In May 2018 it appeared that China’s censors had descended on beloved cartoon Peppa Pig, removing over 30,000 videos from a popular streaming service and banning the hashtag #PeppaPig, the New York Times reported. After bootleg Peppa Pig streetwear began to grow increasingly popular among Chinese youth (who claimed her as a symbol of rebellion), an editorial in the state-run People’s Daily newspaper cried that people must remain vigilant in the crusade against Peppa. “After all, no matter how gangster Peppa Pig is, it cannot be allowed to destroy children’s youth and go beyond the rules and the bottom line,” it read.
But now a Peppa Pig movie is coming from China’s Alibaba Pictures and Entertainment One, and has been totally approved by China’s censors. LONG LIVE THE GANGSTER PIG!
“The Peppa Pig series emphasizes the importance of family values, and that is something that will deeply resonate with Chinese audiences. We hope this family film will pave the way for further development of films for young audiences in China,” the president of Alibaba pictures told Variety. The movie is going to be based around the Chinese New Year, which upon release in February, 2019, will be the year of the pig. The Chinese Peppa Pig fanbase is apparently just too good to pass up, as there are also theme parks dedicated to the lovable pig opening in China next year as well.
Meanwhile, I’ll be over here in America trying to figure out if I should get a bootleg Peppa Pig Thrasher shirt. Please only respond in the comments if the answer is “yes.”