History WesternAnimation / ThreeTwoOnePenguins

* MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness: For starters, the Rockhopper crew's spaceship takes only a few hours to travel from planet to planet.

Since the show is targeted at a slightly older demographic than that of ''WesternAnimation/VeggieTales'', there's a distinct lack of musical numbers in each episode (but not Big Idea's trademark humor). However, at the end of most episodes, the Rockhopper crew attends Amateur Night at the Comet Lounge where they sing a song related to the episode's moral lesson.

* RecycledSoundtrack: Every single made-for-TV episode re-uses music from episodes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6, with very few new original tunes created for those episodes (and even when new tunes play for one episode, they get re-used for later ones). As for some specific examples...

** Perhaps more egregiously, the music played as Michelle tells the Lizard King about playing by the rules in ''The Cheating Scales of Bullamanka'' is used at least OncePerEpisode, except for ''Wise Guys''.

** Perhaps more egregiously, the music played as Michelle tells the Lizard King about playing by the rules in ''The Cheating Scales of Bullamanka'' is used at least OncePerEpisode, except for ''Git Along, Little Dogies!''

* FiveManBand: Zidgel's TheLeader, Midgel's TheLancer, Fidgel's TheSmartGuy, Kevin's TheBigGuy with traits of TheChick, & Jason and Michelle are [[TagalongKid Tagalong Kids]] with traits of TheHeart.

** The music played in the action scenes from ''The Amazing Carnival of Complaining'' gets played again in ''The Green-Eyed Monster'' and ''Give and Let Give''.
** The music played during Jason's speech in ''The Amazing Carnival of Complaining'' gets played in ''More is More'' and ''Promises Promises''.

* RecycledSoundtrack: The music played in the action scenes from ''The Amazing Carnival of Complaining'' gets played again in the ''Give and Let Give'' action scenes.

* {{Revival}}: After the show got cancelled in 2003, it got renewed in 2006 and ran for two season before it got re-canceled.

[[caption-width-right:331:You're about to see that in space, penguins really can fly.]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:You're about to see that in space, penguins really can fly.]]]

Produced by Big Idea Productions (you know, the guys who made ''WesternAnimation/VeggieTales''), ''3-2-1 Penguins!'' chronicles the tale of a young boy named Jason T. Conrad, and his twin sister Michelle Frances Conrad (who is older by five minutes). Both have been shipped off to stay with their very British "[[InsistentTerminology grandmum]]" for the summer, while their parents go...[[CanonFodder someplace else]].

* {{Fainting}}: Zidgel does this in ''The Green-Eyed Monster'' when he discovers just how big this grass-eating monster is.

* BiggerOnTheInside: In the T.V. version, the Rockhopper gains more space on the inside than the outside.

** Midgel: "BON-ZAAAAAAAAAAI!"

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Meta example. In an early version of the Big Idea website (by early, we mean in 2000), Fidgel's bio states that his favorite color is orange. In ''Runaway Pride at Lightstation Kilowatt'', it's established that he's red-green colorblind, meaning that he can't see the color orange.
** The penguins' ship, the Rockhopper, was not given a name until the T.V. series first aired.

%% FiveManBand
%% Zidgel is TheHero
%% Midgel is TheLancer
%% Fidgel is TheSmartGuy
%% Kevin is TheBigGuy with traits of TheChick
%% Jason and Michelle are [[TagalongKid Tagalong Kids]] with traits of TheHeart

*** The penguins

** Downplayed with Zidgel. He is said to be a rockhopper penguin, but he doesn't have the same hair color as Fidgel, another crested penguin.

** The Cutting-In-Line bug moved Planet Wait-Your-Turn in front of the other planets in its solar system.

** "BANZAI!!!"

* ShrinkRay: The galeezel, which is used to bring the kids aboard the toy-sized Rockhopper.

** If you ever complain, you'll literally turn into a seed of discontent and be used to depopulate a planet.
** Remember, kids, it's wrong to lie. Because if you do, the moon will flatten you and your planet.
** Don't ever feel envious, or else green eyed monsters will appear and start eating all of your shit.
** You need to know when to say "enough", so that a giant space funnel won't threaten to consume your planet.

* TokenHuman: Jason, Michelle, and Grandmum are the only humans seen in the entire series.

-->'''Michelle''' (''Who has been on the ship for all of three minutes''): Wow, so let's get on with the mission. Buckle up for landing, everyone! \\

'''Zidgel''': Uh, buckle up for landing, everyone.

* VisualPun: Midgel holds a picture of ham when Zidgel sings his second solo in "Fair and Square". Ergo, he's saying that Zidgel is a LargeHam.

Produced by Big Idea Productions (the guys who made ''WesternAnimation/VeggieTales''), ''3-2-1 Penguins!'' stars twin siblings Michelle Frances Conrad (who is older by five minutes) and Jason T. Conrad. Both have been shipped off to stay with their very British "[[InsistentTerminology grandmum]]" for the summer, while their parents go...[[CanonFodder someplace else]].

In the first episode (Trouble on Planet Wait-Your-Turn), Jason mopes around because he would much rather be at Space Camp, and as evening falls on their first day at the cottage, he is bored out of his skull after their television blows a fuse. Michelle, on the other hand, has found a set of porcelain penguins and is rather enjoying herself when Jason happens upon the [[MissingFloor hidden attic]]. Upon investigation, the twins find a bunch of old toys and games, as well as a large telescope. When Michelle hogs the telescope, Jason stuffs her penguins into a toy spaceship and accidentally drops them both. Rather than breaking, the ship bounces around before springing to life. The now living and sapient penguins "galeezel" Jason into the toy ship and whisk off into space to deal with a distress call.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: In the commentary for ''The Amazing Carnival of Complaining'', when Uncle Blobb [[spoiler: escapes in an outhouse rocket]], Midgel says that you can tell a lot about a man by the car he drives. Considering what an outhouse is used for, and who Uncle Blobb is, one just needs to put two and two together in order to know what that comment meant. [[DontExplainTheJoke If you don't get it,]] [[spoiler: he's saying that Uncle Blobb is full of shit.]]

* NamedAfterTheirPlanet: Planet Tell-a-Lie has its Tell-a-Liars.

* PlanetOfHats: Subverted with the inhabitants of Planets Wait-Your-Turn, Tell-a-Lie, and Gut, as their hats were put on by outside forces. I.E. a cutting-in-line bug caused the Wait-Your-Turners' hat to be impatience, [[spoiler:the king pressing the button that caused Tell-a-Lie's moon to fall and him telling the Tell-a-Liars to constantly lie]] caused the Tell-a-Liars' hat to be dishonesty, and [[spoiler:cereal]] caused the one-eyed pigs' hat to be gluttony.

In Episode 2 (The Cheating Scales of Bullamanka), it's Michelle's turn to take a ride with the Penguins, and from then on, one or both of the twins would join the Penguins as they traveled through the stars, helping various [[AmusingAlien Amusing]] (and less-than-amusing) [[AmusingAlien Aliens]] with whatever the universe decided to throw at them. [[SarcasmMode Astonishingly]], the solution to each location's problem usually hinges on [[AnAesop something Grandmum tried to teach the kids earlier]].

Since the show is targeted at a slightly older demographic than that of ''WesternAnimation/VeggieTales'', there's a distinct lack of musical numbers in each episode (but not Big Idea's trademark humor). However, at the end of most episodes, the Penguins attend Amateur Night at the Comet Lounge where they sing a song related to the episode's moral lesson.

* AerithAndBob: The Penguins' names are Zidgel, Midgel, Fidgel... and [[OddNameOut Kevin]].
* [[AlienNoninterferenceClause Alien Non-Interference Clause]]: Averted, judging how the penguins just bring Jason and/or Michelle aboard their ship so nonchalantly without any regard to whatever consequences come with abducting two children from a planet that hasn't developed faster-than-light space travel.

* BarefootCartoonAnimal: The Penguins and some other characters.

** In ''Trouble on Planet Wait-Your-Turn'', how the Penguins describe how hot it is on the planet.

** In the same episode, the Penguins mention that it was the Lizard King who cheated in the show.

* BroughtToYouByTheLetterS: The penguins all have an emblem of the first letter of their first names on their chests.

* CatchPhrase: The Penguins all have one.

** Admiral Strap only interacts via speakerphone with the Penguins.

* FantasticShipPrefix: The Penguins' ship, the Rockhopper, uses U.F.P.S (United Federation Penguin Starship).

* TheFederation: Who the Penguins work for. The Federation League of Planets, to be exact.

* FreeRangeChildren: Averted, Jason and Michelle do have adult supervision when going on their space adventures, namely the Penguins.

* FutureSpandex: The Penguins' jumpsuits. Enforced, in that the low-budget computer animation wouldn't be able to depict looser clothing.

* HuddleShot: Occurs in ''The Cheating Scales of Bullamanka'' when Michelle and the Penguins are discussing whether or not Michelle should play the LARP version of Squid-Tac-Toad.
** In ''Moon Menace on Planet Tell-a-Lie'', Jason and the Penguins gather around to discuss how they should find the palace tower.
** In ''Oh, Mercy'', Jason and the Penguins form a huddle to discuss how they should break Zidgel out of prison.

*** The Penguins

* MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness: For starters, the Penguins' spaceship takes only a few hours to travel from planet to planet.
* MoralityBallad: The songs the Penguins sing at the Comet Lounge.

* OnlyOneName: None of the Penguins' last names or even middle names, save for Zidgel's middle name, are ever revealed.

* ThemeNaming: The Penguins, except for Kevin.

* VagueAge: It's never explicitly stated or even implied how old the Penguins are. Since they're penguins, their ages can't be determined by their appearances alone. If their ages are determined by their voices and how long it's been since Bert Bertman graduated from the Federation Academy, their ages would be from late twenties to early thirties.

** Averted with the pumpkin-headed kids from ''The Amazing Carnival of Complaining'' whose heads vary a little in shape.

** In ''12 Angry Hens'', Midgel stops the ship due a fork in the road. Technically speaking, it's a fork floating in outer space, but it still applies.

* BigOlEyebrows: Zidgel, Midgel, and Fidgel have these.