Tow Truck Pluck

Tow Truck Pluck
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ben Sombogaart Pieter van Rijn
Screenplay by	Tamara Bos
Based on	Pluk van de Petteflet by Annie M.G. Schmidt
Produced by	Burny Bos Michiel de Rooij Sabine Veenendaal
Starring	Janieck van de Polder Suzanne Zuiderwijk Hanneke Riemer Arjan Ederveen Jack Wouterse Erik van Muiswinkel Erica Terpstra
Cinematography	Remko Schnorr
Edited by	Herman P. Koerts
Music by	Fons Merkies
Production companies	Bos Bros. Film-TV Productions AVRO
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release dates	16 November 2004 (2004-11-16)(Amsterdam) 17 November 2004 (2004-11-17)(Netherlands)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	Netherlands
Language	Dutch
Budget	€3.1 million [1]
Box office	$3.5 million [2]

Tow Truck Pluck (Dutch : Pluk van de Petteflet), also known as Pluk and his Tow Truck is a 2004 Dutch comedy musical family film directed by Ben Sombogaart and Pieter van Rijn. It's an adaptation of the 1971 children's book Pluk van de Petteflet by Annie M.G. Schmidt, starring Janieck van de Polder as the titular character.

The film was released in the Netherlands on 17 November 2004 by Warner Bros. Pictures. It received a Golden Film (100,000 visitors) in 2004 and a Platinum Film (400,000 visitors) in 2005. ^{[3] [4]}

Cast

• Janieck van de Polder as Pluk (Pluck)
• Suzanne Zuiderwijk as Aagje (Aggie)
• Hanneke Riemer as Mevrouw Helderder (Ms. Brightner)
• Arjan Ederveen as Meneer Pen & Kluizelaar (Mr Penn & Hermite)
• Jack Wouterse as Vader Stamper (Father Stamper)
• Erik van Muiswinkel as Majoor (Major)
• Chris Bolczek as Portier
• Paul Hoes as Parkarchitect (Park architect)
• Erica Terpstra as Burgemeester (Mayor)
• Stefan de Walle as Dokter (Doctor)
• Martine Sandifort as Dollie (Dolly, voice)
• John Buijsman as Karel (Charlie, voice)
• Owen Schumacher as Zaza (voice)
• Frits Lambrechts as Heen-en-Weerwolf (Tell-me-where-wolf, voice)
• Karin Bloemen as Paard Langhors & Bij (Horse Longhors, voice)
• Dolf Jansen as Schuw konijn (Rabbit, voice)
• Marc-Marie Huijbregts as Lispeltuut (Tootlispe, voice)

Production

The film was originally planned to be a stop-motion animated film, but was scrapped in favor of live-action with puppetry due to budget constraints. ^[5]

Janieck van de Polder, Suzanne Zuiderwijk, Hanneke Riemer, Arjan Ederveen, Erik van Muiswinkel, and ex-politician Erica Terpstra were cast in March 2004. ^[6] Filming took place at NOB-Studios in Almere. ^[1]

Release

The film held its premiere on 16 November 2004 at the Tuschinski Theatre in Amsterdam, with Queen Beatrix in attendance. ^[7]

Video game

A video game tie-in developed by Ijsfontein was released in 2005 for PC and Mac. A Nintendo DS version developed by Triangle Studios was later released in 2009. ^[8]

Critical response

The film received mixed reviews from critics. ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Home media

The film was released on DVD by Warner Home Video on 13 May 2005. ^[12] The DVD releases includes extras such as "Pluk Sjoernaals", songs from the film and various trailers. ^[13]

References

1. "Janieck is de nieuwe Pluk". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 11 March 2004. Archived from the original on 26 May 2025. Retrieved 26 May 2025– via Delpher.
2. "Pluk van de Petteflet (2004)". Box Office Mojo . IMDb. Archived from the original on 1 July 2025. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
3. "Gouden Film voor Pluk van de Petteflet". goudenfilm.nl (in Dutch). Netherlands Film Festival / Netherlands Film Fund. 12 December 2004. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
4. "Pluk van de Petteflet". Netherlands Film Festival (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 August 2025.
5. Blokker, Bas (19 November 2004). "Feestje op een koopje". NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2 November 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
6. "Pluk leert rijden in zijn kraanwagen". NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). 11 March 2004. Archived from the original on 28 May 2025. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
7. Ockhuysen, Ronald (18 November 2004). "Pluk blijft vooral de Pluk van Annie en Fiep". De Volkskrant (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 5 July 2025. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
8. `t Hooft, Niels (20 February 2009). "Een slappe verzameling spelletjes rond de Petteflet". NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 30 April 2025. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
9. Rhee, Annemart van (18 November 2004). "Pluk roept warme gevoelens op". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 19 June 2025. Retrieved 19 June 2025– via Delpher.
10. van der Burg, Jos (17 November 2004). "De Petteflet is er niet meer". Het Parool (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 6 February 2005.
11. de Jong, Fritz (November 2004). "Pluk van de Petteflet: Rondtuffen in de Torteltuin". Filmkrant; nr. 261 (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 30 January 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
12. van Oostrum, Arnold (13 May 2005). "Warner: Veel nieuwe titels in mei, juni en juli". AllesOverFilm (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 26 January 2025. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
13. Rogiers, Dieter (11 April 2007). "PLUK VAN DE PETTEFLET". DVDinfo.be (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2025.

External links

• Official website (Wayback Machine) (in Dutch).
• Pluk van de Petteflet at IMDb