Pittiplatsch facts for kids
Pittiplatsch, often called Pitti, is a fun German character. He is a little kobold, which is like a mischievous sprite from German stories. Pitti became super famous in East Germany (which was a country called the German Democratic Republic). People especially loved him as a puppet on children's TV shows.
Pittiplatsch first showed up in 1962. This was in a TV series called Meister Nadelöhr erzählt ("Narrations from Master Needle Eye"). Later, the show's name changed to Zu Besuch im Märchenland ("Visiting Fairyland"). Many creative people helped make Pittiplatsch. These included writers Ingeborg Feustel and Günther Feustel, sculptor Emma-Maria Lange, and puppeteer Heinz Schröder. Heinz Schröder was the one who moved the Pittiplatsch puppet and gave him his funny voice for many years. After Heinz Schröder passed away in 2009, Norbert Schwarz took over. Then, in 2010, Christian Sengewald became the new puppeteer for Pittiplatsch.
Today, you can still watch the short puppet films made for East German television. They are shown on the Sandmännchen ("Little Sandman") children's TV program. While there aren't many new TV shows, you can still find new toys and other items featuring Pittiplatsch. Since 1993, the puppeteers have also been performing live shows. New episodes of Pittiplatsch even started airing again on TV in November 2019! You can watch them on channels like MDR, KiKA, and rbb.
How Pittiplatsch Was Created
The TV show Meister Nadelöhr erzählt began way back in 1955. It starred Eckart Friedrichson as a master tailor named Meister Nadelöhr. He lived in a magical tailor shop in fairyland and told stories. At first, he had two real canaries, but they were later replaced by puppet characters. In 1958, a bear puppet named Bummi joined the show. He was the mascot of a children's magazine. Another puppet, Schnatterinchen the duck, joined in 1958 too. Both Bummi and Schnatterinchen were known for being very good and honest.
The people making the show felt that these characters might get a bit boring over time. The puppeteer Heinz Schröder had a great idea. He thought of a new character based on a kobold, a playful sprite from German stories. Schröder imagined a mischievous little boy who never grew up. This character would have magic powers and wouldn't need parents telling him what to do.
Working with writers Ingeborg and Günther Feustel, and designer Emma-Maria Lange, they created a first model. This early design was a black-skinned boy with lots of hair and long legs. He even wore shiny shoes! But Heinz Schröder didn't like it. He thought it was too cute. So, they changed it. They removed most of his hair, made his legs crooked, and replaced the shiny shoes with soft felt ones.
Pittiplatsch, as the kobold was named, also needed a special voice. Heinz Schröder and the other puppeteers tried many different voices all night long. They couldn't find the right one. Finally, Schröder almost gave up and shouted, "I can no longer!" (Ich kann nicht mehr) in a high, squeaky voice. Everyone, including the director Erich Hammer, agreed! That squeaky voice was perfect for Pittiplatsch.
Pittiplatsch first appeared on TV in 1962. He joined Meister Nadelöhr's show, with Heinz Schröder as his puppeteer and voice. Unlike Bummi and Schnatterinchen, Pittiplatsch was a bit naughty and cheeky. In his very first show, he took Schnatterinchen's toys and even stole some pudding! Some parents and teachers worried that children would learn bad behavior from Pittiplatsch. Because of this, Pitti was taken off the show after only a few episodes.
But guess what? Lots of children wrote letters to the East German television to protest! They wanted Pitti back. Thanks to all their support, Pitti was brought back to the show. From then on, he became a regular character on Meister Nadelöhr erzählt, which later became Zu Besuch im Märchenland. He also appeared in many other shows and stories in East Germany. Ingeborg and Günther Feustel wrote many of the stories about Pittiplatsch.
Pittiplatsch's TV Adventures
Pittiplatsch was a regular character on Zu Besuch im Märchenland. When Eckart Friedrichson, who played Meister Nadelöhr, retired in 1976, a new character named Fabian took his place in 1978. Fabian was played by Klaus-Peter Pleßow.
Pittiplatsch appeared nearly a thousand times in the "evening greeting" (Abendgruß) part of the daily children's show Sandmännchen. His first appearance there was on June 17, 1962. These stories were usually only a few minutes long. In the early 1970s, Pittiplatsch and Schnatterinchen the duck started to appear mostly in these short stories. The show creators wanted a third character, and they decided it should be a dog. At first, they used a puppet dog named Struppi from an older show. Later, a new dog character named Moppi was created. Moppi first appeared on April 3, 1976. He starred with Pitti and Schnatterinchen in over 400 Abendgruß episodes. Pittiplatsch and his friends also sometimes appeared with their human friend Fabian in some Abendgruß episodes. Many of the short color films are still shown on TV today.
There were also longer Pittiplatsch films made. One of them is Pittiplatsch reist ins Koboldland ("Pittiplatsch travels into Koboldland"). In this film, Pitti goes on adventures with his siblings in Koboldland.
Books, Comics, and Live Shows
Many books and audiobooks starring Pittiplatsch were released in East Germany. Ingeborg Feustel often wrote them. Many of these books have been re-released in Germany today. New Pittiplatsch stories have also been published. Pittiplatsch comics were printed in a magazine called FF-Dabei in the 1970s and 1980s. These comics were titled Pittiplatschs neueste Abenteuer ("Pittiplatsch's newest adventures") and Pittiplatschs Abenteuer ("Pittiplatsch's adventures").
After East German television stopped broadcasting in 1991, there were no new TV shows for a while. But since 1993, there have been live performances featuring the original puppet characters. These shows are mostly held in the areas that used to be East Germany. The show is often called Zu Besuch im Märchenland or Pittiplatsch und seine Freunde ("Pittiplatsch and his friends").
The puppeteers Heinz Schröder and Bärbel Möllendorf performed live with musician Henry Kaufmann. Helmut Frommhold took over as the musician in 2005. When Heinz Schröder passed away in April 2009, the show paused. It started again in August 2009 under a new name, Wenn der Zirkus kommt ("When the circus comes"). This show focused more on circus elements. Pittiplatsch was not in it at first, but other classic puppet characters, including Moppi, were added.
In November 2009, Pittiplatsch returned to the show! The show's name changed again to Pittiplatsch auf Reisen (meaning "Pittiplatsch is travelling"). The first show with Pittiplatsch after Schröder's death was on November 7. Norbert Schwarz became the new puppeteer and voice for Pittiplatsch. The team said they chose him because his voice was "very similar" to the original. In May 2010, the puppeteer changed again. Christian Sengewald took over the role after he saw an advertisement. On November 26, 2019, brand new episodes of Pittiplatsch started airing on MDR, KiKA, and rbb. These newer episodes were filmed in Cologne.
