Wolfoo

Wolfoo
Genre	Preschool animation
Country of origin	Vietnam
Original language	English
No. of seasons	3 (As of 2022)
No. of episodes	1,917
Production
Running time	2-3 minutes
Production company	SCONNECT
Original release
Network	YouTube
Release	August 23, 2018 (2018-08-23) – present
Related
Bearee

Wolfoo is a Vietnamese YouTube pre-school children’s web series by Sconnect and WOA Entertainment. It has stirred much criticism on the internet due to its visual similarity to Peppa Pig and copyright infringement by using sound effects and using characters from other intellectual properties, particularly from other children's content.

Synopsis

The show follows Wolfoo, a anthropomorphic 8-year-old male wolf who lives on a hill in a small American-styled village with his parents and sisters, Lucy and Jenny. Pando and Kat are Wolfoo's best friends.

Broadcast

The first official episode of Wolfoo was published on August 23, 2018. There are currently many channels under the Wolfoo brand. Among these are "Wolfoo America", "Wolfoo's Stories", "Wolfoo Shows", and "Wolfoo - Sing Along Songs". This is similar to a method used by other content farms. A series of feature-length online films, Wolfoo the Adventurer, was released on YouTube. A spin-off, Bearee, was released on April 16, 2022.

Characters

The characters on Wolfoo are represented as different types of animals, the voice cast is currently unknown.

• Wolfoo Wolf, an 8-year-old wolf, who likes to play with his friends and his sister Lucy
• Lucy Wolf, Wolfoo's sister, and Mr. and Mrs. Wolf's daughter
• Grandma Wolf, an elderly wolf who is Wolfoo, Lucy, and Jenny's grandmother
• Grandpa Wolf, an elderly wolf who is Wolfoo, Lucy, and Jenny's grandfather
• Jenny Wolf, a wolf who is Wolfoo and Lucy's sister
• Mrs. Wolf, a wolf Wolfoo, Lucy, and Jenny's mother
• Mr. Wolf, a wolf Wolfoo, Lucy, and Jenny's father
• Pando Pan, a panda who is Wolfoo's friend, he has an addiction for eating apples
• Pandollar Pan, a panda who is Pando's younger brother and Mr. and Mrs. Pan's daughter
• Mrs. Pan, a panda who is both Pando and Pandollar's mother
• Mr. Pan, a panda who is both Pando and Pandollar's father
• Bearee the Polar Bear, a polar bear who is one of Wolfoo's friends. He is the protagonist of the spin-off Bearee
• Katherine 'Kat' Kat, a cat who likes studying, whose best friend is Wolfoo
• Mrs. Kat, a cat who is a teacher and Kat's mother
• Dr. Kat, a cat who is Kat's father
• Kasper the Gray Cat, a cat who is Kat's brother and Mr. and Mrs. Kat's son
• Moly Mole, a mole who enjoys digging holes
• Piggy Pig, a pig, who is best friends with Bufo
• Nancy Pig, a pig who is Piggy's younger sister and Mr. and Mrs. Pig's daughter
• Mrs. Pig, a pig who is Mr. Pig's wife. She raised Piggy on her own after her husband travelled to a different country
• Mr. Pig, a pig who is Mrs. Pig's husband
• Bufo Bu, a bison, whose best friend is Piggy
• Teacher Bull, a bison who is the teacher of Bufo
• Police Bu, a bison who is Bufo's father
• Mrs. Bu, a bison who is Bufo's Mother
• Karoo, a kangaroo who enjoys playing sports
• Doly, a sheep
• Amy, a red panda who is Mrs. Red Panda's daughter
• Croco, a crocodile who enjoys performing magic tricks.
• Mr. Croco, a crocodile who is Croco's father
• Dr. Kirin, a giraffe
• Mr. Zebra, a zebra who enjoys building
• Alien, an extraterrestrial who lives in space and is one of Wolfoo's friends
• Nurse Deer, a deer who works as a nurse
• Scout Skunk, a skunk
• Rhinoo, a rhinoceros who is a thief
• Mr. Leopard, a jaguar who is also a thief

Reception and controversy

Wolfoo has also been criticized for its usage of gross-out humor throughout its run, constantly featuring animated depictions of defecation and or urination by several characters, pregnancy and anthropomorphic organs. It has been accused of copyright infringement by the creators of Peppa Pig, and the show's distributor, Entertainment One, has sued Sconnect for Wolfoo's visual and aesthetic similarity to the show. Entertainment One have successfully requested YouTube to take down the infringing episodes, and over 2,000 videos have been taken down. Sconnect was also blocked from uploading new videos due to their infringing activity, which involves both audio and visual copyright infringement. The UK Court confirmed it is a suitable jurisdiction for the dispute and dismissed Sconnect's complaints. The judge at the preliminary hearing noted that the imagery between Wolfoo and Peppa Pig is "remarkably similar". Sconnect were ordered by the UK Court to pay over £200,000 in legal costs to Entertainment One as a result of the ongoing dispute.

On July 7, 2022, Moscow City Court terminated eOne's lawsuit. eOne would not be able to file similar case again Sconnect. In August 2022, Sconnect filed a lawsuit looking for compensation for the damage caused by the case.

Meanwhile in England, on January 24, 2022, eOne filled a case aganst Sconnect at the High Court of Justice as follows: rework of Peppa Pig characters, using the art style of Peppa Pig, using the exclamation sounds of Peppa Pig in 91 Wolfoo videos; causing unfair competition, causing the misunderstanding that Peppa Pig and Wolfoo share the same owner and violating the trademark of Peppa Pig.

Despite that, on December 15, 2022, the Trademark Office of Russia (RUSPTO) refused to register the Wolfoo trademark in Russia, citing the reason that it was confusingly similar to the Peppa Pig trademarks already registered in Russia, and would therefore cause confusion among consumers as to the origin of the trademark.