RONALD BIJLSMA


Ronald Bijlsma started his animation career in 1957 at the Dutch Toonder Studios. Five years later he moved to Cine Cartoon Centre, founded by American director Jim Hiltz. There Bijlsma made numerous animated commercials for television, among which the prize winning "Caballero" (1965). His first independent short is titled "Het Duel" (1967). He financed the film himself, and it was shown as one of the very first autonomous films from the Netherlands at the Annecy festival. After that Bijlsma made a second personal film, "In the void" (1968), in which his love for painting can clearly be seen. In the late 60's he started his own production company and to improve the animation film climate in the Netherlands he founded the Dutch Association for Animation Film in 1973, which later was to become Holland Animation. Also in 1973 Bijlsma made his probably most well known film: "Brainwash". It remained the guiding light and model for emerging Dutch animation for many years. In the meantime he kept making commissioned films for the state and the private sector to earn a living. His public service announcements are especially funny and effective. He also made illustrations for magazines and other publications. In the late 80's he joined Top Drawers agency as a producer-director. There he made several films, among which the award-winning "Home of the future" for Philips, together with friend and colleague Greg Lawson. In the 90's he decided to make another independent film, and his source of inspiration for this film was the early American cartoon. Koko the Clown and Betty Boop made their re-entry in Bijlsma's "Back to the inkwell", which he completed in 1992. In the last years of his life Bijlsma decided to slow down the pace a bit  and devoted himself passionately to painting.

When Ronald, who became a close personal friend of me, suddenly died in September 2002, he left behind an enormous amount of animated commercials, commissioned work like animated leaders and three independent films that won several awards. Ronald's widow gave me much of the artwork from his films, including storyboards, inspirational drawings, colour model cels, thumbnail sketches, and production-drawings and cels. On this page you will find a selection of that artwork. 

I will miss Ronald dearly, as he was one of the nicest and most inspiring persons I've known.

I hope you'll enjoy my website, and if you have anything to add or any other comments, please e-mail me: hwalther@xs4all.nl

Hans Walther


All images © and TM of the respective studios.

You can click on the thumbnails to see larger images.

opc-uitdaging1.jpg (25143 bytes)

DE UITDAGING (The Challenge) (1990)
Original hand-inked and hand-painted production cel of Angela Groothuizen from the title sequence of the TV-program on a (non-matching) production background.

Director: Ronald Bijlsma.
Design & script: Ronald Bijlsma.
Animators: Tony Kluck, Sam Siahaija and Hans Richter.
Studio: Top Drawers.

Ronald Bijlsma was born in 1934 in Rotterdam where he studied at the Academy of Visual Arts. In 1957 he went to work for Marten Toonder, where he learned the art of animation in depth, and in 1961 joined the Cine Cartoon Centre in Hilversum. In 1967 he set up his own production company, called "Animated Films", and worked with the artists Allen Jones and Heinz Edelmann (of "Yellow Submarine" fame) among others. Over the years he has made numerous educational shorts on social and cultural topics for the Dutch government. Commissions from Dutch companies and industries have led to many animated cartoons for television which are often very amusing.

Bijlsma has made four independent films. "Duel" (1967) depicts the complex relationship between man and woman. A series of gouaches, painted directly under the camera, is the basis of "In the Void" (1968), which represents the violence that is present in each individual. "Brainwash" (1973) is a satire on people in power and totalitarian systems which regard individual creativity as a threat and want to control it by using manipulative techniques. "Back to the Inkwell" (1992) shows a character from the early days of the American cartoon, Koko the Clown, who creates his own modern figure, but soon loses control over his creation.

This cel with production background is from the title-sequence of the television program "De Uitdaging" (The Challenge), which I directed from 1990-1992. Ronald Bijlsma gave me this cel personally in 1992. It was my first original production-cel.

opc-uitdaging2.jpg (178795 bytes)

DE UITDAGING (The Challenge) (1990)
Original hand-inked and hand-painted multi-cel progression setup on a key production pan-background: Angela Groothuizen closes a dike with the help of other people. 
From the title-sequence of the TV-program.

Director: Ronald Bijlsma.
Design & script: Ronald Bijlsma.
Animators: Tony Kluck, Sam Siahaija and Hans Richter.
Studio: Top Drawers.

In this piece you can clearly see how each cel is slightly different, and thus creates movement.

opc-homeof thefuture.jpg (36514 bytes)

THE HOME OF THE FUTURE (1987)
Three-cel set up with key production background from this promotional film for Philips, directed by Ronald Bijlsma and Greg Lawson. The idea that a baby might be fed without parental intervening, is demonstrated by some bunnies with a bottle of formula, emanating from a television tube.
The lower half of the background has faded considerably over the years (it  used to be a bright blue), as it hung in direct sunlight in directors Ronald Bijlsma's office. This shows what damage sunlight can do to your precious artwork...

Design & script: Greg Lawson.
Animators: Ronald Bijlsma, Wim Giesbers and Bill Karsten.
Music: Dick Bakker.
Produced by: Ronald Bijlsma for Top Drawers.

A present-day family, harassed by a lot of badly interrelated electronics in their home, enters a life of fairy-tale adventure and unexpected possibilities by being introduced to the world of Philips New Media Systems. A public-relations film, commissioned by Phlips Home Interactive Systems.

3rd Prize - Film and TV Festival New York, 1988.

opc-sneeuwwitje1.jpg (39259 bytes)

SNEEUWWITJE (1994)
Hand-painted cel set-up with key production background from the commercial for NOG Verzekeringen. Scene 1 - Nr.A60. Signed and personalized by Ronald Bijlsma.

The seven Dwarfs return to their home after a long day of hard work, to find Snow White dead.
This is actually the first shot of the commercial. The only thing missing is the cel-level with the smoke coming out of the chimney. The picture of the piece loses a great deal of the visual power of the actual artwork, especially the background. Unfortunately all methods I've tried fail to capture its essence. If you're ever in Holland, let me know and I'll show it to you in person.

Director Ronald Bijlsma gave me this setup personally and signed it for me. He also wrote on the cel: Voor Hans. Na lang, lang aandringen. Ronald. (Translation: For Hans. After insisting for a long, long time. Ronald.)
As this is the only Dutch animated Snow White -and you know how I feel about Snow White- I just HAD to have a cel from this very funny little film. (To be honest, in the meantime Paul Driessen has made his "Three Misses" (1998), part of which also tells the story of Snow White, or rather: the seven Dwarfs trying to rescue her. As this is Driessen's first film which is scanned and coloured in the computer, no cels exist.)

opc-sneeuwwitje2.jpg (49491 bytes)

SNEEUWWITJE (1994)
Four cel set-up with production background from the commercial for NOG Verzekeringen. Scene 6 - Nr. 8. The background is from scene 4.

The Prince is about to bend down to kiss Snow White back to life, as the seven little men are watching admiringly.

The only thing the Prince forgot, is that he has to overcome an unpleasant obstacle. Just as he wants to kiss her, he bumps his head on the glass coffin, which breaks. The fairytale storybook-page we see next, displays the motto of the insurance company: Sometimes things go right, sometimes things go wrong.....
In just 25 seconds one of the most important parts of Snow Whites story is old in a very funny, unusual and effective way. The animation is done in full Disney-style, and the backgrounds are beautifully executed.

This setup has four cel-levels: one with the seven Dwarfs, one with the coffin holding Snow White, one with the Prince, and the final one with the cape of the Prince. The cape still moves as the Prince kneels down before he tries to kiss Snow White; that's why they put the cape on a different cel-level.
The background is not key to the four cels, but belongs to the shot where the Prince appears on his horse. Background and cels were given to me by Ronald Bijlsma as a set, as very little material from this commercial survived. (Yes, they still throw beautiful stuff like this in the trashcan...)

key-SWboek.jpg (46395 bytes)

SNEEUWWITJE (1994)
Hand-painted cel set-up with key production background from the commercial for NOG Verzekeringen. 

This is the final shot of the commercial, the ‘story book ending’... with a twist. 
The text says: “Sometimes things go right, sometimes things go wrong”. 
I also have the original layout drawing of this setup.

opc-prinsNOG.jpg (19545 bytes)

SNEEUWWITJE (1994)
Cel of the Prince on his horse from a commercial for NOG Verzekeringen.

 

opc-dwergenhuil.jpg (36573 bytes)

SNEEUWWITJE (1994)
Cel of several crying dwarfs from a commercial for NOG Verzekeringen.

I also have the storyboard drawings and model sheets for this commercial.

opc-koko.jpg (26104 bytes)

BACK TO THE INKWELL (1992)
Key-setup from this independent short based upon Max Fleischer's "Out of the Inkwell".
The characters Koko the Clown and Betty Boop appear with the permission of the Fleischer Studios Inc.

A character from the early days of American cartoons creates his own, modern figure, but he soon loses control over his creation...

Script, design and direction: Ronald Bijlsma
Animation: Tony Kluck, Sam Siahaija and Hans Richter
Backgrounds: Ronald Bijlsma
Music: Jakob Klaasse
Voices: Greg Lawson
Produced by Nico Crama for the Holland Animation Foundation

Scene 2 - Nr. 48: Koko the Clown on a sheet of paper.

After his studies Ronald Bijlsma (1934) worked at the Toonder Studios and at Cine Cartoon Center. Since he set up his own production company in 1967, he has made numerous commissioned films. In addition, he is active as an illustrator and painter. From 1986 to 1999 he was a producer-director for Top Drawers Very Moving Pictures in Amsterdam. "Back to the Inkwell" was Bijlsma's last independent film, and can be seen
as an ode to the classic cartoon.

opc-manladder.jpg (29334 bytes)

BACK TO THE INKWELL (1992)
Key-setup from this independent short based upon Max leischer's "Out of the Inkwell".
The characters Koko the Clown and Betty Boop appear with the permission of the Fleischer Studios Inc.

Scene 8 - Nr. 4: The little man is walking up a ladder.

opc-manhand.jpg (28094 bytes)

BACK TO THE INKWELL (1992)
Key-setup from this independent short based upon Max Fleischer's "Out of the Inkwell".
The characters Koko the Clown and Betty Boop appear with the permission of the Fleischer Studios Inc.

Scene 10C - Nr. 302: The little man is standing before a sculpture. The cel of the 'hand'-sculpture is on a different cel-level, as this is obviously a 'held' cel.

opc-man&bettyboop.jpg (30674 bytes)

BACK TO THE INKWELL (1992)
Key-setup from this independent short based upon Max Fleischer's "Out of the Inkwell".
The characters Koko the Clown and Betty Boop appear with the permission of the Fleischer Studios Inc.

Scene 16 - Nr. 165 & 196 and 'sea 1': The little man runs from Betty Boop, who stands on a very small tropical island. This is really a 'multi' cel setup; the man and Betty Boop are on seperate cel-levels, but also the sea is on a different level. Five different sea-cels were made, so it would appear to be moving water. The palmtree that Betty Boop is holding on to is also on a cel, as she bends it.

opc-mantree.jpg (50520 bytes)

BACK TO THE INKWELL (1992)
Key-setup from this independent short based upon Max Fleischer's "Out of the Inkwell".
The characters Koko the Clown and Betty Boop appear with the permission of the Fleischer Studios Inc.

Scene 61 - Nr. A1: The little man looks from behind a tree. This is just one of the nicest handpainted backgrounds I have in my entire collection.

opc-kokohand.jpg (42282 bytes)

BACK TO THE INKWELL (1992)
Key-setup from this independent short based upon Max Fleischer's "Out of the Inkwell".
The characters Koko the Clown and Betty Boop appear with the permission of the Fleischer Studios Inc.

Scene 62 - Nr. A10 & C12: Koko's hand is invading the cartoon-setting. The leaves on the left are on an overlay. How wonderful that just by seeing a hand and an arm, you know it's Koko the Clown. Even Mickey Mouse wouldn't get away with that! The four fingers (typical for almost all cartoon characters) can also very clearly be seen.

key-Inkwell1.jpg (27967 bytes)

BACK TO THE INKWELL (1992)
Key-setup from this independent short based upon Max Fleischer's "Out of the Inkwell".
The characters Koko the Clown and Betty Boop appear with the permission of the Fleischer Studios Inc. 

Scene 13 - Nr. 140: The little man meets Koko the Clown.

key-Inkwell2.jpg (38500 bytes)

BACK TO THE INKWELL (1992)
Key-setup from this independent short based upon Max Fleischer's "Out of the Inkwell".
The characters Koko the Clown and Betty Boop appear with the permission of the Fleischer Studios Inc. 

Scene 9 - Nr. 69: The little man has reached the top of the ladder.

key-Inkwell3.jpg (52124 bytes)

BACK TO THE INKWELL (1992)
Key-setup from this independent short based upon Max Fleischer's "Out of the Inkwell".
The characters Koko the Clown and Betty Boop appear with the permission of the Fleischer Studios Inc. 

Scene 53 - Nr. 119: The little man spray paints his own landscape.

opc-Inkwell.jpg (37914 bytes)

BACK TO THE INKWELL (1992)
Key-setup from this independent short based upon Max Fleischer's "Out of the Inkwell".
The characters Koko the Clown and Betty Boop appear with the permission of the Fleischer Studios Inc. 

The little man meets Koko the Clown in front of the 'hand'-sculpture. The background is a sea that moves, so there's no static background for this scene. The sea was made out of five cels that were shown in a cycle, so that it appeared to be moving.

opc-Duel1.jpg (21480 bytes)

opc-Duel2.jpg (24471 bytes)

HET DUEL (1967)
These two cels are from Ronald Bijlsma’s first independent short film. 
A suicide attempt is turned aside by the appearance of a woman and finally they end in a bitter fight.

These two cels show the two main characters, a man and a woman. 
I think the choice of colours is very special. 
The man and woman each had their own cel level, noted with an ‘M’ (for ‘man’) and ‘V’ (for ‘vrouw/woman’), and their own number. For instance the cel in which the man presents the flowers has the numbers V-30 and M-66.

key-Brainwash1.jpg (44535 bytes)

key-Brainwash2.jpg (36582 bytes)

BRAINWASH (1973)
Two key setups (scene 8 and 9) from Bijlsma’s most successful film. 
Both are four cel setups with the original matching background.

The film tells the story of two men who control the lives and thoughts of the inhabitants of a whole town. To their annoyance they discover a happy musician somewhere in town. He will have to be shaken down into society and brainwashed like the rest. Instead, the musician brainwashes the dictators with the idea of a world of fun and sunshine. They go into town, hoping to share their happiness with the other people. It is too late; unmoved, the people stare vacuously in front of them.

This film was one of the first independent animated shorts I ever saw, and it made a lasting impression on me. You can imagine how happy I am to have these two setups. 
A little restoration still has to be done do these pieces of artwork.

key-Cetabever1.jpg (36881 bytes)

CETABEVER
Key-setup from a Cetabever commercial. 
Everything you see here is on the cel, but it’s on the original white background.

key-Cetabever2.jpg (32931 bytes)

CETABEVER
Key-setup from a Cetabever commercial. 
This is a three cel setup on the original background. The background only has the outline of the roof.

key-VanHaren1.jpg (44278 bytes)
key-VanHaren2.jpg (34371 bytes)
key-VanHaren3.jpg (29686 bytes)

VAN HAREN SCHOENEN
Three key-setups from a Van Haren shoe commercial.

opc-Boter.jpg (17661 bytes) Production cel from a butter commercial for television.
opc-Heineken1.jpg (20735 bytes)
opd-Heineken.jpg (16835 bytes)
opc-Heineken2.jpg (22469 bytes)
Two cels made for a Heineken Uitmarkt event commercial. 

I also have the matching drawings. It’s interesting to see how detailed the drawings are, while the cels are painted with only four colours.
opc-Postbank.jpg (25510 bytes)

POSTBANK
Production cel of the lion from a Postbank commercial. 

This is probably the only surviving cel from this commercial. I just love the design and the colour styling.

opc-Tuc1.jpg (24385 bytes)

opc-Tuc2.jpg (25087 bytes)

TUC
Two production cels from a cookie Tuc commercial. 

The character of the man isn’t painted, which probably means that the background for this commercial was totally white.

opc-OnbekendVogel.jpg (44942 bytes)

Key-setup from an unknown film. 
If this image rings a bell, maybe you can contact me to shed some light onto this matter. 

I especially like the rough quality of the ink line.

   
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