this thing, but sways and pratfalls on her chin. The narrator completely ignores the obvious and claims that the sack race is hard for Rebecca. Rebecca was doing great until she got too arrogant. Mr. Narrator is totally wrong about this as Emily goes through the red tape with flags to win the race and score a point for Team Pink. The pink team celebrate while Rebecca sulks. Peppa tells Rebecca she did her best. True, except her best could have won the race if she didn't do something really dumb. This was bad decision making, not lack of ability. Danny Dog claims that they can still win the event. Famous last word, huh. Next up, is the egg and spoon race which is to balance an egg on a spoon while running. Okay. It's Freddy Fox vs. Peppa Pig this time around and we all know who is winning this one, since Peppa is the star of this show. This is so hilarious because it's under relay rules and Rebecca is panicking and ordering the team to stop being so binary on the speed and balance. This team literally cannot do anything other than out of control fast, and too slow control; and it's really making the pink team look like they know what they are doing. Danny Dog in particular goes fast or slow and no inbetween. So, Zoe and Rebecca get the eggs and Rebecca then stops hopping to get the advantage, but the egg flies out of the spoon and lands in the grass. Since the egg didn't break, that is not a disqualification; and Zoe pratfalls, the egg bounces on the track and it doesn't break. Rebecca and Zoe recover and Rebecca crosses the red tape to tie the score at one apiece. I don't get why Zoe's egg didn't break and made it close at the end, Rebecca had to win the race in storyline because that was how it was booked. Team blue celebrates as the score is now a 1-1 draw. Next event is the ring toss with Zoe Zebra and Danny Dog and each ring that hits the pole in the ground gains a point, with the highest score winning Sports Day. So, in essence, it's a shootout in hockey. There use to be a time when Canadians absolutely DREADED this, but not so much anymore.

So, both score points on the ring toss, then Emily and Peppa join in and they score points to tie the score at three. So, it comes down to Rebecca and Freddy Fox and Rebecca is scared to death; this giving away who wins well in advance. Danny gives her the pep talk of doom about doing her best, which means Danny Dog has stopped caring about the fact that he's the plucky guy who cannot win. This assures Team Pink's victory now. I realize that this a moral and a really good one; but do you have to make the finish so obvious to pull it off?! Peppa wants lots of fun as Rebecca and Freddy stand up to the line. Freddy throws and it goes into the pole, while Rebecca rears back and throws it so hard, it lands on the grass; giving Team Pink the 4-3 win and Danny Dog once again gets robbed of a big win because he had to tell Rebecca to just do her best; and Rebecca tried way too hard. That one is on Danny. Rebecca is horrified that she lost the game, but Peppa and Danny don't care because they had lots of fun and Rebecca's happy again. Aw! My heart melted! The teams assemble as Gigi hands out the gold medals to Team Pink and silver medals to Team Blue. I'm sad that we didn't have a Team Green -- which my dream team would be: Pedro F'N Pony, Mandy Mouse and Suzy Sheep, so we can add bronze medals to the package --. Everyone loves Sports Day to end the episode at 3:23. Very fun episode, and could have easily been made into a full episode with a third team. It's also nice to see that Danny Dog is still a plucky loser at this point. *** 1/2 (70%).

Christmas Lunch: Short opens with Peppa and George washing tomatoes in the sink in their Christmas special gear. Some carrots get involved as Peppa splashes George in the face with water. George does the dinosaur spot with two carrots as everyone is wet and shaking the water off of them in order. The bowl of sprouts is on the table along with an icing gun on same table; followed by a pot of potatoes on the stove next to the sink. Oh, the rubber duckie gets involved, of course. Peppa is so impressed by this, she throws in a toy boat out of nowhere for good measure. You know Peppa is in full fledge troll mode when she's wearing a shirt of Father Christmas stuck in a chimney with his legs sticking out. I am not ribbing anyone here, that is what Peppa is wearing as a shirt. When Peppa does ugly sweaters, it's go legit ugly or don't wear one at all. So, they go to the table as the potatoes are done somehow. The potatoes are in a glass bowl and the kids mash them with their hands, which is ugly legit so Daddy Pig has to stop them and give them potato mashers; which is far worse because their hands are so small, they cannot make much of a mess with them. A potato masher literally assures that a huge mess will be made...I check the video...Damn, I'm so good as the potato mashing is done and somehow the kids made a mash potato igloo out of it. Wait, what?! Next up, icing a chocolate dome cake as Mummy Pig puts green icing and white icing to reveal misteltoe, which George pronounces as "miss-toe". Some things never change. Peppa grabs the icing gun and squirts out a giant snowman in the process as Mummy Pig gets a little white icing on her cheek. HA! Mummy Pig is somewhat amused by this as the snowman on top is funnier than boring misteltoe and far less problematic as well. Daddy Pig puts plastic forks as arms; but no face is made though. Odd. In comes Grandpa Pig and Granny Pig in their ugly sweaters, which only Peppa's is truly ugly in the literal sense of the word. It's 11 am and Granny Pig is not amused by the mess in the sink and on the table for whatever reason. I guess she still thought Peppa was kind and nice at this point. The main show is like that now, but not Peppa Pig Tales, oh no. We go old school in this show! The adults play with mash potato balls while the bowls are now sailing ships. Of course! They have lots of fun as Grandpa Pig plays with the snowman on the cake by waving it's arms. Daddy Pig tries to decorate the mash potato igloo; but it collapses because Daddy Pig is...you guessed it. Peppa shouts Happy Christmas and they say it back and giggle to end the episode at 2:48. Not much to see here, but Peppa's ugly sweater is on brand, so it's worth watching for that alone. ** 3/4 (55%).

Mystery Box: Short opens with Peppa in front of the school house on the hill doing the old hell house routine, only with a lot less hell, more winter and less scary. Basically, Peppa is feeling a bowl of jelly inside a mysterious box. We zoom out and I say it's winter because the kids and adults are wearing winter clothes. The second box is yellow and contains a banana and the third box contains the WCW KEY OF DOOM, only in cyan blue against a dark blue box. Kids: Danny Dog, Suzy Sheep, Candy Cat, Rebecca Rabbit and Pedro F'N Pony. Earth to Gigi: Candy Cat and Danny Dog should be standing behind the tables because they can clearly see the outside cut out and the items in the front, exposing the entire game for them to see. It's okay for the audience to see it, but not the characters themselves. They are not suppose to know what is in each box. So, that was a huge logic break. Peppa guesses the red box is jelly, she is correct. Suzy feels the banana and calls it as such, and somehow, Suzy squeezes the banana too hard and the banana is crushed into pulp. That would probably more gross than I had intended. Suzy's correct about it being a banana by the way. It tastes like one, too. Pedro is not liking any of this; but Peppa assures him that this will be fine. Pedro then puts his hand into the blue box and touches the metal key and gets it right. Gigi pulls the box out, and a big hand to the other kids who knew what it was and didn't tell anyone about them. That's being a fair person. Anyhow, the blue key is basically the first of three colored keys required to open the CHEST OF DEMONS. So, our next game is basically the kids beating down on snowmen made of paper mache, I refuse to call them pinatas in good conscience. One of the snowmen contains the second WCW KEY OF DOOM. One of them is yellow, one of them is red and one of them is blue. Since the blue key has been found, it's literally a 50/50 chance between the other two so, all the kids should avoid the blue snowman at all costs. So, Gigi gives the kids...I cannot I am typing this...soft-foam bats, which wouldn't break anything if their lives depended on it. I CLUB BS&P~! With a soft-foam bat, the perfect torture, next to tickling of course. Of course, guess who picks the blue snowman, come on guess! It's too shocking! Surprise, it's OKAY BOOMER~! POW! OUCH! Ummmm...It's Pedro F'N Pony of course! It's nice to know that Peppa Pig Tales can still make Pedro look like a clueless putz.

Peppa's snowman breaks (!!!) and it's a snowball, thus giving it away that the yellow key is in the yellow snowman and thus Suzy Sheep should win this with ease. Pedro's snowman is a snow ball. Suzy's does the slow burn to cracking open and out pops the yellow key. We are now two thirds into this game so we head to the final stage of this fetching game quest. So, we head inside as it's time for Pass The Parcel as the kids sit in a circle while music is playing. HAHA! Well played, Gigi; well played indeed. The kids are all having fun as yes, this is also a Christmas episode. Gigi stops the tape at Pedro Pony, who is shocked that he grabbed the parcel. Wait, shouldn't Peppa be the winn...Oh wait, the present is in layers and you lose if there is another layer. Again, well played Gigi. They pass the parcel some more as Peppa grabs it while questioning the length of this song as Gigi stops the boom box. Peppa has the parcel and is confused. Since Peppa hasn't got a key yet, and she has the parcel; that means the present would be open to reveal the red key. And sure enough, Peppa opens the parcel and we get the red key to complete the three games required to open the treasure chest. The kids all get up and cheer. We head outside as Peppa, Pedro and Suzy have their colored keys and they all insert them into the proper colored keyholes. The chest opens to rocking and then balloons pop out and glitter as the chest contains Christmas Biscuits, which is a neat name regardless of where you are from. Peppa eats a cookie, Pedro praises her, Gigi Gazelle praises everyone, everyone cheers with glee to end the episode at 3:14. Another fun episode, but enough of the Christmas episodes, there are way too many of these now. *** 1/2 (70%).

Board Games: Short opens with Suzy Sheep and Peppa Pig playing Snaps in the sitting room. HA! Why do they keep playing the one game that almost literally ruined their troll..ERRR..I mean, friendship?! It's also a tag-team Snaps game as it's Rebecca Rabbit and Peppa Pig vs. Suzy Sheep and Gerald Giraffe. Peppa clearly knows this is BS because she's the only one frowning while the rest are giggling. Peppa lost again as usual and Peppa doesn't like it, so she shoves an out of nowhere board game because card games suck in her world. Also, this is the name of the episode, so why not?! First board game is Snakes & Ladders and all the kids head stage right as Suzy Sheep is frowning because she was winning, so no one except Suzy loves Snaps, even though technically, Gerald was winning because he was Suzy's tag team partner. I guess Gerald doesn't like sore losers nor sore winners. By the way, we couldn't have a normal game of snakes and ladders with game pieces, it just has to be a giant dice with the kids being the game pieces. Peppa goes four places and by the way, there is no way Gerald could be on spot 2 when Rebecca is at spot 13, Suzy is at spot 6 and Peppa is at spot 8. It's physically impossible to do that in a regular game. They did it this way so Gerald can roll a two to go up the ladder to spot 17, one spot away from the finish line. Okay, still doesn't explain why Peppa and Rebecca's positioning on the board. Peppa rolled a four before this and goes to spot 12. Rebecca rolls a three and that lands on a snake, so she goes back to spot 1. HAHA!

But wait, Rebecca decides to call the game off to reveal a marble so they can do the Marble Run again, because no one loses in the Marble Run! Everyone bails stage left as Gerald wonders where it all went so wrong. HAHA! Well played, Rebecca; well played, indeed! So, they do a more subdued version of the Marble Run and the pink marble of Peppa's is in the lead in a game where it's supposed to be how creative your track is, and not a race. Suzy runs interference and decides that they should play Pack The Parrot instead. All the kids bail again as Peppa is confused even though by logic alone, the pink marble has won. That's the entire storyline of this short: Person is winning; but they keep changing the game and someone else is winning and the game keeps changing, rinse, lather, repeat. Basically, it's operation with nests as scales and a parrot as the patient. It looks like Rebecca has won this one, but wait! Gerald proclaims that they should play Snaps again and the vicious cycle of "I am winning, who cares let's play something else" MUST CONTINUE~! Then they just stop caring and combine the games in various ways, including a marble run to destroy a deck of Snaps cards. Backsplash laugh ensues and I'm laughing with them. This is so great! Peppa declares that they all won....except for Mummy Pig because it's time for the game where everyone loses: Tidying up; which should be easy since there's not much to clean up and nothing is really missing. Everyone giggles as Mummy Pig brings out the broom to end the episode at 3:00. I love the psychology of this episode as everyone was winning and then they stopped caring about winning and just had way more fun combining board games into funny spots. **** (80%).

THE REVIEW LINE

Well, 16 episodes in and it's been mostly fun episodes with a funny chaotic Board Games ending up being an episode that I loved. I always love it when the kids just give up and create fun, dumb games where everyone wins except for Mummy Pig, but she's a fuddy duddy so who cares about her?! I am enjoying these shorts a lot more than the main series now, because many of them are in fact memorable. Nothing funnier than Grandpa Pig going from the best goalkeeper in the world to the dirt worst in less than eight minutes. He should be the new Toronto Marlies Zamboni driver, and then get the emergency goaltender spot for the opposing team and the Toronto Maple Leafs lose again so Steve Dangle loses his mind again. That poor Leafs fanboy, I feel sorry for him. Anyhow, the next rant might take a while since there were only two episodes left after this. One of them involves the return of Daddy Pig as the Snowman Monster from Sun, Sea & Snow! Yeah! So...

Thumbs up for Board Games, thumbs in the middle for the rest, and I'll see you all next time.

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