In a family film written by Astrid Lindgren and directed by Lasse Hallström you might expect quite a bit of fun and fancy free. Instead "Alla vi barn i Bullerbyn" turns out almost completely free of fantasy. With thinly disguised autobiographical narration by lead character Lisa, this story of simple country life recalls simpler times gone by and is a welcome alternative for parents to show today's toddlers accustomed to Manga style entertainment (if their attention spans have not already been affected that is). Although I would have preferred a bit more 'Pippi Långstrump' or 'My live as a dog' type magic myself, this old fashioned tale remains very popular with Swedish audiences. We follow the group of village children as they stroll through the woods, ride in carts, and even go skinny dipping (Swedish censors are not as strict about showing nude children from behind).
After visiting Lisa's granddad for the second or third time in a row, the group of friends (who's number varies from time to time) go for a ride on a horse and wagon and sing a bit of cute and carefree tralalala (as opposed to the stuff they were forced to sing in school earlier). They help somebody working in a field and giggle a lot, even though my Swedish was not good enough to understand the joke. Although obviously none of them comes equipped with supernatural Pipi-strength, their parents don't object to them spending the night in a barn on their own. The girl's lullaby makes all the animals in the area cower and run away, so one of the boys pretends to throw up, ending the song prematurely.
Already filmed once before in 1960, I seriously doubt if the earlier version of "Alla vi barn i Bullerbyn" could be any more old fashioned than this one. Together with the sequel, "Mer om oss barn i Bullerbyn", which was shot at the same time, the complete story was turned into a TV series (or could it be the other way around?). This may explain why the film is made up out of so many unrelated little stories (not to mention the abrupt ending in this first part). Unfortunately, I doubt if today's children spoiled by non stop violent cartoons will have the patience to sit through this much peacefulness.
5 out of 10
