John Dillermand ("John Penisman", "John Willieman" or "John Dongman") is a Danish stop motion animated children's television series about a man and his very long penis. It premiered on 3 January 2021 on DR Ramasjang.
Premise John Dillermand is a middle-aged man who wears a red-and-white striped bathing costume. He has a penis that can extend to a length of dozens of meters. John uses his prehensile penis (which stretches within his clothes) as a tool, such as to tame lions or to fly about like a helicopter. But it also often acts independently of John, getting him into trouble.
Episodes The series premiered on DRTV on 2 January 2021. The second season came out 14 October 2022.
Season 1 +EpisodeDanish titleEnglish translationPlotJohn Dillermand, sæson 1, DRTV1John lufter hundeJohn Walks DogsJohn becomes the neighborhood dog walker using his penis as a dog leash.2John DillermandJohn PenismanJohn has the world's longest penis. Instead of feeling embarrassed for being different, he realizes his penis can be a superpower.3John tjener pengeJohn Earns MoneyJohn accidentally knocks over his grandmother's vase with his large penis and must find a job so that he can afford to buy her a new one.4John vil vindeJohn Will WinWhen John's grandmother sends him outside to play games with the neighbors, he becomes so competitive that he cheats using his penis. 5John tager på jagtJohn Goes HuntingJohn's grandmother gives him a gun and asks him to shoot a pheasant for dinner. 6John ordner haveJohn Fixes the GardenWhile helping his grandmother in the garden, John has trouble with his penis and ends up hitting a neighbor and cutting down the apple tree with it.7John i Zoologisk haveJohn at the ZooAt the zoo, John accidentally steals ice cream using his penis and fights an escaped lion. 8John i skovskoleJohn at the Forest SchoolJohn's penis gets in the way of forest activities such as carving wood, pitching a tent, and tying knots.9John på fisketurJohn Goes on a Fishing TripJohn uses his penis as a fishing rod and is teased by other fishers for catching old trash, not fish.10John fejrer Oldemors fødselsdagJohn Celebrates Grandma's BirthdayJohn accidentally forgets his grandmother's birthday.11John redder JulenJohn Saves ChristmasJohn meets Santa Claus on Christmas Eve and saves the day.12John er postbudJohn the PostmanJohn accidentally knocks the mailman off his bike and has to deliver the mail himself.13John tager skraldetJohn Takes the TrashJohn is able to pick out the garbage faster than the garbage truck, but then must find a place to put it.
Season 2 EpisodeDanish titleLiteral translationPlot1John skal tisseJohn Needs to Pee2Dilleren på månenThe Penis on the Moon3Buller bliver vækNoise Disappears4John kagemandJohn the Cake ManJohn gets a job at a bakery and a kagemand version of his anatomy is created.5John handler indJohn is Shopping6John til hestJohn on Horseback7John og tidsmaskinenJohn and the Time Machine8John elsker musJohn Loves Mice9John spiller fløjteJohn Plays the Flute10Betjent DillermanOfficer Dillermand11John alene hjemmeJohn Home Alone12John klæder sig udJohn Dresses Up13John bussemandJohn the Bus DriverJohn is the bus driver but his penis begins to control the bus, creating problems for the city.14Slik eller balladeTrick or Treat15John laver pølserJohn Makes Sausages16John i TivoliJohn in Tivoli17John i sneenJohn in the SnowJohn goes skiing and his penis causes fear and chaos involving a giant snowball.18John får en storebrorJohn Gets a Big Brother19Godt Nytår JohnHappy New Year John
Development and broadcast The series is aimed at four- to eight-year-olds and was developed by the Danish public broadcaster DR, in association with the sex education association Sex & Samfund. It premiered on 3 January 2021 on DR's children's channel DR Ramasjang. The first season, consisting of 13 five-minute episodes, was made available on the internet on 2 January 2021.
Reception
John Dillermand was popular in Denmark upon release, with 250,000 children viewing the first episode in five days, and went viral. The series has found fans among Danish TV personalities and children; according to a DR executive, children were making snowmen, drawings, dolls and songs about John Dillermand. At the 2021 Fastelavn festivities, John Dillermand was a popular choice of costume.
Catherine Bennett of The Guardian praised the series as something that British leaders could learn from. But the series' unusual premise was also criticized as pandering to pedophiles, or as making light of the #MeToo movement against sexual violence against women. A gender studies professor of Roskilde University, Christian Groes, criticized the series for its portrayal of a penis having its own force of will. Groes argues that this perpetuates stereotypical male humour which assumes it's the penis' force of will which gets a man into trouble, not the man's force of will - "This has been used to excuse a lot of bad behaviour from men."
The DR executive said that the series was part of DR's ambition to make "children's content that dares to tackle embarrassing, difficult, quirky and funny topics", that it was about being true to oneself and one's flaws, and that it acknowledged children's curiosity about human bodies. He said that the series was "as desexualized as it can possibly get", and that it was developed together with a child psychologist and other professionals who reviewed the scripts to ensure that children would not misinterpret what they saw.
References
External links John Dillermand episodes on DR