If you were hoping Teletubbies would be getting the gritty reboot treatment when it returns to the BBC later this year, you're going to be a llittle disappointed. Tinky-Winky, Dipsy, Laa Laa and Po will all be back in their colorful, fuzzy, antennaed suits to terrify, I mean, entertain the children of the United Kingdom.
However, there is one noticeable change to this new series of Teletubbies. While the characters always broadcasted video right from their stomachs, the Teletubbies will now do that through "21st century touch screen tummies," The Guardian recently reported.
Yes, the Teletubbies have officially joined the 21st century. And why shouldn't they?
A lot of children use tablets these days, actually. Sixty-two percent of children use a tablet at home, and 34 percent of children aged 5 to 15 now have their own tablet, according to research published in October 2014 from Ofcom, the independent regulator of the U.K.'s communications industries. Since children are increasingly turning to tablets and other digital devices for entertainment, it makes sense that Teletubbies would make some changes with its reboot so as to better connect with the children of today.
However, Teletubbies won't look completely futuristic. Tinky-Winky, Dipsy, Laa Laa and Po will all still be portrayed by actors in costume, but there will also be some new computer-animated graphics added in. The producers also told The Guardian that the Teletubbies had been “subtly updated to cater for today’s pre-schoolers” but kept their “loveable, huggable distinctive features.”
This may not be as exciting news as finding out the real identity of the Teletubbies Sun Baby at the end of last year, but at least now we know.
[H/T Engadget]
