SWEDEN-GENITALS SONG Animated Swedish 'genital' video for children's programme goes viral

Record ID: 571403

  • Title: SWEDEN-GENITALS SONG Animated Swedish 'genital' video for children's programme goes viral
  • Date: 28th January 2015
  • Summary: MALMO, SWEDEN (JANUARY 26, 2015) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE)(English) COMPOSER JOHAN HOLMSTROM SAYING: "We thought it would be a fun thing to share with the world since it's become quite popular and they have no clue what we're singing. Actually I've seen some weird translations on YouTube that are quite obnoxious but I thought we should do it ourselves. I think it's better."
  • Embargoed: 12th February 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Sweden
  • Country: Sweden
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVABQLCGS62HN2IC4IS9Y7FVBPZD
  • Story Text: A song and video from a Swedish children's TV show featuring a dancing penis and vagina has became a viral hit.
    The song is called "Snoppen och Snippan", which are the child-friendly Swedish words for penis and vagina, and was made for a children's programme on public service broadcaster SVT called the "Germ Emergency".
    The programme, called "Bacillakuten" in Swedish, teaches children about the body and its functions and children can write to the show with questions.
    Because many children expressed curiosity about genitals, the programme makers decided to do a programme about it.
    Composer Johan Holmstrom was brought in to write songs to various episodes of the programme and he wrote the song "Snoppen och Snippan" which is accompanied by a video that shows cartoon genitals dancing and singing.
    "The song is just like me playing around with words because I knew that when I got the subjects, I knew this would be quite delicate so I thought maybe I should just do some funny rhymes and not dig deep about our sexes (sexual organs) so the song is not about that, It's just about funny rhymes for kids that obviously appreciate the song and I mean, the only thing that I mention is that we pee with our sexes (sexual organs) - depending on whether you're a girl or a boy," Holmstrom explained.
    The video and song have since become hugely popular on video sharing website YouTube, but received mixed reviews with some saying the content was unsuitable for children.
    Holmstrom said he was surprised it had become so popular, but he couldn't quite understand some of the negative reactions.
    "Is there a problem? It's so hard for me to understand actually because there is nothing sexual about the song at all. It's just a funny little tune and if they think you shouldn't talk about the penis or the vagina with their kids that's their miss because they're sitting right there. You can't hide it," he said.
    Because of the song and video's popularity, an English version is now being written.
    Holmstrom said it was better if it was done by him and his team.
    "We thought it would be a fun thing to share with the world since it's become quite popular and they have no clue what we're singing. Actually I've seen some weird translations on YouTube that are quite obnoxious but I thought we should do it ourselves. I think it's better," he said.
    The English version will be available mid-February according to Holmstrom.
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