Pipo De Clown is the brainchild of artist Wim Meuldijk. He is a red-haired, large polka-dotted bowtie-wearing clown who also wears a derby hat. While obscure in most of the world, he has become an icon of Dutch TV for ages, spawning multiple series, a comic series, a musical and two movies. He first appeared in 1958.
Pipo is a travelling clown who lives with his wife, Mamaloe, and his daughter Petra, in an attic (it's a trailer pulled by a donkey in other adaptations). He lives to entertain, and he has many adventures with the eccentric people he meets along the way; the adventurous Romani, Felicio, two crooks, a mean boss with a glutton for pie, a Native American who speaks broken Dutch, Klukkluk, and various other characters depending on the adaptation.
At one point, the series was close to dying until Meuldijk's daughter, Belinda, advocated for him on public TV. It took a little nudging, but he was soon able to return to screens, and in 2009 she wrote the songs for Pipo's first musical, Pipo en de Gestolen Stem.
When it comes to outside of the Netherlands, the series is mostly known for it's tone-deaf portrayal of Klukkluk the Native American. While it is inexcusable, the portrayal was a product of it's time. Though, the character still makes appearances in the present adaptations (albeit without the brownface).
Media Pipo de Clown has appeared in
TV Shows
- Pipo de Clown (Which ran from September 17, 1958 to May 13, 1959)
- Pipo en de Bibberhaai (Which ran from October 17, 1959 to June 8, 1960)
- Pipo en het zingende zwaard (Which ran from September 17, 1960 to June 7, 1961)
- Pipo en de Waterlanders (Which ran from October 30, 1963 to June 10, 1964)
- Pipo en de druppels (Which consisted of a singular episode and aired on June 20, 1964)
- Dag vogels, dag bloemen, dag kinderen (Which ran from October 1, 1966 to May 26, 1968)
- Pipo op Bizarra (Which ran from March 29, 1971 to June 23, 1971)
- Pipo op Marobia (Which ran from January 1, 1974 to March 19, 1974)
- Pipo en het grachtengeheim (Which ran from September 4-25, 1975)
- Pipo en de Lachplaneet (Which ran from January 1, 1976 to January 22, 1976)
- Pipo en de piraten van Toen (Which ran from September 2, 1976 to September 30, 1976)
- Pipo en de Noorderzon (Which ran from April 14, 1978 to May 26, 1978)
- Pipo in West Best (Which ran from March 1, 1980 to April 19, 1980)
Films
- Pipo and the PP Pearl Knight (2003)
- The New Adventures Of Pipo (2017)
Musicals
- Pipo en de Gestolen Stem (2009)
Comic strips
- Pipo de Clown (1969-1973)
The Pepo de Clown franchise, and it's media, have examples of:
- Accent Adaptation: In Pipo en de druppels, Mak is suddenly given an American accent. This is despite his accent being Dutch in prior shows.
- Aerith and Bob: Petra and Anoushka are the only characters with normal sounding names, in contrast to "Pipo", "Dikke", "Mamaloe", and most egregiously, "Klukkluk".
- Adaptation Expansion: Some films and series expand on Pipo's backstory and family life, such like his sisters Anoushka and Plom.
- Adapted Out: Some series remove Petra and Mammaloe. Klukkluk was also removed in Pipo and the PP Pearl knight.
- Alliterative Family: Pipo's daughter is Petra, and his sister (a one-note character) is Plom.
- Artistic License: Klukklukk lives and breathes this trope. Ignoring the obvious (him being portrayed by a white guy despite being Native American), he comes from a tribe located in "Berezonië", and his people apparently feed their leader lots of candy.
- Artistic License – Geography: The 1958 show features some scenarios set in Norway and Morocco, but the poorly built set design gives away that that the series was filmed in the Netherlands.
- Bilingual Bonus: Anyone who's familiar with Native American languages can suss out that what Klukklukk is actually spouts is complete nonsense.
- Black-and-White Morality: In all of the adaptations, Pipo is always a kind, fun-loving clown while Dikke is always an obsessed megalomaniac. It also reflects how they're seen In-Universe - Pipo is universally adored, while Dikke is disliked by everyone for his narcissism.
- Black Comedy: Pipo is abused by his boss, swindled by thieves and frequently insults Klukkluk. And it's hilarious.
- Brownface: Klukklukk is a Native American played by a white man in make-up and a costume, and he has a habit of saying "An old Native American saying is [incorrect thing]".
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Pipo is the fun-loving redhead, Mamaloe is the pretty blonde and Klukkluk is the brainless brunette.
- The Caligula: King Winter has a heart as cold as the kingdom he rules, but Pipo and Mamaloe are able to convince him to soften up.
- The Cameo: Mak from Mik & Mak, another comedy series produced by Meuldjik, appears in some series.
- Canon Foreigner: Some series tend to introduce new characters to the cast that either become permanent or forgotten. For example, most people associate Pipo with his donkey Nonono, but his first appearance was in Pipo en de Waterlanders and he wasn't in the prior four series.
- Character Title: Pipo de Clown was the name of the first series and the comic strip.
- Culturally Sensitive Adaptation: This is possibly why Klukkluk was removed in the 2003 movie. At the time the original show was produced, racially insensitive stereotypes were the norm, but in the modern day they're seen as tasteless.
- Creator's Culture Carryover: Klukkluk comes from a tribe that has a Dutch-style name, despite being Native American.
- Distaff Counterpart: Pipo's sister, "Plom", who's like him in every way except she's a female. She is a one time character, however.
- Gender-Equal Ensemble: In the 1958 and 1974 show, it was Pipo, Klukkluk, Mamaloe and Petra.
- Haunted House: Auntie Anoushka lives next to a haunted castle and asks Pipo for help in getting rid of the ghost. It turns out there is no ghost, but a knight that's been snoring for 500 years.
- Famed In-Story: Pipo is a beloved clown, and his presence is what brings in the bulk of ticket sales at his old circus. This is why his boss doesn't want him to leave, and tries to hunt him down when he quits for good.
- In the Blood: Pipo and his sister Plom are clowns, while his other sister, Anouska, is a fortune teller. They all have circus-related jobs.
- Lighter and Softer: Some of the newest editions (like the post-2000 films and the musicals) cut out the Black Comedy and racist jokes to be more suitable for a young audience.
- Multiple Demographic Appeal: Kids stay for the clown and the Indian, while adults stay for the Black Comedy. Though it has a cult-like following amongst adults these days.
- Noodle Incident: Klukkluk was destined to lead his tribe, but for some reason ran away to join the circus alongside Pipo.
- Once an Episode: In the black-and-white series, every episode would begin with Mamaloe telling Petra it's time for her to go to sleep.
- Only One Name: Everyone except Dikke, and even that was a result of
Throw It In! - Klukkluk's actor accidentally said "Dikke Deur" instead of "Director" and the crew ran with it. - Roguish Romani: Pipo was given his iconic trailer by a Romani named Felicio.
- Shared Universe: With Mik & Mak, another series also written by Wim Meuldijk. Mik appears in Pipo en de Waterlanders.
- Show Within a Show: Dikke Deur runs a circus act, with Pipo, Klukkluk and Mamaloe as actors. Though later, they leave and Dikke is left penniless.
- Team Pet: Pipo's family donkey, Nononono, that pulls the trailer they all live in.
- Token Trio: Pipo (white), Klukkluk (Native American) and Mamaloe (female).
- World Tour: Pipo and his friends are a wandering troupe that travel all over the world to entertain people and have many fun adventures.
