Opening Joop Geesink Studios

Content

The new Joop Geesink Studio was opened on 28 April 1966 by HRH Prince Bernhard and the then Minister of Economic Affairs, Mr Maarten Vrolijk. An overview of all the techniques offered by the studio is subsequently shown. The theme park to be realised, ‘Holland Promenade’, is also shown.

Growth ambitions

Until this move, Joop Geesink's Dollywood was housed in very old barracks a few hundred metres away. The old buildings were anything but presentable. This film shows that Joop Geesink had ambitions to open a large theme park, ‘Holland Promenade’. He realised that advertising films were a fleeting (temporary) medium and a theme park was something that would be permanent. After many years of difficult and very costly start-up, this project finally ran aground in 1971, dragging the Geesink Studios with it into bankruptcy.

Trivia

Joop Geesink chose 28 April as the date for the opening of the studio because it was his birthday.

Supporting film

This film comes from the Polygoonjournaal. These films were shown in cinemas as supporting films. Because this form of journalism was fairly limited in its topicality, noteworthy events were selected that were worth showing as a ‘newsreel’ in cinemas for a few weeks. After all, most households did not yet have a television set and broadcasting a daily news programme on TV ran into numerous practical problems.

Multitalent

The studio was equipped for all forms of film production, so not only puppet films or cartoons, but also feature films (and commercials) could be realised here. Furthermore, Geesink had founded several companies with other commercial interests in addition to the animation films. The new building housed a feature film department, a cartoon department, an advertising design studio and an events department for Holland Promenade. And a company that specialised in merchandising, something new for those days. Joop Geesink anticipated an enormous growth in all activities as soon as Holland Promenade would be realised. After all, dozens of pavilions with puppet film or multimedia presentations would have to be realised, plus the merchandising.