Should Pumuckl Be Given a Girlfriend?

A cartoon water sprite that has captured the imagination of German children for more than four decades is at the centre of a legal battle between his creator and designer over whether he should be allowed to have a girlfriend.

Ellis Kaut, 86, who created Pumuckl 45 years ago, has taken out an injunction against her one-time friend, the designer Barbara von Johnson, who was responsible for the red-haired sprite's transition from storybook hero to cartoon character.

Mrs von Johnson has spearheaded a competition at a Munich television station to design a spirited girlfriend for Pumuckl after viewers expressed their wish that he should finally have a mate. But Mrs Kaut said she objected because "Pumuckl is and always will be a descendant of the Klabauter, a type of spirit, [and] spirits don't generally have a distinct sex life". If he had a girlfriend, it would go against his literary character, she said.

Pumuckl, who made his debut on German television in 1962, is a water sprite who haunts ships on the Baltic sea. If he is seen by a ship's crew, they are doomed. Popular in Spain, Hungary and Greece, he has spawned radio programmes, two films and a musical.

But Mrs von Johnson, 65, who has since handed the artistic work to her son-in-law, believes Mrs Kaut has got the significance of the competition out of proportion. Her lawyer, Nikolaus Reber, said that as an art therapist, Mrs von Johnson felt it was important for children to use their imagination. "Her aim is to bring children into contact with their own inner, unknown, characters. She wanted the children to consider the question of how Pumuckl's partner might look," he said.

Mrs von Johnson has invited the winner to a Munich wedding between Pumuckl and his bride.

Pumuckl fans across Germany have used fan websites to express their outrage. One wrote: "They can't do that! Pumuckl CAN'T get married. He's a spirit. Spirits don't marry." Another wrote: "It could be the downfall of Pumuckl, as with many sitcoms, once the sexual tension is gone."