In 2026, Dutch television will celebrate its 75th anniversary. It is, of all people and characters, an animated puppet who has been part of the greater part of our TV history. Loeki the Lion has been a constant presence on the screen for over fifty years. He was created in 1972 to liven up Dutch commercial breaks—literally! Many Dutch people watched the commercials voluntarily to laugh at Loeki's jokes.

From June 27, Loeki's career can be admired in the spotlight room at Storyworld.

Loeki is one of the most successful characters in the Dutch visual history. The production of his short films is of unprecedented scale by Dutch standards. During his heyday, as many as 300 (!) Loekis were made per year.

Loeki was conceived and designed by puppet film producer Joop Geesink. Nowadays, the short films are produced by his daughter Louise, who has also been coming up with all the jokes since 1984.

Loeki was and is made using the stop-motion principle. In this process, figures and objects are photographed frame by frame, with small changes being made each time. When these images are subsequently played back as a short film, the characters come to life.

Nowadays, Loeki's short films are still recorded in this way, but there is also a role for the computer. You can discover exactly how this works in Storyworld, the museum where everything revolves around the production process of comics, animated films, and games.

This page in Dutch