Sandmännchen (Unser Sandmännchen or Das Sandmännchen) is a German children's bedtime television program using stop-motion animation. The puppet was based on the Ole Lukøje character by Hans Christian Andersen.
Two versions of Sandmännchen were created: one in East Germany (Unser Sandmännchen), and one in West Germany (Das Sandmännchen).
The original idea came from Ilse Obrig of West Berlin TV and radio station Sender Freies Berlin (SFB), who, with the help of author Johanna Schüppel, developed a working version in 1958. The Little Sandman himself first appeared on screen in West Berlin in Sandmännchens Gruß für Kinder (Sandmännchen's Greeting to Children) on 1 December 1959, and other episodes were soon made. However, on 22 November 1959 (only three weeks after the production had started), East German television Deutscher Fernsehfunk (DFF) began broadcasting its own Unser Sandmännchen, complete with its own "good night, children" character, also called Sandmännchen.
The production of the West German version of Sandmännchen ceased in 1991, following the unification of Germany. The East German version was ultimately more popular, and repeats of episodes are still broadcast today.
International versions[]
| Language | Title | Channels | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Danish | Lille Sandmand | DR1 (formerly) |
|
Finnish | Nukkumatti | Yle TV2 (formerly) |
|
|
Norwegian | Jon Blund | NRK1 (formerly) |
|
Polish | Piaskowy Dziadek | direct-to-video |
|
|
Swedish | John Blund | SVT1 (formerly) |