If you think that death is a subject that no pre-school show would ever touch with a 50-ft pole, then think again. Because we have Paz to demonstrate otherwise.
Paz The Penguin, also known as The Paz Show, was a Canadian/British co-production that debuted in 2003, and aired on Discovery Kids in the US as part of the Ready, Set, Learn! block. Based on a series of picture books by Irish author Mary Murphy, it follows the adventures of an inquisitive young penguin named Paz as he explores the world around him, learning how to make sense of various concepts and the emotions they evoke in him. Paz is often accompanied by three friends of assorted species and accent - Pig (Italian), Dog (Irish) and Rabbit (English) - and is parented by an adult penguin whom he only ever addresses as "Big Penguin", leaving me a bit unclear as to what her actual relation is to Paz. The other prominent adult in Paz's life is his grandfather, Pappy, a seasoned globe-trotter whose many anecdotes and pearls of wisdom from his exploration days are nectar to Paz's adventurous spirit.
As pre-school cartoons go, Paz The Penguin definitely leans on the underappreciated side - it's every bit as cute and colourful as you would expect from a show about a playful, pint-sized penguin and his motley crew of animal friends, but there's a surprisingly sharp layer of poignancy to numerous episodes which makes watching these endearing tykes going through their struggles and overcoming personal obstacles a fair bit more affecting than you might expect at first glance. Certainly, there were none more affecting than "Things Change", the episode in which Paz must come to terms with death for the very first time in his life. Hard-bitten adults with an aversion to letting their sorrow show are advised to approach this one with extreme caution, because it's an absolute tearjerker; unassuming, yet unflinchingly blunt in its examination of a young child's budding awareness of the reality of death. I cannot overstate just how thoroughly this simple but elegantly-told little tale will succeed in ripping your heartstrings apart.
Compared to "Cookie Chomper", the Alvin & The Chipmunks episode on the subject of death, "Things Change" doesn't deal with personal loss or bereavement so much as the basic concept of death and the necessity of coming to terms with its place in the cycle of life. It does so in an admirably stark manner which makes no bones about what death is - the permanence and the irreversibility of the state - but it also ends on an uplifting note which points to the ultimate resilience of life, a reminder that the cycle of life must keep on moving no matter what kinds of loss or hardship it's forced to endure. "Things Change" acknowledges that when death occurs it's sad and, potentially, unfair, but that it is nevertheless an inescapable part of the order of things. Paz doesn't get an easy answer to some of the questions he poses - in fact, Pappy flat-out tells him at one point that there are no answers when he asks him why a death had to happen - and while in the end he has little choice but to accept the disturbance and to learn to live with sadness, when he becomes aware that the world around him is healing and moving forward, he too learns to find solace in the hope and promise of a new day.
"Things Change" opens with Paz, Dog, Pig and Rabbit playing up a tree when Paz stumbles across a birds' nest home to three baby robins. The four friends coo benignly over the tiny nestlings, only to be driven away by the angry mother bird who, Paz correctly deduces, doesn't appreciate them getting so close to her offspring. Later, we rejoin Paz on a particularly stormy night; Paz is looking forward to going on a fishing trip with Pappy the following morning and worries that the weather might spoil their plans, but Big Penguin assures him that stormy weather is part of the natural cycle of life and enables things to grow. Unfortunately, it also comes with a more destructive side that Paz is totally unprepared for.
The following morning, as Paz and Pappy are making their way toward fishing grounds, they pass the birds' tree and notice the nest lying in a crumpled wreck upon the ground. The mother robin is standing nearby, visibly distressed and huddled protectively over her babies, although only two of them are actually in sight. Inspecting the scene more closely, Pappy finds the body of the third baby bird concealed in the wreckage of the nest. Paz, who has never seen anything like this before, is startled and confused, and struggles to comprehend the nature and permanence of death. Below is a transcript of the ensuing discussion between Paz and Pappy:
Paz: Pappy, is he hurt? Is he okay?
Pappy: No Paz, he's not okay.
Paz: Can we help him?
Pappy: I'm sorry, Paz, we can't help him. He's dead.
Paz: What do you mean?
Pappy: Well, the winds from the storm must have blown the nest from the tree. When the bird fell, his body was hurt so badly that he died.
Paz: He looks like he's asleep. Maybe he's going to wake up and wanna play again.
Pappy: No Paz, no, he's not going to wake up again. He can't play any more. His body has stopped working.
Paz: Oh...why did it have to happen?
Pappy: Oh, Paz, I wish I had an answer. Things happen. Good things, bad things, happy things...
Paz: Sad things.
There follows a tender scene in which Paz and Pappy bury the dead baby bird by covering his body with leaves and then salvage the nest, allowing the mother bird space to return her two surviving babies before restoring it to its original spot in the tree. Afterwards, Paz tells Pappy that he doesn't feel like going fishing any more, which Pappy understands, assuring Paz that sometimes there is no other way forward than to allow yourself time to be sad.
A short while passes and Paz remains very affected by the experience, expressing concern that the two remaining baby birds might suffer a similar fate. Big Penguin assures him that birds are well-adapted to living outside and know how to protect themselves, but this bothers Paz, who questions how the baby bird could have died anyway. Big Penguin explains that sometimes accidents simply happen, which doesn't exactly put to rest Paz's concerns. He remains troubled, but ultimately takes comfort in the sight of the mother robin flying overhead with her two surviving babies in tow - they, now, are capable of flight, a development which delights and amazes Paz. The cycle of life continues to turn, and although Paz has learned that this has its cruel and painful side, he takes joy in the beauty and pleasure it equally brings.
The episode closes with a sense of renewed optimism, evoking the fragility of life but also its tremendous strength, and the will and energy which enable it to keep on moving in that continuous cycle of growth, change and replenishment. This is definitely the most understated lesson of the episode, as Paz never explicitly acknowledges it - he simply sees the baby birds flying and becomes happy again - but it's communicated very effectively. The episode title, "Things Change", encapsulates both aspects of this, alluding to the inevitability of death and loss as an aspect of life, but also to the necessity of life to carry on and to bring renewal, and to the hope and happiness that will eventually follow on from sorrow. Birth, death, growth, change - nothing in life can possibly stay the same, and learning to accept and understand all stages of that cycle, and how they connect to one another, is an integral part of figuring out how to thrive in the world.
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