The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking

I've always liked Astrid Lindgrens children's books very very much, and watched the original Swedish TV-series of Pippi over and over again (with Dutch subtitles). I think the Swedish girl (Inger Nilsson) who played Pippi in the original version was WAY better then this annoying American teenager pretending to be all cute and 10 years old! True, the original series look rather out of date now (being filmed in the 1970's), but for me, that always added a kind of innocense and charm to it. And the horse and monkey were not supposed to talk! Why add such "It's a kiddy movie, so all animals are fluffy and can speak" nonsense to an already great story ?

The only possible justification I can think of for "improving" the Swedish series like this is that the original TV-series isn't available in the US. Maybe American kids like this new version, but I will surely NEVER watch this crap again! I still have some of the original episodes on tape, and my cousins still laugh every time they watch them (despite the lousy special effects and the subtitles)!

I give this terrible rip-off 1 star out of 5 (maybe kids who don't know the books or the Swedish version like it)

I loved it when I was six to twelve! I don't understand how these people can go on and on about how the plot is stupid or the songs are awful. It's a movie for kids! They enjoy (I still love it!) and everyone I know who saw it as a child loved it!

Kiddy movie about a spirited redhead named Pippi Longstocking who's separated from her sea captain father in a storm and comes to live in a small town. There she introduces the kids to her madcap ways while dealing with stuffy adults and some thieves. Okay this is meant for kids and only kids, so let's keep that in mind before ripping it apart. I know it's corny and cheesy and I can't say that I enjoyed it very much, but I think I might have if I had seen it when I was a child. I am old enough to have seen this when it was first released but, for some reason, I didn't. Truth is I forgot this movie even existed until recently catching it on TV. The cast all does fine, particularly Tami Erin as Pippi. Not recognizing her, I looked at her other roles and saw this was the biggest part in her limited acting career. I also saw that she did a sex tape a few years ago. I can only imagine that is either deeply disturbing or extremely exciting to people who were fans of her back in the day. Aside from Tami, there's some solid support from vets like Eileen Brennan, Dick Van Patten, and John Schuck. There are also many songs in this but none is more catchy than the theme song that's repeated throughout the movie. I want to warn you in advance, this song will find a corner of your brain to inhabit and it will be impossible to get it out. Overall, it's a fun little movie that will play better to pre-teen girls than anybody else. Just be prepared that it's pretty sugary and corny. Oh, and that theme song will stay in your brain forever.

It seems like I'm one of the few Americans who read translations of the Pippi Longstocking books, AND saw this movie as a kid. At this point, I can't remember what came first for me, the books or the movies, but I will say that as a child, I enjoyed both.

Pippi is a GREAT character in literature, I could consider her arguably one of the greatest female characters ever created.

She's strong, she's independent, she's fun, intelligent and gifted.

What girl WOULDN'T want to be like Pippi? I know that reading about her as a little girl, I was endlessly jealous of Tommy and Annika who got Pippi as a playmate. I wished she'd move next door to me.

This movie doesn't do such a great job of translating the Pippi character. She seems less creative and imaginative, and more crazy and dim. There's something about the character of Pippi that is lacking in the movie and the movie loses a lot because of that.

But Pippi aside, the movie isn't ALL bad. It's a late 80's kids movie with cheesy special effects, poor acting, and a silly story. But through all this, it is still enjoyable. The situations that Pippi and Tommy and Annika get in are still fun, and it's a good movie for young kids. If you do show this movie to your kids though, be sure to buy them the books afterwards and show them what Pippi is REALLY like. This movie is a good starting point to get kids introduced to the great character of Pippi.

I remember enjoying the Pipi Longstocking books in elementary school, and my 4-year-old loves this movie. As an adult, however, I find it painful to watch. It isn't that the movie is bad, at least not in the same sense that schlocky sci fi and horror movies are bad. The children do acceptable acting jobs, although the adult actors are lackluster. The sets, costumes, and special effects are adequate. The music is bouncy. There are lots of fun Pipi stunts and much childhood wish fulfillment. All good, clean fun. Somehow, though, the film is less than the sum of its parts.

I think it must be the plotting and pacing. The super-competent Pipi so outmatches her opponents -- a villainous real estate agent and an uncompassionate human services worker -- that you never feel any suspense or concern for her safety. In fact, Pipi comes across as such a smart-mouthed brat that I began to sympathize with her playmates' whiny father. The story itself meanders from incident to unrelated incident until the movie positively drags.

So, this is a movie that it is safe to let your kids watch unsupervised. That's a good thing, because you won't want to sit through it yourself, at least not more than once.