Jim Button and Luke The Engine Driver - Adaptations

Adaptations

Both Jim Button stories were adapted by the Augsburger Puppenkiste, a marionette theater company that adapted children's stories for television in the 1960s and 70s. Their production of Jim Button, first filmed in the early 1960s in black and white, was so successful, it was remade in the 1970s in color. A classic known for its creativity, such as the use of plastic wrap to simulate moving water, it celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2011 with much fanfare. Its theme song is immediately recognized and in the 1990s, was covered by a German dance music group and itself became a hit. There are two sets of original marionettes for the Jim Button production. One is in the Puppenkiste's museum and the other tours the world.

In 1974, the story was turned into a Japanese animation. A dramatized audio book, Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer (Fontana/Deutsche Grammophon) was narrated and directed by Ende himself. In 1996, a 52-episode cartoon series was created as a German-French co-production. The storyline diverged from the original novels with the introduction of new characters and settings.