Otmar Gutmann

Otmar Gutmann (24 April 1937 – 13 October 1993) was a German filmmaker who specialised in animation. He is known for creating the Swiss-British children’s stop-motion television series Pingu.

He started as an amateur in the 1960s. As a professional he only made one personal work, Aventures (1978). It was based on the piece of music by Gyorgy ligeti, he brought the sculptural universe of Lubomir Stepan to life as an exploration of human condition. In 1980, he was one of the leading animators of the plasticine characters Frédéric and Frédéri from "Lucy the Menace of Street". Later, in 1986, he created Pingu and eventually, it became a major success.

On 13 October 1993, Gutmann died of a heart attack while working on Pingu; he was 56. He was buried at Russikon Cemetery. His company (The Pygos Group) decided to keep producing Pingu episodes with a new team of crew members. In 2000, the company collapsed and all its assets were sold to HiT Entertainment in 2001.[1]