Co Hoedeman, Oscar-Winning Canadian Animator, Dies at 84
The master of stop-motion animation earned his Academy Award for ‘The Sand Castle’ in 1977.
He was not on the list.
Co Hoedeman, the Canadian animator and director best known for winning an Oscar for best animated short in 1977, has died. He was 84.
Hoedeman died Monday in Montreal, the National Film Board of Canada, for whom he directed 27 films during his career, said. No cause of death was specified.
“Co Hoedeman was a master animator whose long career at the NFB was distinguished by innovative filmmaking and powerful humanitarian themes,” Suzanne Guèvremont, government film commissioner and NFB chairperson, said in a statement. “He cared deeply for the well-being of children and was also a fierce defender of the importance of public filmmaking. The NFB and the Canadian animation community have lost a dear friend and colleague. Fortunately for us, we have his legacy of beloved works, which embody so much of his unique spirit.”
A master of stop-motion animation, Hoedeman earned his Academy Award statuette for Le Chateau de Sable (The Sand Castle), a 13-minute puppet animation short for the NFB. The film features a sandman and the creatures he sculpted out of sand. The creations then build a castle and cheer the completion of their new home, only to be interrupted by an uninvited guest.
Born in Amsterdam on Aug. 1, 1940, Hoedeman as a child enjoyed using his hands to make puppets, kites and other figures. In his 2021 biography, Frame by Frame: An Animator’s Journey, he wrote: “At a time when there was no television and little access to any kind of entertainment, puppet shows were the most brilliant experience imaginable. Puppet theatre and puppet animation have a lot in common. The animator and his team, just like the puppet master in a puppet show, are in control of everything: the storyline, the movements, the sets, the puppets, the animation and the emotions of the audience.”
Hoedeman started his career working in TV commercial production in Holland. But after seeing the films of NFB pioneer Norman McLaren at an animation festival, he came to Montreal in 1965 with not much more than a film reel in hand to possibly work for Canada’s publicly funded film producer in its animation unit.
“I fell in love with [NFB films]. I was fascinated by the making of experimental films. We decided to emigrate to Canada,” Hoedeman recalled in the 2013 short documentary Making Movie History: Co Hoedeman. In the film, he recalled not being especially fazed by the Oscar nomination for The Sand Castle: “So what? Perhaps it’s my Dutch character, being overly pragmatic, perhaps. I don’t know.”
His reticence extended to the Oscars when Hoedeman thought another nominated NFB film in that year’s competition, Ishu Patel’s Bead Game, had been announced as the winner. “So I got up to congratulate him. But no, no, no. It wasn’t him. It was me!” Hoedeman recalled of that dramatic moment he became an Oscar winner.
After directing his early films with the NFB, well before the age of computer-generated animation, including his award-winning Oddball (1969), Hoedeman traveled to then-Czechoslovakia in 1970 to study puppet animation. Returning to the NFB, he began a series of iconic stop-motion films for the Canadian producer, using old-school techniques like a 35mm camera on a tripod and a film set.
Those included the 1972 film Tchou-tchou, which was created with wooden blocks and received a BAFTA for best animated film. During the 1970s, Hoedeman created a series of animated films based on Inuit traditional stories, working closely with artists from Nunavut and Nunavik.
Following The Sand Castle, Hoedeman continued to experiment with a range of filmmaking techniques and themes. In 1992, he worked with Indigenous inmates at the La Macaza Institution to create The Sniffing Bear, a cautionary tale about substance abuse.
In 1998, he began work on a beloved children’s series about Ludovic, a young teddy bear, available in the NFB collection as Four Seasons in the Life of Ludovic. His final film for the NFB was Marianne’s Theatre in 2011.
That was followed by collaborations between the NFB and Hoedeman, now an indie filmmaker, including the 2011 film 55 Socks. That project drew on his childhood memories in Holland during World War II and especially during the Hunger Winter of 1944–45. He would also adapt his Ludovic character into a popular children’s TV series.
In 2003, the Cinémathèque Québécoise and the NFB paid tribute to Hoedeman with the exhibition Exposition Co Hoedeman – Les Jardins de l’Enfance in Montreal.
Director
The Cardinal (2016)
The Cardinal
Short
Director
2016
The Blue Marble (2014)
The Blue Marble
Short
Director
2014
55 chaussettes (2011)
55 chaussettes
6.8
Short
Director
2011
Ludovic (2009)
Ludovic
7.2
TV Series
series director
2009
4 episodes
Bästa knattefilmerna 6 (2005)
Bästa knattefilmerna 6
Video
Director (segment "Ludovic och dockan, Ludovic och
krokodilen")
2005
Le théâtre de Marianne (2004)
Le théâtre de Marianne
6.5
Short
Director
2004
Winter Days (2003)
Winter Days
6.6
Short
Director
2003
Ludovic: Magic in the Air (2002)
Ludovic: Magic in the Air
7.0
Short
Director
2002
Ludovic: The Snow Gift (2002)
Ludovic: The Snow Gift
7.4
Short
Director
2002
Ludovic II: un crocodile dans mon jardin (2001)
Ludovic II: un crocodile dans mon jardin
6.9
Short
Director
2001
Ludovic: Visiting Grandpa (2001)
Ludovic: Visiting Grandpa
7.4
Short
Director
2001
Coucou l'ourson! (2000)
Coucou l'ourson!
Short
Director
2000
Le jardin d'Écos (1997)
Le jardin d'Écos
6.7
Short
Director
1997
L'ours renifleur (1992)
L'ours renifleur
6.6
Short
Director
1992
La boîte (1989)
La boîte
6.5
Short
Director
1989
Charles and François (1987)
Charles and François
6.8
Short
Director (a film by)
1987
Mascarade (1984)
Mascarade
6.5
Short
Director
1984
The Treasure of the Grotoceans (1980)
The Treasure of the Grotoceans
7.4
Short
Director
1980
Lumaaq: An Eskimo Legend (1977)
Lumaaq: An Eskimo Legend
5.0
Short
Director
1977
The Sand Castle (1977)
The Sand Castle
7.1
Short
Director
1977
L'homme et le géant (1975)
L'homme et le géant
6.3
Short
Director
1975
The Owl and the Raven: An Eskimo Legend (1973)
The Owl and the Raven: An Eskimo Legend
7.0
Short
Director
1973
Tchou-tchou (1972)
Tchou-tchou
7.3
Short
Director
1972
The Owl and the Lemming: An Eskimo Legend (1971)
The Owl and the Lemming: An Eskimo Legend
6.7
Short
Director
1971
Matrioska (1970)
Matrioska
6.0
Short
Director
1970
Oddball (1969)
Oddball
6.3
Short
Director
1969
Continental Drift (1968)
Continental Drift
6.6
Short
Director
1968
Writer
The Blue Marble (2014)
The Blue Marble
Short
writer
2014
Ludovic (2009)
Ludovic
7.2
TV Series
developed for television by (creator)
2009
9 episodes
Bästa knattefilmerna 6 (2005)
Bästa knattefilmerna 6
Video
Writer (segment "Ludovic och dockan, Ludovic och
krokodilen")
2005
Le théâtre de Marianne (2004)
Le théâtre de Marianne
6.5
Short
screenplay
2004
Ludovic: Magic in the Air (2002)
Ludovic: Magic in the Air
7.0
Short
writer
2002
Ludovic: The Snow Gift (2002)
Ludovic: The Snow Gift
7.4
Short
Writer
2002
Ludovic II: un crocodile dans mon jardin (2001)
Ludovic II: un crocodile dans mon jardin
6.9
Short
Writer
2001
Ludovic: Visiting Grandpa (2001)
Ludovic: Visiting Grandpa
7.4
Short
Writer
2001
Le jardin d'Écos (1997)
Le jardin d'Écos
6.7
Short
Writer
1997
L'ours renifleur (1992)
L'ours renifleur
6.6
Short
script
1992
Mascarade (1984)
Mascarade
6.5
Short
Writer
1984
Tchou-tchou (1972)
Tchou-tchou
7.3
Short
script
1972
Oddball (1969)
Oddball
6.3
Short
writer
1969
Continental Drift (1968)
Continental Drift
6.6
Short
Writer
1968
Actor
Walter's Internal Battle
Short
Man puting mask and sanitizing his hands
2022
Producer
The Blue Marble (2014)
The Blue Marble
Short
producer
2014
Vacas d'Avanca
Short
supervising producer
1998
Cinematographer
Bästa knattefilmerna 6 (2005)
Bästa knattefilmerna 6
Video
Cinematographer (segment "Ludovic och dockan, Ludovic
och krokodilen")
2005
Ludovic: Magic in the Air (2002)
Ludovic: Magic in the Air
7.0
Short
Cinematographer
2002
Ludovic: The Snow Gift (2002)
Ludovic: The Snow Gift
7.4
Short
Cinematographer
2002
Ludovic II: un crocodile dans mon jardin (2001)
Ludovic II: un crocodile dans mon jardin
6.9
Short
Cinematographer
2001
L'ours renifleur (1992)
L'ours renifleur
6.6
Short
Cinematographer (camera)
1992
Mascarade (1984)
Mascarade
6.5
Short
Cinematographer
1984
Monsieur Pointu (1976)
Monsieur Pointu
6.3
Short
Cinematographer
1976
Matrioska (1970)
Matrioska
6.0
Short
Cinematographer
1970
DNA
Short
Cinematographer
1969
Second Unit or Assistant Director
Running Time (1974)
Running Time
associate director
1974
Art Department
L'ours renifleur (1992)
L'ours renifleur
6.6
Short
paper artist
1992
Visual Effects
The Rogers' Cable (1998)
The Rogers' Cable
8.3
Short
model consultant
1998
Animation Department
The Blue Marble (2014)
The Blue Marble
Short
animator
2014
Bästa knattefilmerna 6 (2005)
Bästa knattefilmerna 6
Video
animator (segment "Ludovic och dockan, Ludovic och
krokodilen")
2005
Winter Days (2003)
Winter Days
6.6
Short
animator
2003
Ludovic: Magic in the Air (2002)
Ludovic: Magic in the Air
7.0
Short
animator
2002
Ludovic: The Snow Gift (2002)
Ludovic: The Snow Gift
7.4
Short
animator
2002
Ludovic II: un crocodile dans mon jardin (2001)
Ludovic II: un crocodile dans mon jardin
6.9
Short
animator
2001
Le jardin d'Écos (1997)
Le jardin d'Écos
6.7
Short
animator
1997
L'ours renifleur (1992)
L'ours renifleur
6.6
Short
animator
1992
Mascarade (1984)
Mascarade
6.5
Short
animator
1984
Une histoire comme une autre
7.4
Short
pixilation
1981
Canada Vignettes: Dancing Dolls
Short
animator
1980
The Treasure of the Grotoceans (1980)
The Treasure of the Grotoceans
7.4
Short
animator
1980
Legends and Life of the Inuit
animator
1978
Lumaaq: An Eskimo Legend (1977)
Lumaaq: An Eskimo Legend
5.0
Short
animator
1977
Running Time (1974)
Running Time
animator: cartoons and special animated effects
1974
The Owl and the Raven: An Eskimo Legend (1973)
The Owl and the Raven: An Eskimo Legend
7.0
Short
animator
1973
The Owl and the Lemming: An Eskimo Legend (1971)
The Owl and the Lemming: An Eskimo Legend
6.7
Short
animator
1971
Matrioska (1970)
Matrioska
6.0
Short
animator
1970
Continental Drift (1968)
Continental Drift
6.6
Short
animator
1968
Le beau plaisir (1968)
Le beau plaisir
6.7
Short
animator
1968
Script and Continuity Department
Ludovic (2009)
Ludovic
7.2
TV Series
script consultant
2009
9 episodes
Additional Crew
Ludovic (2009)
Ludovic
7.2
TV Series
literary bible
2009
9 episodes
The Owl Who Married a Goose: An Eskimo Legend (1974)
The Owl Who Married a Goose: An Eskimo Legend
6.5
Short
advisor
1974
Thanks
Dehors novembre (2005)
Dehors novembre
7.8
Short
thanks
2005
Eaude (2004)
Eaude
5.0
Short
special thanks
2004
The Mountain Head (2002)
The Mountain Head
6.8
Short
thanks (as Co Hoedman)
2002
Sabina
6.7
Short
special thanks
1991
Juke-Bar (1990)
Juke-Bar
6.7
Short
special thanks
1990
Self
Making Movie History: Co Hoedeman (2013)
Making Movie History: Co Hoedeman
Short
Self
2013
In the Animator's Eye: A Conjurer's Tales - Co Hoedeman
Self
1996
Co Hoedeman, Animator
Short
Self
1980
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