Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Hooray for Pippilotta!

I am a couple months late from posting this but alas, I am here now :) Last March we finished reading 'Pippi Longstocking' and it was a complete thrill! I grew up on the Pippi Longstocking movies so of course, when I found a 1959 paperback edition at our local thrift store, I was ecstatic. I couldn't wait to read it to Nat, knowing that Pippi and her crazy antics would be right up her alley.

I love all of her outrageous adventures from simple things with her two best friends, Tommy and Annika. Even in her unapologetic way of living, Pippi manages to keep herself in check (she has quite the logic on how she tells herself to go to bed). What I love most about Pippi is that she is strong (not just physically) in who she is and is not bothered on how others see her (though, she is a bit of a wreck at a tea party). She is courageous, inquisitive and tough but not without true feeling and sentiment.

We loved the Pippi book so much we netflixed the original movie and watched together laughing hysterically. I do hope Nat decides to be her for halloween as now she has officially made it to the possibility list. :)

In Addition--How awesome would this have been?:

Hayao Miyazaki's aborted anime film

In 1971, Japanese animators Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata had expressed great interest in doing an anime feature adaptation of Pippi Longstocking. The proposed project was titled Pippi Longstocking, The Strongest Girl In The World (長靴下のピッピ 世界一強い女の子 - Nagakutsushita No Pippi, Sekai Ichi Tsuyoi Onna No Ko). They traveled to Sweden, and not only did research for the film (they went location scouting in Visby, one of the major locations where the 1969 TV series was filmed), but also personally visited creator Astrid Lindgren, and discussed the project with her. Unfortunately, after their meeting with Lindgren, their permission to complete the film was denied, and the project was canceled. Among what remains of the project are watercolored storyboards by Miyazaki himself.[7]
(from Wikipedia)