Trivia

Between 1929 and 1970 Ferdinand Diehl and his brother Hermann ran Germany's most important studio for puppet films. Probably their most popular invention is Mecki the hedgehog, a household character especially through the 50s and mascot of "Hoerzu" TV and radio magazine.

During the 1950s, the children's film market lost its appeal for many producers. Besides competition from children's television programs, the new youth protection law proved to be a hindrance, as it included a general ban on cinema visits for children under six. As a result, the Diehls ceased production for theatrical release. They continued to produce individual commercials and short films, which were also released in 8mm format.

The silhouette film "Caliph Stork" was created in the painting studio of their recently deceased father, with their brother Paul Diehl also contributing. Afterwards, the brothers turned to puppet animation. Hermann created the characters, while Ferdinand worked as director and animator.

In 1927, he worked in the cultural department of the Emelka film company at the animation table and brought his brother Hermann on board as an animator. After Emelka closed in 1932, the brothers went into business for themselves.

Ferdinand Diehl's most famous character is the hedgehog created in the 1938 film The Race Between the Hare and the Hedgehog, who became known as Mecki after the Second World War.

Between 1929 and 1970, Ferdinand filmed over 30 puppet animation films for Gebrüder-Diehl-Film in Gräfelfing, using well over 1000 puppets.

Ferdinand Diehl was a German puppet film director.

The last film by the Diehl brothers is the 1970 television adaptation of The Bremen Town Musicians, for which his son Anton designed the puppets.

In addition to supporting programs for the Tobis sound image syndicate and small advertising films, the Diehl brothers (Hermann and Ferdinand) created numerous productions for the Institute for Film and Image in Science and Education, founded in 1931, which has the task of distributing films suitable for school lessons.

Ferdinand Diehl, the son of an artist, attended secondary school from 1912 to 1919 and then the Munich School of Applied Arts.