Pippi Longstocking is an animated television series co-produced by AB Svensk Filmindustri, TaurusFilm, TFC Trickompany Filmproduktion, and Nelvana Limited based on the book series drawn and written by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. It is a joint Canadian-German-Swedish co-production. This was the first time that the popular character had been animated.

A spin-off and continuation of the 1997 animated film of the same name, Melissa Altro, Richard Binsley, Noah Reid, Olivia Garratt, Wayne Robson, Rick Jones, Philip Williams, Chris Wiggins and Karen Bernstein are the only voice cast reprising their roles from the film. It was led by German director Michael Schaack.

The story editor and chief writer for the series was Ken Sobol, a prolific children's television writer who was handpicked by Lindgren herself to head the series, with his son John also writing episodes under his guidance. Together they wrote all but three episodes, with this remainder credited to Robert Stutt, and movie screenwriter Catharina Stackelberg also co-writing one episode and serving as script supervisor.

Although generally episodic outside the premiere and finale, the series also features two story arcs consisting of multiple episodes: "Pippi Goes to the South Seas", "Pippi Meets Some Pearl Poachers", and "Pippi Goes Home"; and "Pippi Doesn't Go to School", "Pippi Goes Up North", "Pippi Saves the Whales – Again", and "Pippi Goes to School – Or Does She?". The first of these were combined into the film-length Pippi's Adventures on the South Seas, released on VHS and DVD by HBO Home Video.

Cast Melissa Altro as Pippi Longstocking Richard Binsley as Mr. Nilsson Noah Reid as Tommy Settergren Olivia Garratt as Annika Settergren Len Carlson as Thunder-Karlsson Wayne Robson as Bloom Rick Jones as Constable Kling Philip Williams as Constable Klang Ben Campbell as Captain Ephraim Longstocking Chris Wiggins as Fridolf Jill Frappier as Mrs. Prysselius Karen Bernstein as Mrs. Ingrid Settergren Ray Landry as Mr. Settergren

Episodes The series aired for two seasons, with 26 half-hour episodes being made in total.

Season 1 (1997–98)

Season 2 (1998)

Release Broadcast The show aired on Teletoon in Canada starting October 17, 1997, the day the channel launched. It was also shown on HBO and HBO Family in the United States, Nickelodeon Latin America and Brazil, Nickelodeon, Channel 4, Pop and Pop Girl in the United Kingdom, Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Australia, Rete 4 and Boing in Italy, Cartoon Network in Asia, Arutz HaYeladim in Israel, Cartoon Network and TV Tokyo in Japan, and ZDF and Disney Channel in Germany and K-T.V. and Alter Channel in Greece. It later ran on YTV in Canada, Qubo in the United States, TF1 and France 5 in France, Boomerang in Australia and Disney Junior and KiKa in Germany.

DVD 24 of the 26 episodes were released on bilingual DVD by Kaboom! Entertainment in Canada. Only episode 19, "Pippi Goes to School – Or Does She?", and episode 25, "Pippi and the Carpenter", were never released on DVD in English. In total 6 volumes were released, with the first 3 being under the Teletoon Presents label with associated branding and trailers. Here Comes Pippi: Pippi Returns to Villa Villekulla, Pippi Doesn't Sell Her House, Pippi Meets a Master Criminal, Pippi Saves the Old Folks Home Captain Longstocking: Pippi Goes to the South Seas, Pippi Meets Some Pearl Poachers, Pippi Goes Home, Pippi is Shipwrecked Pippi goes to The Fair: Pippi goes to The Fair, Pippi enters a Horse Show, Pippi enters a Flower Show, Pippi takes a Train Ride Pippi and the Balloon: Pippi Goes Up in a Balloon, Pippi Entertains Two Burglars, Pippi Saves the Whales – Again, Pippi Trains Some Animals & Their Owner Pippi's Christmas: Pippi's Christmas, Pippi enters The Big Race, Pippi goes Up North, Pippi finds a Mysterious Footprint Pippi Goes to School: Pippi Doesn't Go to School, Pippi Meets the White Lady, Pippi Visits Aunt Matilda, Pippi Doesn't Want to Grow Up

Reception Ray Richmond of Variety gave the series a mixed review, calling it "spectacularly ordinary and bordering on lame" yet noting its faithfulness to the books as well as its "solid but average" animation. Lynne Heffley of the Los Angeles Times had a similar opinion, stating that "Pippi's exuberant, unsinkable spirit just barely survives the pedestrian animation, slow pacing and stereotypically drawn characters with which she's been saddled here".

Notes

References

External links Teletoon.com page (archived)