Draft:Studio Massa
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| Industry | Animation |
|---|---|
| Founded | 23 March 2015[a] |
| Founders | Sam Tollenaar |
| Headquarters | |
Area served | Worldwide, but especially at Netherlandophone speakers |
| Products | Computer animation Stop motion (former) |
Number of employees | 2+ (2026)[P 1] |
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Genre | Animation |
| Subscribers | 122 thousand |
| Views | 18.1 million |
| Last updated: 19 June 2026 | |
| Website | studiomassa.nl |
Studio Massa (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈsty.di.oː mɑ.sɑː]) is a partially-defunct Dutch independent animation studio known for having produced animations which are the source of several internet memes. Founded in 2015[P 2][a] by Sam Tollenaar, the studio is known domestically for producing history-related content, while being internationally known for Ongezellig.
History
[edit]Tollenaar's early uploads on what would become Studio Massa's YouTube channels consisted of YouTube Poops, especially with source material from the show Samson en Gert.[1]
On the 13th of March, 2015, Tollenaar uploaded a video showcasing a portfolio of his work, which also announced the creation of the official Studio Massa website.[P 2] By 2017, while attending ArtEZ Zwolle, he received recognition for t' Histaraunt, an animation depicting a time-travelling waitress who serves dishes from various time periods, ending with feeding a vegan customer a human heart after being provoked by criticism. The animation was part of an art exhibition that showcased student work from the university.[2]
Geschiedenis (voor idioten)
[edit]Stille Willem is a character based off William the Silent that appears recurringly on the channel. First appearing in the Geschiedenis (voor idioten) lit. 'History (for idiots)' series, the character is the source of memes surrounding "ironic nationalism".[3] The memes "gekolonisserd" lit. 'colonized', "zeg makker" lit. 'say mate', and "kokosnoten zijn geen specerijen" lit. 'coconuts are not spices'; referencing Dutch history of colonialism; are attributed to a voor idioten video regarding the Dutch East India Company.[4]
Stille Willem is also used in music videos rapping about Dutch history using a text-to-speech voice.[3][1]
Ongezellig
[edit]Ongezellig (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌɔŋ.ɣəˈzɛ.ləx] ⓘ) is an adult animation slice of life with a single pilot episode. The namesake for the proposed series is gezelligheid, an untranslatable term which is considered to be specific to Dutch culture. The episode was released though six different parts on YouTube from 2018 until 2022.
The protagonist is Maya Schoppenboer, a teenage girl of mixed ancestry with attention deficit disorder who exhibits antisocial behavior and has suicidal thoughts.[5]
Of Maya's sisters, whom are adopted, Coco is of Afrikaner origin and is socially aware whilst being technologically illiterate. Mymy is of Yamato origin, but is a edgy teen making Dutch nationalistic comments, dying her hair and wearing color contacts.[5]
The plot of Ongezellig consists of a school day where the sisters fail and subsequently have to re-do their history presentations. Maya procrastinates and only with the assistance of her sisters which she detests, is able to pass her remake. [5]
Creation and pitching
[edit]The character designs for Coco and Maya were based on an old comic of Tollenaar's, while Watamote served as an inspiration that the subject matter of the show had an audience.[P 3] Tollenaar served as the sole director, writer, and chief animator;[P 4] however had a total of twelve people working on the pilot.[P 3]
After the sixth part was completed, the pilot was pitched as an all-Dutch animation to several studios. However, due to the lack of success in pitching, the burden of the community, and burn-out from working on the pilot; Ongezellig was officially announced to be no longer in production under any medium.[P 3]
Cultural impact
[edit]Despite never becoming a series, Ongezellig, erroneously shortened as "Zellig", managed to gain a cult following, especially with the alt-right. Jacob Zucker of The New Critic opined that the reason why "chuds" had an affinity for the episode is because "Mymy was inspirational, Maya was relatable, and Coco was just another normie."[5]
Mymy became an symbol utilized in this regard,[5] despite Tollenaar stating that her sense of humour is not to be taken seriously and that she is not a Nazi, stating that Mymy was just "an edgy teen with an exaggerated identity" and "What's so patriotic about collaborating with the occupier?". Coco also was utilized as a symbol due to the misconception that her parents died in a farm attack.[P 3]
There is a fanmade game in which Mymy gets to do her "schoolocaust",[1] directly referencing a scene where Mymy threatens to shoot her teacher with a Nerf gun.[5]
Caleb Vasquez, one of the two perpetrators of the 2026 Islamic Center of San Diego shooting, made many references to the episode in his manifesto.[6][1][5]
Current status
[edit]Tollenaar, in a Google Doc addressed to his petje.af supporters, stated that he no longer intended for the studio to be his primary career, but that a new web series, De IJsberg der Vaderlandsche Geschiedenis lit. 'The iceberg of the fatherland's history', would be in production.[P 3] The series sees the return of Stille Willem, as well as the addition of a new character based on Balthasar Gérard.
Tollenaar picked up employment at BNNVARA while working on Ongezellig;[5] where he would later receive recognition for his contribution towards BOOS: This is The Voice, an exposé on The Voice Holland,[7] which won the 2022 Tegel Award under the research category.[8][9][10]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "GeenStijl: Schutters moskee San Diego waren jodenhatende ecofascisten met 'het blanke ras als religie' en geïnspireerd door Nederlandse anime" [GeenStijl: San Diego mosque shooters were Jew-hating ecofascists with 'the white race as a religion' and inspired by Dutch animation]. GeenStijl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2026-06-20.
- ^ Limburg, Dirk (2017-07-07). "Serveerster neemt wraak op een veganist" [Waitress takes revenge on a vegan]. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 2026-06-20.
- ^ a b Willemse, Teun (2026-04-16). "Waarom is een kinderlied over de VOC een succes op TikTok?" [Why is a children's song about the Dutch East India Company popular on TikTok?]. Historisch Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 2026-06-20.
- ^ Risseeuw, Liana. "Dutch Quirk #131: Flock to online comments to type 'gekoloniseerd'". DutchReview. Retrieved 2026-06-20.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Zucker, Jacob. "The Blackpill". www.thenewcritic.com. Retrieved 2026-06-20.
- ^ "San Diego mosque shooter Caleb Vazquez was obsessed with 'racist' Dutch cartoon character". New York Post. 2026-05-23. Retrieved 2026-06-20.
- ^ "BOOS wint journalistieke prijs voor onthullingen over The Voice". nos.nl (in Dutch). 2023-04-24. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
- ^ "De winnaars bekend!". De Tegel (in Dutch). Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ^ "BOOS-aflevering over The Voice wint journalistieke prijs De Tegel". RTL Nederland (in Dutch). Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ^ "De Tegel-genomineerden voor het Buitenland zijn bekend". Villamedia — Website over journalistiek (in Dutch). 2023-04-05. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
Primary sources
[edit]- ^ "De Liegende Hollander - Studio Massa". petjeaf.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 2026-06-19.
- ^ a b Studio Massa (2015-03-23). Studio Massa. Retrieved 2026-06-19 – via YouTube.
- ^ a b c d e "Studio Massa's officiële openbare Ongezellige spoilerdocument" [Studio Massa's official public Ongezellig spoiler document]. Google Docs (in Dutch). Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ^ "Vraag & antwoord - Ongezellig" [Questions & answers - Ongezellig]. petjeaf.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 2026-07-17.
External links
[edit]- Gekoloniseerd entry at Know Your Meme
- Ongezellig entry at Know Your Meme
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