Quentin Tarantino: legendary film director, Peppa Pig fanatic. In the new issue of Empire, Tarantino spoke about how he and The Video Archives Podcast collaborator Roger Avary have been introducing cinema to their children. The Pulp Fiction and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood director, who was married to wife Daniella Pick in 2018, welcomed son Leo in 2020. The couple also welcomed another baby into the family just days ago during the 4th of July holiday weekend.
As young Leo is just two years old, he has not seen very much of cinema just yet. As Tarantino reveals to Empire, however, he did introduce Leo to his very first movie, though it had to be watched in increments. That movie just so happened to be the animated sequel Despicable Me Part 2, and Tarantino seems to be entertained by that being his son's first film, though as the filmmaker explains, it wasn't planned that way.
"[My son is] pretty young, so he’s only really seen one movie. I thought I was hitting a Minions cartoon, and I realize it’s Despicable Me Part 2. And he seemed to be interested in the opening credits, so I go, ‘Okay, I guess we’re watching Despicable Me Part 2. He gets up and he walks behind the couch, but he’s still watching the TV. We watched it for 20 minutes, until it was time for him to go to the park, and then the next day we watched another 15 minutes of it. And so, in the course of a week, in small bites, the first movie Leo ever watched was Despicable Me Part 2.”
A Minions movie might be Leo's first film, but the young boy has caught some Peppa Pig on television. Tarantino says he's watched a lot of the series with his son, but as it turns out, he's enjoying it just as much as the two-year-old, if not more so.
“[Despicable Me Part 2 is] a more consuming experience than, say, Peppa Pig. I actually do like Peppa Pig; I watch it a lot. I’ll say it – Peppa Pig is the greatest British import of this decade.”
Peppa Pig Is One of the World's Most Popular Children's Shows
Created by Nevill Astley and Mark Baker, Peppa Pig was first introduced on British television in 2004. Now in its seventh season, Peppa Pig has since grown into a global phenomenon with enduring popularity across the world. A Peppa Pig theme park opened in February at the Legoland Florida Resort while a dedicated Peppa Pig resort will be opening in China in 2024. A themed area based on the series, Peppa Pig World, previously opened in England in 2011.
As for Quentin Tarantino, the prolific moviemaker has said that his next feature film will be the last of his career. He has been spending a lot of time thinking about what exactly he wants that final story of his to be as a feature film director, and it remains unclear what Tarantino's next movie will be. His last feature, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, released in 2019 to great success.