About Playmobil Pete & Rob!

Pete & Rob are the stars of this website. Originally the two Playmobils are the safe cracker of Playmobil© 3161.

The first stop motion film with Pete & Rob was created in 2003. The last stop motion film was created in 2017. Two thirds of all episodes were created in the first 2 years of the project.

Since then they fought Darth Vader, stopped smoking, waited for Godot, checked out bungee-jumping, opened a couple of bottles, visited Scotland and Australia and experienced numerous others stop motion adventures.

The 2 Playmobils like to react on current history: e.g. they have been on Mars (2004), had their own Apple iPod Mini commercial (2004) or made fun of the soccer world cup mascot "Goleo" (2006).

Why do some stop-motion episodes have a lower image quality?

Many of the early episodes were created between 2003 and 2006, at a time when consumer digital cameras offered only limited resolution. The very first productions were photographed with a Traveler digital camera, which was a great starting point but naturally could not deliver the image quality that modern audiences are accustomed to today. Over the years, some of these early episodes have been remastered and updated, although the original source material still places limits on what can be achieved.

Which tools and software were used to create the stop-motion films?

Creating stop-motion films in the early 2000s was very different from today. In 2003, software such as Apple iMovie was not yet part of my workflow, and online video platforms were still in their infancy. YouTube only began gaining popularity towards the end of 2005, and streaming video was far from common. In fact, viewers often had to download most of a video file before they could start watching it.

The first episodes were created using Macromedia Flash, which at the time provided an accessible way to combine animation and audio. Because internet connections were much slower than they are today, every episode was offered in two different versions: a lower-resolution file for faster loading and a higher-resolution version for users with better connections.

As video technology evolved, so did the website. Once MP4 became the standard format and WebM was introduced around 2010, the episodes were moved to streaming through the website’s own server, later using FlowPlayer. With the most recent website redesign, video hosting was migrated to Vimeo for a more reliable viewing experience.

The production software also changed over time. After many years with Macromedia Flash—which was officially discontinued in 2017—the workflow moved to iStopMotion 3. The latest episodes were then edited and completed using iMovie.

The equipment improved as well. The original Traveler camera was eventually replaced by a Nikon D50 and later by a Sony Alpha 6000. The filming setup became increasingly professional, evolving from a simple kitchen-table production into a dedicated photo box with proper lighting.

All sound effects, music, and audio recordings were created personally, either using GarageBand or recorded with a simple microphone. This hands-on approach has remained an important part of the production process from the very beginning.