Dingo Productions Haas und Ickert Partnerschaft, Filmemacher (more commonly known as Dingo Pictures) is a German animation company based in Friedrichsdorf. It was founded in 1992 by musician Ludwig Ickert (March 30, 1944–November 14, 2019) and book author Roswitha Haas (January 28, 1940–December 8, 2015) under the name of Media Concept. The studio became known when its animated films were released on video game consoles by Phoenix Games and Midas Games in the early 2000s.
History In the 1980s, Ludwig Ickert, who became known in the 1960s as the lead guitarist in the blues rock band Royal Teens (later renamed The Rangers, The Trembles, and Royal Oldies),Presse-Information: The Trembles, Metronome, February 1967. founded the company Super-Sound-Video-Einzelhandels GmbH in Rosbach vor der Höhe. The company went bankrupt in March 1985, but reopened as LUI.TV on July 24, 1986.
In 1992, Ickert founded Media Concept together with his wife Roswitha Haas, who later wrote various children's books. The studio was located in Ickert and Haas' house in the Dillingen district of Friedrichsdorf. They produced their first animated films for LUI.TV, Griechische Sagen: Perseus and Die Nibelungen Sage: Siegfried; Haas wrote the films' scripts while Ickert did the character designs and animation. The studio also produced "storybook" films. The production of Media Concept's animated films involved recording the hand-painted backgrounds and syncing the animation (produced with Deluxe Paint for the Amiga) to the camera.CRT Challenges and Animation Constraints, Dingo Pictures Documentary, January 27, 2024. Following lawsuits filed against Filmation and GoodTimes Entertainment by The Walt Disney Company for copyright infringement, the studio was inspired to produce and release their first mockbuster film, Aladin.Mockbusters and Copyright, Dingo Pictures Documentary, December 6, 2024. Media Concept's films were based on fairy tales and concepts similar to those used for films by companies including Disney, Pixar, Don Bluth Productions and DreamWorks Animation. In addition to the low-budget animation, the films used small voice casts and stock music (from Killer Tracks and Bluevalley), and had character designs plagiarized from characters in Disney and Don Bluth Productions' films. The studio's crew mostly consisted of their family and friends, celebrities, and local theater actors working at Die Dramatische Bühne, including Simone Greiss, Armin Drogat, Raija Siikavirta, Thorsten Morawietz, Can Oral, Rainer Maria Ehrhardt, Georg Feils, and Viola Seiffe. In 1996, the company was officially registered as "Dingo Productions". Die kleine Hexe Arischa was the studio's final film before they closed in 2006, having more advanced digital effects and music tracks than in their earlier films.
The films were released direct-to-video in Germany by the companies Jünger in 1992–1999,Griechische Sagen: Perseus (VHS), Jünger, 1992.Der König der Tiere II: das grosse Abenteuer (VHS), Jünger, 1999. Best Buy Movie in 2000–2001,Programm I/2000, Best Buy Movie, 2000, pages 22–25. and Best Entertainment in 2001–2005. They were also dubbed into other languages, notably Swedish and Italian. In the early 2000s, some of Dingo's films were released on the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 by European game publishers Phoenix Games and Midas Interactive. These releases were developed by The Code Monkeys and included the film, as well as a small collection of minigames.
Since 2012, Dingo Pictures has gained popularity through reviews of their films on YouTube and Internet memes. An edited clip from the Italian dub of Abenteuer im Land der Dinosaurier became a meme called "Yee", due to a scene in which Oro, the dinosaur teacher, scolds Piek for mocking Tio, the protagonist, pronouncing his name in a way that sounds like Yee.
In 2017, Ipswich-based company Edutain4Kids released five ebook adaptations of Dingo Pictures' films. Following the deaths of Haas on December 8, 2015 and Ickert on November 14, 2019, their relatives inherited the studio and its equipment. On May 26, 2021, independent label Vier Sterne Deluxe Records announced that it was negotiating with the current owners of Dingo to release the films as radio plays. Musician Simon Bohnsack and the new CEO, Josef "Jimmy" Roederer, also had plans to make new films, and successfully raised funds for a documentary behind the studio, named YEE!: Behind the Meme of DINGO PICTURES. The radio plays were released between August 2021 and December 2022, beginning with Wabuu der freche Waschbär. In September 2024, the relatives donated the studio's equipment, backgrounds, storage devices and documents to the Deutsches Institut für Animationsfilm.
Reception In 2021, Amelia Tait of The Guardian wrote an article about mockbusters, in which she called Dingo Pictures' films "the world's most infamous mockbusters", describing their animation as "childish". Nicolas Freund of the Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote that the films looked "as if they had been drawn listlessly with felt-tip pens". He also described the films as "short, confusing, full of logical errors, and [having] none of the magic of the elaborate cinema films".
Filmography +YearGermanEnglishNotesDirector1992Griechische Sagen: PerseusGreek Tales: PerseusLudwig Ickert and Roswitha HaasDie Nibelungen Sage: SiegfriedThe Nibelungen Sage: SiegfriedRoswitha Haas1993Die Schönsten Geschichten Vom OsterhasenThe Most Beautiful Stories From The Easter BunnyAladinAlso known as AlladinLustige Weihnachten: Max’ wundersames GeschenkMerry Christmas: Max's Miraculous Gift1994Neue Geschichten vom OsterhasenNew Stories from the Easter BunnySequel to Die Schönsten Geschichten Vom Osterhasen.Goldie: Abenteuer im ZauberwaldGoldie: Adventures in the Enchanted ForestDer König der TiereKing of the AnimalsAlso known as The Lion and the KingHampie ein kleiner Wal entdeckt seine WeltHampie: A Little Whale Discovers His WorldBärbel Ballweber1995Es Weihnachtet Sehr...It's Very Christmassy...Both the studio's final "storybook film" and final film released under the LUI.TV bannerRoswitha HaasArtige KatzenNice CatsAlso known as Lucy and LionelPocahontasAlso known as Pocahontas - An Indian StoryDie MäusepolizeiThe Mouse PoliceAlso known as A Case for the Mouse Police1996Toys: Das GeburtstagsgeschenkToys: The Birthday PresentRemake of Es Weihnachtet Sehr...Wabuu der freche WaschbärWabuu the Cheeky RaccoonDer Glöckner von Notre DameThe Hunchback of Notre DameJanis das SchweinchenbabyJanis the Little PigPeter und der WolfPeter and the Wolf1997Der Gestiefelte KaterPuss in BootsAuf der Suche nach den DalmatinernIn Search of the DalmatiansAlso known as simply The Dalmatians and DalmatiansBaltoAlso known as The Adventures of the Brave HuskyHerkulesHerculesAlso known as Hercules - The Son of the GodsDie Bremer StadtmusikantenThe Bremen Town MusiciansAlso known as The Musicians of Bremen1998AnastasiaDas unglaubliche Fußballspiel der TiereAnimal Soccer WorldAlso known as The Incredible Football Game of the AnimalsEin Prinz für ÄgyptenPrince of EgyptAlso known as Moses - Prince of EgyptDas Schwert von CamelotThe Sword of CamelotAlso known as Camelot1999Der König der Tiere: Das große AbenteuerThe King of the Beasts: The Great AdventureTarzan: Der Herr des DschungelsTarzan: Lord of the JungleAlso known as Lord of the Animals2000Im Tal der OsterhasenIn the Valley of the Easter BunniesRemake of Die Schönsten Geschichten Vom OsterhasenWinkie der kleine BärWinkie the Little BearAlso known as Countryside BearsAbenteuer im Land der DinosaurierAdventures in the Land of the DinosaursAlso known as Dinosaur Adventure… noch mehr Dalmatiner... even more DalmatiansSequel to Auf der Suche nach den Dalmatinern2001Atlantis: Der verlorene KontinentAtlantis: The Lost ContinentAlso known as Empire of Atlantis2004Benni und seine FreundeBenny and His FriendsRemake of Peter und der Wolf2005Die kleine Hexe ArischaThe Little Witch ArischaThe studio's final film.
Further reading Pomeroy, Arthur J. (June 9, 2017). A Companion to Ancient Greece and Rome on Screen, Hoboken: Wiley. . Berti, Irene; Morcillo, Marta García (December 31, 2008). Hellas on Screen: Cinematic Receptions of Ancient History, Literature and Myth, Germany: Franz Steiner Verlag. . Skog, Sofia (2023). The Afterlife of Mockbusters - Mottagandet av Dingo Pictures på YouTube, Sweden: Linnaeus University.
References
External links Official website Vier Sterne Deluxe page Merchandise store