Die Sendung mit der Maus
Encyclopedia
Die Sendung mit der Maus (The Program with the Mouse) is a highly acclaimed children's series on German
television
that has been called "the school of the nation". The show first aired on March 10, 1971. Originally called Lach- und Sachgeschichten für Fernsehanfänger ("Stories for Beginning Television Viewers to Laugh at and Learn from"), it was controversial because German law prohibited television for children under six years of age. The program was initially condemned by teachers and childcare professionals as bad for children's development, but is now hailed for its ability to convey information to children. The show has received over 75 awards. The first doctoral dissertation on the program was written in 1991. On March 7, 1999, the program's Internet site was launched and received 2,400 e-mails and 4 million hits on the first day.
found that although the target age was from about four to eight, the average age of viewers was 39.
Each show consists of several segments, the Lachgeschichten purely to amuse, and the Sachgeschichten ("non-fiction stories"), short educational features on a variety of topics, such as what must be done before a plane can take off or how holes get into Swiss cheese or the stripes into toothpaste. These are punctuated by a short cartoon with the mouse, often with one or more of its friends.
describing the topics in that week's show. The voice-over is then repeated in a foreign language. Initially, Turkish, Spanish and Italian were used, in order to include the children of foreign guest workers, but now, other languages are used as well. The foreign language changes every week. After the theme music
ends, the foreign language is identified.
Between the show's segments are "mouse spots", hand-drawn cartoons of 30 to 100 seconds that feature the orange mouse and its friends, a small blue elephant and a yellow duck. None of the characters speak. Rather, sound effects and music comprise the soundtrack as the characters interact and solve problems. The animated interludes serve to separate the segments, offering young viewers a moment to relax, avoiding sensory overload from too rapid a succession of input.
A stuffed toy "Mouse" flew into outer space
and was a "guest" on board the Russian Mir
space station, where it appeared in an educational segment. The stuffed toy was later brought back to the producers on earth.
A number of the educational segments have also dealt with difficult topics, such as life in Germany in the aftermath of World War II
, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and death. Care is taken to explain things in a way that is comprehensible to young children. Analogies are used to explain concepts, and often everyday items already known to most children are used to illustrate. For example, a segment on the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
was produced using Playmobil
figures to represent the three Roman legions involved, a total of 16,500 soldiers. Wanting to convey how large a force that was, the program purchased 16,500 Playmobil toy figures and dressed them up as Roman soldiers, lining them up into columns as they would have appeared in real life. The columns of toy soldiers took up 200 meters. These toy Roman legions are now housed in three museums in different parts of Germany.
A segment on the internet shows messengers running through the hallways of a large building, delivering messages in envelopes (data packets) from the user to servers and back. The hallways represent the data lines and the offices were internet hosts. In just eight minutes, the program accurately describes how the internet functions in a manner simple enough for children to understand. In the case of industrially produced things, each step is shown in great detail, so one can actually see how, for example, a piece of metal is formed by a tool. If something happens too fast for the naked eye it is shown filmed in slow motion. After each step, usually the previous steps including the new one are recapped briefly to help children remember what they already saw. Concepts which are not visible at all are explained with some form of analogous portrayal.
Accordingly, the language used in the narration is kept very simple. The segments are usually narrated by an off-camera voice. Sentences are short. "Big words" are not used, and difficult concepts are broken down and described while they are being shown on camera. This is designed to free children from the more abstract concepts and devices of language, thus giving their minds space to comprehend the concepts explained rather than having to struggle comprehending the language of the explanation. Nonetheless, the educational film shorts are such effective presentations of their subject matter, a number of them are used as teaching tools at universities and colleges.
's Mole
or newer cartoons, like Charlie and Lola
.
As the last part of every show, Käpt'n Blaubär
(Captain Bluebear) tells his red, green, and yellow grandchildren a cock-and-bull story, which his grandchildren always doubt to be true. His sailor side-kick, Hein Blöd, a rat, was created as a buffoon, a device that allows freedom for his character to express things other characters cannot. The characters of Käpt'n Blaubär, his grandchildren, and Hein Blöd were created by Walter Moers
and made popular by Moers' book, The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
and Blaubär's appearance on Die Sendung mit der Maus. Käpt'n Blaubär is voiced by veteran German actor Wolfgang Völz
, with deep timbre
and an accent of the Low German
common in coastal area of Germany. The scenes on board Blaubär's ship are made with Muppets-style puppets, while his stories are short animated
films.
("Shaun das Schaf"), and one episode of The Mouse featured a visit to Aardman Animations
, showing how Shaun is produced. This educational film short, broken up into segments because of its complexity and length, showed the various stages of production and the amount of work required to create a single episode of Shaun. The episode of Shaun seen in production was then broadcast in its finished state at the end of that Mouse.
(Snappy) singing about his life in Egypt on the Nile. The song became a hit in Germany and other countries.
In countries outside of Germany that carry the English-dubbed version of the show, Die Sendung mit der Maus airs under the title of Mouse TV. The program retains much of its original format, but the dialogue and narration have been dubbed into English
. The English version was created in Australia and has been aired on the following networks:
To encourage French children to learn German and German children to learn French, the program began airing on arte
, a Franco-German television channel, on Sunday mornings beginning October 9, 2005. In Germany, the show is dubbed into French and in each country, subtitles appear in the local language. In French, the program is called La souris souriante (The smiling mouse). In El Salvador, the show aired in Spanish as El cajón de los juguetes (The toy chest).
Google
Germany commemorated the program's 40th anniversary on March 7, 2011 with a Google doodle incorporating the Maus and the elephant into its logo.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
that has been called "the school of the nation". The show first aired on March 10, 1971. Originally called Lach- und Sachgeschichten für Fernsehanfänger ("Stories for Beginning Television Viewers to Laugh at and Learn from"), it was controversial because German law prohibited television for children under six years of age. The program was initially condemned by teachers and childcare professionals as bad for children's development, but is now hailed for its ability to convey information to children. The show has received over 75 awards. The first doctoral dissertation on the program was written in 1991. On March 7, 1999, the program's Internet site was launched and received 2,400 e-mails and 4 million hits on the first day.
Format
Aimed at young children, the program has a magazine format, with several segments, some humorous, others educational presented in a simple, straight-forward manner. Many of the show's early viewers are now adults whose children are forming the second generation of viewers. It is not uncommon for children to watch the program with their parents or for children to stop watching around the age of 10 or 12 and then come back at the age of 18. The German newspaper Welt am SonntagWelt am Sonntag
Welt am Sonntag is a German national Sunday newspaper published by Axel Springer AG, and established in 1948. Its head office is in Berlin, and it has local editions for Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Düsseldorf....
found that although the target age was from about four to eight, the average age of viewers was 39.
Each show consists of several segments, the Lachgeschichten purely to amuse, and the Sachgeschichten ("non-fiction stories"), short educational features on a variety of topics, such as what must be done before a plane can take off or how holes get into Swiss cheese or the stripes into toothpaste. These are punctuated by a short cartoon with the mouse, often with one or more of its friends.
Introduction
The show starts with its theme music, unchanged since 1971 and recognised throughout the German population. The introduction consists of a few bars of the theme and a German voice-overVoice-over
Voice-over is a production technique where a voice which is not part of the narrative is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations...
describing the topics in that week's show. The voice-over is then repeated in a foreign language. Initially, Turkish, Spanish and Italian were used, in order to include the children of foreign guest workers, but now, other languages are used as well. The foreign language changes every week. After the theme music
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
ends, the foreign language is identified.
Animated interludes
Educational film shorts
The idea for the educational film shorts came from one of the founders of the series, who noticed that children were very aware of the advertising on television. They were very well-made with very good photography and he got the idea to make "commercials" about reality. The first production answered the question, "Where do hard rolls come from?" Some 400 letters a week arrive at the production office, and a large part of each show is used for such features, often answering questions asked by viewers. Segments have covered such topics as:- How re-usable hand warmerHand warmerHand warmers are small packets which are held in the hand and produce heat on demand to warm cold hands. They are commonly used in outdoor activities such as hiking and skiing to keep extremities warm and assist insulated clothing...
s work - How the Internet works
- How a hot-air balloonBalloon (aircraft)A balloon is a type of aircraft that remains aloft due to its buoyancy. A balloon travels by moving with the wind. It is distinct from an airship, which is a buoyant aircraft that can be propelled through the air in a controlled manner....
flies - How to make electricity from lemons, enough to light a light bulb
- How a cell phone works
- How solar cellSolar cellA solar cell is a solid state electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect....
s work
A stuffed toy "Mouse" flew into outer space
Outer space
Outer space is the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. It is not completely empty, but consists of a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles: predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos....
and was a "guest" on board the Russian Mir
Mir
Mir was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the...
space station, where it appeared in an educational segment. The stuffed toy was later brought back to the producers on earth.
A number of the educational segments have also dealt with difficult topics, such as life in Germany in the aftermath of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and death. Care is taken to explain things in a way that is comprehensible to young children. Analogies are used to explain concepts, and often everyday items already known to most children are used to illustrate. For example, a segment on the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest took place in 9 CE, when an alliance of Germanic tribes led by Arminius of the Cherusci ambushed and decisively destroyed three Roman legions, along with their auxiliaries, led by Publius Quinctilius Varus.Despite numerous successful campaigns and raids by the...
was produced using Playmobil
Playmobil
Playmobil is a line of toys produced by the Brandstätter Group , headquartered in Zirndorf, Germany.New products and product lines developed by a 50-strong development team are frequently introduced by Brandstätter. Some of these, such as promotional products, are only produced in limited quantities...
figures to represent the three Roman legions involved, a total of 16,500 soldiers. Wanting to convey how large a force that was, the program purchased 16,500 Playmobil toy figures and dressed them up as Roman soldiers, lining them up into columns as they would have appeared in real life. The columns of toy soldiers took up 200 meters. These toy Roman legions are now housed in three museums in different parts of Germany.
A segment on the internet shows messengers running through the hallways of a large building, delivering messages in envelopes (data packets) from the user to servers and back. The hallways represent the data lines and the offices were internet hosts. In just eight minutes, the program accurately describes how the internet functions in a manner simple enough for children to understand. In the case of industrially produced things, each step is shown in great detail, so one can actually see how, for example, a piece of metal is formed by a tool. If something happens too fast for the naked eye it is shown filmed in slow motion. After each step, usually the previous steps including the new one are recapped briefly to help children remember what they already saw. Concepts which are not visible at all are explained with some form of analogous portrayal.
Accordingly, the language used in the narration is kept very simple. The segments are usually narrated by an off-camera voice. Sentences are short. "Big words" are not used, and difficult concepts are broken down and described while they are being shown on camera. This is designed to free children from the more abstract concepts and devices of language, thus giving their minds space to comprehend the concepts explained rather than having to struggle comprehending the language of the explanation. Nonetheless, the educational film shorts are such effective presentations of their subject matter, a number of them are used as teaching tools at universities and colleges.
Cartoon
Every show also has at least one cartoon. Some are old classics, like the adventures of Zdeněk MilerZdenek Miler
Zdeněk Miler was a Czech animator and illustrator best known for his Mole character and its adventures.-Early years:...
's Mole
Mole (Zdenek Miler character)
The Mole is an animated character in a series of cartoons, created by Czech animator Zdeněk Miler.It was first to be seen in 1956 in Prague, when Miler wanted to create a children's cartoon...
or newer cartoons, like Charlie and Lola
Charlie and Lola
Charlie and Lola are characters created by author Lauren Child. The siblings were originally introduced in a series of books that were later made into a television series. Despite being primarily aimed at children aged 3–7, the books and shows are popular with adults, due to humorous and relatable...
.
Käpt'n Blaubär
The Thirteen and a Half Lives of Captain Bluebear
The 13 Lives of Captain Bluebear is a 1999 fantasy novel by German writer and cartoonist Walter Moers which details the numerous lives of a human-sized bear with blue fur. The captain's name is originally a pun in German, based upon the fact that the German words for "bears" and "berries" sound...
(Captain Bluebear) tells his red, green, and yellow grandchildren a cock-and-bull story, which his grandchildren always doubt to be true. His sailor side-kick, Hein Blöd, a rat, was created as a buffoon, a device that allows freedom for his character to express things other characters cannot. The characters of Käpt'n Blaubär, his grandchildren, and Hein Blöd were created by Walter Moers
Walter Moers
Walter Moers is one of the best-known and commercially most successful German comic creators and authors.-Life and work:...
and made popular by Moers' book, The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
The Thirteen and a Half Lives of Captain Bluebear
The 13 Lives of Captain Bluebear is a 1999 fantasy novel by German writer and cartoonist Walter Moers which details the numerous lives of a human-sized bear with blue fur. The captain's name is originally a pun in German, based upon the fact that the German words for "bears" and "berries" sound...
and Blaubär's appearance on Die Sendung mit der Maus. Käpt'n Blaubär is voiced by veteran German actor Wolfgang Völz
Wolfgang Völz
Wolfgang Völz is a German actor. He is known for his roles in theatre plays, feature films Wolfgang Völz (* 16 August 1930 in Danzig) is a German actor. He is known for his roles in theatre plays, feature films Wolfgang Völz (* 16 August 1930 in Danzig) is a German actor. He is known for his roles...
, with deep timbre
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
and an accent of the Low German
Low German
Low German or Low Saxon is an Ingvaeonic West Germanic language spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands...
common in coastal area of Germany. The scenes on board Blaubär's ship are made with Muppets-style puppets, while his stories are short animated
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
films.
Shaun das Schaf
Käpt'n Blaubär is sometimes replaced or complemented by the stop-action animation, Shaun the SheepShaun the Sheep
Shaun the Sheep is a British stop-motion animated children's television series produced by Aardman Animations, and commissioned by the BBC and the WDR. It first aired in the UK on CBBC in March 2007...
("Shaun das Schaf"), and one episode of The Mouse featured a visit to Aardman Animations
Aardman Animations
Aardman Animations, Ltd., also known as Aardman Studios, or simply as Aardman, is a British animation studio based in Bristol, United Kingdom. The studio is known for films made using stop-motion clay animation techniques, particularly those featuring Plasticine characters Wallace and Gromit...
, showing how Shaun is produced. This educational film short, broken up into segments because of its complexity and length, showed the various stages of production and the amount of work required to create a single episode of Shaun. The episode of Shaun seen in production was then broadcast in its finished state at the end of that Mouse.
Schnappi
One episode featured a little crocodile named SchnappiSchnappi
Schnappi das kleine Krokodil is a German children's cartoon character. The introductory song "Schnappi, das kleine Krokodil" became an Internet hit before it reached № 1 on the German charts in January 2005, and was widely popular in other European countries as well, topping the singles charts in...
(Snappy) singing about his life in Egypt on the Nile. The song became a hit in Germany and other countries.
Awards
Die Sendung mit der Maus and its creators continue to receive high praise from both television critics and pedagogic experts. The most notable of the roughly 75 awards won by the show and its creators are:- 1973 Golden BambiBambi (prize)The Bambi - Deutschlands Wichtigster Medienpreis, often simply called Bambi Awards and stylized as BAMBI, are presented annually by Hubert Burda Media to recognize excellence in international media and television "with vision and creativity who affected and inspired the German public that year",...
- 1985 Ernst Schneider Award
- 1988 Adolf Grimme Award in Gold
- 1993 Deutscher FernsehpreisDeutscher FernsehpreisThe Deutscher Fernsehpreis is a German award for television programming, created in 1999 by German television channels Das Erste, ZDF, RTL and Sat.1. It was created as a equivalent to the Emmy Awards though it is not organized by an academy and is awarded annually in September or October...
, special prize - 1995 Bayerischer FernsehpreisBayerischer FernsehpreisBayerischer Fernsehpreis is an award presented by the government of Bavaria, Germany since 1989.- 2010 :* Nina Gummich, Nachwuchsförderpreis * Klaus Doldinger, Bavarian Prime Minister's Prize- 2009 :...
awarded for the special Postwar Mouse (Armin MaiwaldArmin MaiwaldArmin Maiwald, born January 23, 1940 in Cologne, is a German author, television director and producer. Maiwald is one of the founders of the award-winning German children's television program, Die Sendung mit der Maus...
) - 1995 Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany to Armin Maiwald and Christoph BiemannChristoph BiemannChristoph Biemann is a German writer, director and producer and one of the presenters of the award-winning children's television show, Die Sendung mit der Maus. Also known as Die Maus , it has been on the air since 1971; Biemann joined the show in 1972...
- 1996 Goldene Kamera
- 2002 Ernst Schneider Award
- 2005 Georg von Holtzbrinck Prize for Science Journalism
International versions
The program is today seen in almost 100 countries.In countries outside of Germany that carry the English-dubbed version of the show, Die Sendung mit der Maus airs under the title of Mouse TV. The program retains much of its original format, but the dialogue and narration have been dubbed into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. The English version was created in Australia and has been aired on the following networks:
- Astro TVIQAstro TVIQAstro TVIQ is an Astro branded channel brought exclusively for Malaysians and Indonesians who own Astro. This channel is free as it is grouped under the Astro Family package...
in Malaysia and BruneiBruneiBrunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia... - ABC TVABC1ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
(Australia) - IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
To encourage French children to learn German and German children to learn French, the program began airing on arte
Arte
Arte is a Franco-German TV network. It is a European culture channel and aims to promote quality programming especially in areas of culture and the arts...
, a Franco-German television channel, on Sunday mornings beginning October 9, 2005. In Germany, the show is dubbed into French and in each country, subtitles appear in the local language. In French, the program is called La souris souriante (The smiling mouse). In El Salvador, the show aired in Spanish as El cajón de los juguetes (The toy chest).
Miscellany
Die Sendung mit dem Elefanten (The program with the elephant) is a spin-off aimed at pre-school children, which started in 2007 and consists mainly of little stories, songs and games.Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
Germany commemorated the program's 40th anniversary on March 7, 2011 with a Google doodle incorporating the Maus and the elephant into its logo.
Further reading
- Sophie von Lenthe, Das Mausbuch – Die besten Lach- und Sachgeschichten der „Sendung mit der Maus“. Verlag Zabert Sandmann GmbH, Munich (2000) First edition. ISBN 3-932023-61-7
- Frag doch mal ... die Maus! Die meistgestellten Fragen an die Maus. cbj, Munich (2005) ISBN 978-3-570-13094-0
- Christoph Biemann, Christophs Experimente Weltbild GmbH, Augsburg. ISBN 978-3-8289-6116-6
External links
- English language presentation for Mouse TV, with theme music Official website of Ian Halcrow, British-German actor
- Christoph Biemann's English web pages
- Die Sendung mit der Maus, official Homepage
- How the Internet works (FlashAdobe FlashAdobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
required) Example of an educational film short - "Nachkriegs-Maus", beginning of part one Award-winning short film in 2 parts (uploaded in 6 video clips), describing Armin Maiwald's experiences living as a child in Germany in the aftermath of World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. - Die Sendung mit der Maus podcasts