Pumuckl

How Pumuckl and Master Eder met

Being a descendant of the Klabautermann people, who were sailors, Pumuckl loves everything that has to do with the ocean, especially sailboats. For reasons unknown, he gets lost in Bavaria, where no ships are to be found. He doesn't like neat and clean places, so he takes refuge in a carpenter's untidy workshop. The workshop belongs to elderly Meister Eder. It is precisely the fact that the workshop is untidy which seals Pumuckl's fate. He gets stuck on an overflowing pot of glue. It is a rule among Kobolds that whenever one of his kind gets stuck to something manmade, they become visible, and according to the rules of their ancestors, must stay with the human who sees them, in this case Meister Eder. On the show and in the books, Pumuckl is always visible if nobody other than Meister Eder is present. However, he turns invisible when other people come into view. At first, Meister Eder is reluctant to take in the kobold, since he is quite content on his own, but Pumuckl makes it clear that he has no other choice. A deep friendship soon blossoms between the elderly man and the cheeky kobold.

Note: Meister Eder's profession is given as "Schreinermeister" in the original German, which means that he makes and repairs furniture, which is also shown on the show (and mentioned in the stories / radio plays). The term "Meister" means that Eder has the qualification to take in apprentices. In Germany at the time, it was common to refer to handymen by their professional title and their last name, the way it is still done with doctors.

A typical Pumuckl story

There are several ways for a Pumuckl story to begin. These include:

At the end of each episode of the 1980s TV show, Pumuckl and Meister Eder usually reconcile. However, some episodes end with Pumuckl being punished. At the end of one episode, in which Pumuckl tries to make chocolate pudding without Meister Eder's permission, Eder confines Pumuckl to the balcony and eats the pudding alone. Other episodes end with Eder‘s withdrawal of something he gave to the little kobold. The two-part story "Der große Krach" ("The big dispute") has the first part ending with Eder throwing Pumuckl and his bed out of the workshop. But by the end of the second part, the two have reconciled.

Main characters

Pumuckl's character is usually childishly immature and mischievous. Since the Pumuckl stories are aimed at children, we presume that he was written this way so that children can relate to him. Pumuckl's age is never mentioned. He had a life before he became visible, but it was very different: he didn't have to eat and was immune to cold and heat.

Meister Eder sees Pumuckl as a child and usually appears as his guardian. He often tries to teach him some morals, not always with the desired result. For example, he never really manages to suppress Pumuckl's urge to steal things, though he always makes him give back what the little kobold has taken.

Pumuckl is occasionally very selfish, and sometimes this leads to actual wrongdoing. However, when Pumuckl realises that he has hurt somebody, he feels genuine remorse and does everything he can to help that person.

In the TV show Pumuckl is usually dressed in a yellow shirt and green trousers. He wears those clothes right from the first time Meister Eder sees him. Only one episode, "Der Wollpullover" ("The woollen sweater"), deals with Pumuckl's occasional need for other clothes. The kobold always is barefoot.

In the audio plays and TV show, Pumuckl was voiced by actor Hans Clarin.

Meister Eder

He appears to be the exact opposite of Pumuckl. The little kobold likes to get in trouble, but the elderly carpenter prefers to stay out of trouble and keeps to himself. He spends most of his time with Pumuckl. However, he has a couple of friends, elderly handymen like himself, whom he regularly meets in the local pub to have a beer. Meister Eder, whose Christian name is given as "Franz" on the TV show, has a sister and two young nieces, Barbara, nicknamed Bärbel (as seen in the episode "Eder bekommt Besuch"/"Eder gets visitors") and Monika (as seen in the episode "Pumuckl und die Ostereier"/"Pumuckl and the Easter eggs"). Furthermore, he has a nephew named Dieter (as seen in the episode "Die Bergtour"/"The hiking tour"). Meister Eder's sister is concerned because her brother has never found a wife and spends a lot of time alone, which occasionally leads to conflicts between the siblings. Other family members are not mentioned. Although his workshop is often in disorder, Meister Eder likes a clean living space (he lives in a flat above his workshop), which is why he has a cleaning lady, who serves as a supporting character in several stories. Being very different from Pumuckl, Meister Eder is presented as a law-abiding citizen who is meticulous on the job and always polite. He also completely fails to have sympathy with Pumuckl when the latter steals things. When the little kobold plays a minor practical joke, his behavior is sometimes condoned by Eder, because it made him laugh or think.

In the TV show, Bavarian actor Gustl Bayrhammer played Master Eder.

Supporting characters

1961: Radio plays

Pumuckl's character was invented in 1961 by the German novelist Ellis Kaut after she wrote a short story about a naughty demon for a radio drama series at the Bavarian Radio. The first episode of the show was broadcast on February 21, 1962 and the last episode was broadcast on December 30, 1973. A total of 90 episodes were created. Pumuckl's naughty character was an immediate success among the young audience.

1965: Books

In 1963 a competition was held at Munich's graphic art academy which focused on the creation of Pumuckl's appearance. The winner was Barbara von Johnson.

In 1965 Pumuckl's first book was published. The book consisted of illustrations made by Johnson. Between 1965 and 1978, ten books which consisted of 60 stories were published by the publisher Stuttgart-Herald. Only in 1991 an eleventh book was published which consisted of six more stories. Thus a total of 66 stories have been published in book form until today.

1969: records

33 LPs were created since 1969 which were based on the radio show. On the records Pumuckl was played by Hans Clarin and Master Eder was played by Alfred Pongratz. After the death of Alfred Pongratz six more LPs were produced, each with two episodes, in which Gustl Bayrhammer played Master Eder. After the success of the movie and the first TV season, a complete new edition was created which consisted of 86 episodes in cassette format in which Gustl Bayrhammer played Meister Eder.

1982: Feature film "Meister Eder and his Pumuckl"

Between 1979 and 1982 the first Pumuckl feature film was released under the title "Meister Eder and his Pumuckl". Pumuckl appears in the film and in all the subsequently films and TV series, as a cartoon character in a real environment.

1982-1988: TV series "Meister Eder and his Pumuckl"

The first season of the series was broadcast on Bavarian television as a German-Hungarian co-production during 1982-1983 and consisted of 26 half-hour episodes. Many well-known German actors like Willy Harlander, Erni Singerl, Toni Berger, Wolfgang Völz and Helga Feddersen had appearances in the series. In addition, it featured many one-time guest appearances of famous German actors like Lisa Fitz, Gisela Uhlen, Helmut Fischer, Barbara Valentin, Gaby Dohm, Klaus Schwarzkopf, Georg Thomalla, Barbara Rudnik, Iris Berben, Fredl Fesl, Karla Bonoff and Rolf Zacher. The series was directed by Ulrich König.

The second season of the series which was broadcast during 1988-1989 consisted of another 26 episodes.

1994: Feature film "Pumuckl and the blue Klabauter"

Gustl Bayrhammer died in 1993. Because of his death before the completion of the film, Bayrhammers voice was doubed in the remaining segments of the film by the actor Wolf Euba.

1995-2007: TV show "Pumuckl TV"

In 1995 ARD started to broadcast "Pumuckl TV". Hans Clarin played the villain in this series.

1999: TV series "Pumuckls Abenteuer"

In 1999 another 13 episodes were broadcast on the Children's Channel, under the title "Pumuckl's Abenteuer". Due to Bayrhammer's death, the plot occurred aboard a ship and focused on Pumuckl and the ship's cook.

This third season did not reach the popularity of the first two seasons of the show broadcast in the 1980s.

2000: Musical "Meister Eder and his Pumuckl"

On October 21, 2000 a Pumuckl musical called "Meister Eder and his Pumuckl" started to play in Munich. The musical has had over 250,000 spectators.

2003: Feature film "Pumuckl and his circus adventures"

The film "Pumuckl and his Circus Adventure" was produced between 1999 and 2003.

First season (1982/1983)

Second season (1988/1989)

Pumuckl's Adventures (1999)

Pumuckl Controversy

According to Reuters News, April 11, 2007, Ellis Kaut is going to court in a dispute over the impending marriage of Pumuckl. The illustrator, Barbara von Johnson, is supporting a local TV show's contest to design a girlfriend for Pumuckl. The winner will get to visit von Johnson's Munich villa and take part in a "wedding" staged for the popular fictional character.

According to the same Reuters article, von Johnson said Pumuckl deserves a girlfriend but, Kaut said the character must stay true to his spirit nature.

According to Spiegel Online, January 10, 2008 the verdict was: Pumuckl may marry - at least he could now if he wanted to.