Do you know where the name "Pocoyo" comes from? It turns out that it is taken out of the peculiar way in which the daughter of its creator, David Cantoya, said his prayer before sleeping: "Jesusito of my life, you are a child little me". This and other curiosities and keys of the children's fashion series we can find out these days, since the new season of the series has been released in La 2 of TVE.
One of the keys to the success of the small characters is the supervision of contents of expert psychologists and educators who review the scripts. The success of the series It is such that it triumphs not only in the United Kingdom or Spain, but also in countries as far apart and as different as South Africa, Japan, the United States, Germany, Korea or Australia.
Without a doubt, the promotional and commercial device that the series has behind helps, and much, but they had to start from scratch and those beginnings were not easy at all. I doubt they would have reached this level of success if they didn't have much and good to offer.
I remember an interview that I heard about a year ago on the radio and that was the first time I heard about Pocoyo. Its creators claimed that their series, in its beginnings, was rejected in Spain because they did not trust the success of those simple drawings. It was in the United Kingdom where they would take off.
And, I thought after meeting Pocoyo firsthand, what a mistake those first distributors who rejected the drawings made! Because yes, the drawings are simple, but perhaps they confused simplicity with simplicity. Y Pocoyo's animations are not simple. Let's see why I think they are great drawings for boys and girls.
Each episode of Pocoyo has an ideal duration for the children to whom it is aimed, between 1 and 4 years. Thus they get to capture all their interest and that the attention does not diminish or be lost with convoluted or secondary stories. Few concepts, but clear. Also, they try to convey some important value For the little ones. Friendship, the value of effort, learning while having fun, creativity, play, teamwork ... In a world of elders in which other very different and ephemeral values prevail, what Pocoyo teaches us takes on a special relevance.
Characters, with simple but fun and colorful strokes, are few and at the same time varied. The diversity in the screens is appreciated because in a few years probably what our children will see are traces of the same model of adolescent in series and television programs. In Pocoyo, very different characters coexist in the most natural way.
We have as main characters the child, the little one Pocoyo, Duck, Elly the Elephant, the dog Loula and Pajaroto (Sleeping Bird in Latin America), each with its own personality and characteristic features easily identifiable by the little ones. Tender, witty, cranky, funny, playful, they form a great fan to learn and teach something in each episode.
Together with them, as another character and vital importance for the development of the action appears the voice of the narrator that goes "commenting on the play", talking to the characters and asking questions. Others secondary characters that make the action not run out are Pajarito (Baby Bird in Latin America), Whale, Octopus, Extraterrestrial, Musical Flower, Ball Orchestra ...
The simplicity of the drawings, with a neutral background, makes the focus on the characters, and it is also appreciated that there are no flashes or sudden changes in perspectives as we are used to seeing in other drawings aimed at older children ... They are drawing "easy" to contemplate, which convey a certain tranquility and calm.
A fundamental factor for its success among children and that seems to me to be very successful is the continuous search for audience complicity.
The small spectators feel they participate in the action that takes place on the screen, because they are asked questions about what is happening, to which they, delighted, will answer together with a chorus of children heard in the drawings. It's nice that they take the little ones for what they are, great wise With much to learn and to offer.
With all these incentives, which account for the work behind the drawings, it is clear why little Pocoyo captivates thousands of children all over the world ... and not so children. Those who rejected the proposal must still be lamenting.
