Starring Tami Erin, Cory Crow, David Seaman Jr, and Eileen Brennan
Directed by Ken Annikin
Music by Misha Segal; Lyrics by Pat Caddick and Harriet Schock
Pippi's initial big-screen debut was in a Swedish film in 1949, but the best-know screen adaptations to this point were a series of movies made in Sweden in 1969 and 1970 that were actually edited-together versions of a Pippi TV show. This would be the first Pippi movie that was intended to be a film from the outset, and the first movie about Pippi's adventures filmed in the US. How does it look today? Let's once again begin on the high seas with Pippi (Erin) and her father Ephraim (John Schuck) and find out...
The Story: After Pippi's separated from her father and his ship during a storm, she, her monkey Mr. Nillsen, and her horse Alfonso make their way to Villa Villekula. They befriend the kids next door Tommy (Seaman) and Annika (Crow) and charm their mother (Dianne Hull) as well with their wild antics. Their father (Dennis Dugan) isn't nearly as happy with his kids spending every day with a rambunctious little girl who has no parental supervision. Miss Bannister (Brennan) thinks Pippi should go to the town's orphanage, and obnoxious Mr. Blackhart (George DiCenzo) wants to buy her home. Miss Bannister does convince Pippi to live at the orphanage after she gets into trouble running away with Tommy and Annika, but Pippi's indominable spirit can't be contained there for long...
The Song and Dance: This used to be one of my little sister's favorite movies when it played frequently on cable in the late 80's-early 90's. She loved watching Pippi's wild adventures and as she outwitted one adult after another, and then on her attempted escape from the orphanage. For the most part, it's held up better than I figured it would. Erin makes an especially energetic Pippi, and she plays well off persnickety Brennan. I also like that, as in the original books, the social worker isn't played as evil, just well-meaning and overly fussy, and Mrs. Settigren actually approves of Pippi as long as she doesn't put her children in danger.
Favorite Number: "Pippi's Coming to Your Town" is heard three times, in the opening credits over children's book-style artwork of Pippi and the many countries she's visited, briefly when Pippi and the kids head into town to buy a piano, and over a montage of sequences from the film just before the credits. The song is so incredibly catchy, I can still sing the whole darn thing over 35 years later. The first proper number is "We Live On the Seas," as the crew on Ephraim's ship explains about their lifestyle and what they do. "Scrubbing Day" also lodges in the brain as Pippi and the kids tie scrub brushes to their feet and do their best skating number to get Villa Vilekula clean. They're "Runnin' Away" twice, after they get Pippi's "autogyro" into the air, and later after Tommy and Annika lose their clothes when they march down the road.
What I Don't Like: Unfortunately, this shares some of the same problems as the animated version. Pippi's adventures can sometimes be funny, but she can also come off as obnoxious or bratty, especially to the adults. Tommy and Annika are once again so dull, they fade into the woodwork, especially compared to noisy Pippi. The very 80's special effects haven't dated terribly well, either. The "Sticky Situation" number is likely just Erin standing on a floor turned to the side in the editing room, and anytime Pippi jumps or throws someone and we see obvious wires.
Just where and when is this supposed to be set? The costumes, cars in town, and hairstyles on Miss Bannister and Mrs. Settigren indicate that this takes place when the books were written in the late 40's-early 50's, but it's never specified. If that's true, the tinny synthesizer music is extremely out of place, no matter how catchy it is. The subplot with the goons and Mr. Blackhart is not only not as interesting as Miss Bannister's meddling, but isn't resolved. They say in the end that they'll keep trying, probably setting up for a sequel that never came.
The Big Finale: This seems to be one of those movies people either really have fond memories of, or don't get and think is too childish, annoying, or far from the books. I'm going to say this is a great choice for families with little girls who will enjoy the music and Pippi's antics as much as my sisters and I did in 1988, or those who loved those cable broadcasts like we did.
Home Media: Easy to find in all formats.
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