The Naughty Seat

Given how well-travelled and well-loved Pingu is, it’s arguably a brave animator who decides to waddle into a similar space. David Johnson’s Little Blue Penguin is very much his own animal, however, as this personality-packed short illustrates. He has a tactile, slightly fuzzy blue coat and a bright orange beak. He also has two friends, a ship’s captain and a younger sailor, who are clearly defined without any words needing to be spoken.

There’s a tendency to think about silent films as a thing of the past but their heritage lives on in animation like this. As LBP gets into trouble for all the noise he is making, he is sent to a naughty seat – a long bench, in fact, which is ripe for some gentle slapstick jokes.

Johnson’s IMDB page may make it look like he’s new to the business, but far from it. He worked on Filmfair animations, including directing The Wombles and Paddington episodes and has gone on to create pre-schooler series The Koala Brothers. Even LBP has made a previous outing, in 2011 short Calamity Island (watch that here, which also employed the same, distinctive jaunty score from Rick Mulhall as The Naughty Seat. With his latest short – which won a prize at the Ciné Junior Festival and is continuing on the circuit with appearances in Dok Leipzig and Tallinn Black Nights – he proves this is a cast of characters worth returning to.

There’s plenty going on but this story of naughtiness and friendship unfolds in a way that is easy to follow for even the youngest audiences, setting up its jokes nicely so that they can feel just as pleased as their parents when they guess what will happen next. The character work itself is excellent, from Little Blue’s cheeky persona to the gruff captain and the young sailor with a heart of gold. Pingu might not have to move over yet, but he’s got some distinctive company.

Reviewed on: 01 Nov 2026