Ray Goossens

Ray Goossens is mainly known for his work in the animation field. He made his first 16 mm animation film before World War II, in cooperation with J. Luyckx and H. Winkeler. These three men founded AFIM animation studios in 1943, that became known for such films as 'Smidje Smee' and 'De Geboorte van Pimmeke'. Goossens took on a comics career on the side for financial reasons. He joined Kleine Zondagsvriend in 1945, and began the gag strip 'Tijl Uilenspiegel' (later renamed to Tijl en De Lamme' or 'De Lamme'). He also launched the adventure series of 'Snops en de Bende', as well as 'Reinaert de Vos' and the parrot 'Tsjoem'.

Shortly after the War, he worked as an illustrator for Zondagsvriend, Volksweekblad and het Gazet van Antwerpen. For the Handelsblad, Goossens illustrated the weekly comic 'Jeepke's Avonturen' from 1946, and some episodes of 'Mr. Snor'.

He also resumed his animation activities in the late 1940s. He made a cartoon about his comic character 'De Lamme', as well as several advertising films. In 1959, he became artistic director at publisher Lombard's Belvision studios, where he worked on animation projects with the publisher's comic characters 'Chlorophylle', 'Spaghetti', 'Houmpa Pa' and 'Tintin', as well as the full-animation movie 'Pinocchio in Outer Space'. He went independent again in 1965, and took assignments from among others the BRT. He went to work for TV Dupuis in 1969. There, he did several successful animation series like 'Musti', 'Tip en Tap', 'De Pili's and 'Boule et Bill'. Since 1977, Ray Goossens was a teacher at the R.I.T.C.S. in Brussels. In the 1980s he produced another popular animation show, 'Plons de gekke kikker'.