One grandfather recently decided to capture some fun travel memories after his granddaughter snuck a few of her treasured toys into his luggage, and the behind-the-scenes action has since gone viral on TikTok.
Tanya Zielke, a content creator better known as Tanya Marie on TikTok, first shared the heartwarming saga in a Feb. 28 post, writing in the caption, "Best grandpa award goes to you dad."
The clip, nearly a minute long, shows her father David Zielke setting up his granddaughter's miniature "Peppa Pig" figurines in a pool, on a red chair, at a dining table and more, filming them on his cell phone and narrating a story about the cartoon characters and their adventures.
The Zielkes told "Good Morning America" they were on vacation and attending a wedding in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in February when the grand adventures began.
"We're unpacking, we're getting settled in and my dad calls me into the room. He's like, 'Come check this out,'" Tanya Zielke recalled. "He's like, 'Look! Little Lisette, her 'Peppa Pig' toys [are] in my luggage! They came all the way to Cabo!'"
Lisette is Tanya Zielke's niece, according to the content creator's Instagram account.
"I thought it would be fun to just take them wherever we went and shoot little video clips," David Zielke explained, saying he wanted them to be a "souvenir" for his 5-year-old granddaughter. "So I shot the video clips … and then Tanya, she filmed me filming them."
"It was really cute to just watch my dad be the super grandpa that he is," Tanya Zielke continued, adding that the "'Peppa Pig' phenomenon" became a "fun activity for the entire family" as their vacation unfolded.
David Zielke, who said he enjoys being silly and playful, said he recorded an estimated 30 to 40 videos that featured narration in both English and French, since his granddaughter is bilingual. Tanya Zielke then edited them together into a six-minute short film titled "Peppa Adventures to Cabo San Lucas," which she shared on YouTube.
"For kids, they'll enjoy the fact that there's an adult playing with these little toys and having fun with them, and some of the voice-overs are a little fun too," the 65-year-old said of the short.
After Tanya Zielke shared the first TikTok, it quickly took off, garnering more than 14 million views.
She later shared a follow-up post that captured the attention of Peppa Pig herself, who commented, "The most oinktastic grandpa! 💕🐽"
David Zielke said he hopes his grandchildren will enjoy the digital videos he's making for them in the years to come and plans on making more video series in the future.
"I did record a little video snippet of why I did it for Lissette, a little message for her that plays at the very end [of the short] and I think that really will tell people, if you watch, that's what it was in here for me when I did this," the grandfather of five told "GMA," while gesturing toward his heart. "I think the video, the little kids will get a kick out of it and big people, [it] might strike a chord with them watching it and especially at the end."
"I'm having fun with this," he added. "I will continue to make little video snippets and there'll be a whole catalogue of them for my granddaughter and my grandkids in general."
Editor's note: This was originally published on March 31, 2023.
