Joop Geesink - Film Pioneer
Thanks for visiting the website dedicated to the historic puppet films as produced by Dutch movie mogul Joop Geesink and his Dollywood studios.
We'll take you back to the '40s and '50s of the previous century, the era of hand-made puppet animation before computers and video-assist. These animated films were of an unequalled craftmanship, meticulously produced with time-consuming production methods that required highly specialized skill sets.
Dollywood...?
The name Dollywood is a wordplay, combining "doll" and "Hollywood". It suggests film tycoons, movie stars and big budgets. This isn't very far from the truth... Located in Amsterdam, Holland, the Dollywood studios produced a steady stream of high-quality corporate puppet films for countries all over Europe, the United States, as well as countries in the Middle East and Africa. For over two decades the Dollywood name was synonymous with classy, state-of-the-art commercials and corporate films, starring a wide range of puppet actors.
The studios no longer exist. If you Google the name "Dollywood" now, you'll probably wind up at the Dollywood theme park named after its founder, singer Dolly Parton. Other than their name, the film studio and the theme park have nothing in common.
Who made the films?
Joop Geesink didn't make the films himself. At the height of his career he employed a staff of about 150 people. Designers, puppet makers, set builders, animators, camera operators, and many more. Most worked in complete anonymity. This website is still in development but we aim to provide you with a peek behind the scenes and acknowledge some of these talented people. We'll also share with you how these films came to be.
What films?
Dollywood produced a few thousand animated shorts, usually commissioned by business clients. Because the advertising industry was still in its infancy, most of these films are quite charming. Unfortunately, many of these film got lost due to studio relocations, fire, or simply because commercial work was no longer considered to be of interest. Victims of cultural short-sightedness...
This site features several films from our private collection , many of which haven't been seen for dozens of years. Should you have a Dollywood film, or do you know of one on the internet that isn't featured here, then please let us know (using the contact page). We frequently publish newly archived films, our own as well as those found on this website.
