BACKGROUND STORY: Get better, little goose.

"Get better, little goose" – Anyone who's ever heard the chorus of this old German nursery rhyme knows that this song is real comfort food for the soul. Not just for little kids in case they have an ouchie or just a sad day.

The catchy song also carries a humorous and at the same time deep universal message for all ages: Stay optimistic and hopeful about the future, because everything will be OK.

That's especially important to remember during times when it's not going so great…

This was perhaps the spirit when composer Martin Mundo first created the melody and lyrics in 1929 and started showcasing it to audiences. And it was probably what inspired German singer Ernst Neger in 1952, when he rediscovered the song and made it popular around the country.

Then again, the chorus of the song – also used for our new film – dates back all the way to the first half of the 19th century.

So it's good to know that these words have been offering consolation and optimism for more than 200 years.

The idea of creating a film that brings the entire TASSEN family of characters together had been floating around at FIFTYEIGHT for some time.

And "Get better, little goose" was exactly the kind of song that we could connect with in terms of its message. It also quite beautifully allows for integrating the importance of how we can rely on friends and family – especially in these difficult times – in a quite wonderful manner. That's when we realized: OK, everything we stand for at FIFTYEIGHT is coming together.

So in mid-2019, we decided to give this project a go. Of course without any way of knowing under what kind of circumstances it would ultimately be released later on.

In the first step, Timm Osterhold created the song text which was then recorded as an audio track together with FIFTYEIGHT Co-founder and CEO Max Zimmermann.

As always, this demanding and resource-intensive production was realized entirely in-house by FIFTYEIGHT ANIMATION.

The amount of love and diligent work becomes apparent by looking at all the miniscule details in this film. Especially the fluid transitions between lighting moods in three scenes, as well as the consistent illumination levels and design of the characters presented great challenges.

Immediately after the film's launch, it elicited a wave of excited and positive feedback from our fans. For that, we are very grateful.

Because it has strengthened our believe that this amazing piece of teamwork was entirely worth it and that it sends the right message at a very difficult time.

On that note, we hope that this new film will deliver a positive and cheerful message to as many people as possible.

We all can use some humor and optimism right now, especially when the universe finds a way to remind us of the old saying: "Life is not a theme park ride!".