Rölli
Encyclopedia
Rölli-peikko is a character from Finnish
television portrayed by Allan "Allu" Tuppurainen. The character originally appeared in segments on the children's TV show Pikku Kakkonen
on YLE's Channel 2. In these segments Rölli would tell stories of his amazing adventures while often criticising and questioning public norm or the activities of people (especially human
s). Rölli has also appeared in two feature-length film
s. The first, made in 1991 and titled Rölli - hirmuisia kertomuksia
("Rölli - Terrible Stories") was much truer to the TV character, whereas the 2001 Rölli ja Metsänhenki ("Rölli and the Forest Spirit") was more of a traditional fantasy
/adventure
film. Rölli has appeared in an animated film Röllin Sydän (Quest for a Heart) which appeared in Finnish movie theaters December 2007.
Despite popular belief, Rölli isn't really a troll. Allu Tuppurainen has said himself that he though Rölli was part of this strange species which wasn't human but not really animal either and that species is called Rölli. Reason why other röllis have "names" and main character Rölli is just Rölli is mystery. (The common word rölli refers to the grass genus Agrostis
, e.g. nurmirölli is common bent.)
Rölli lives in Röllimetsä ("Rölli Forest") which is home to many strange creatures. He prides himself on the fact that he never brushes
his teeth
or takes a bath
. His popular catchphrase embodies his lack of personal hygiene
: "Kautta likaisten varpaitteni!" ("By my dirty toes!"). While Rölli is very critical of humans he himself has been known to fall prey to their wonders and gadgets, and later regret it. He also likes to think of himself as a scary figure but comes over as silly.
In the beginning, the Rölli series did not have a very well organised mythos and Rölli would often claim to have met witches, ghost
s, robot
s, giants
and some such which would never actually appear on the show (some did appear in later audio plays).
Rölli is also very distrustful of fairies
(menninkäiset) calling them a mischievous lot who like to play pranks on him, though a later encounter with a fairy in the TV show seemed to prove that Rölli was just being xenophobic
. The depiction of fairies differs greatly between the series and the movies. In the series fairies are depicted as small winged creatures which may appear as flashes of light amongst the trees during night. In the movie they seem to be fair earthy creatures and about the same size and height as trolls.
A notable feature of the show and later the movies are the many songs sung as a part of the story. Consequently Rölli has been the basis of many successful children's cassettes and CD
s.
, Rokka from Tuntematon Sotilas
and Little My from The Moomins. Rölli received well over a quarter of the votes, followed by Little My in second, Rokka in third and Uuno in fourth place.
Other characters who were part of the original eight contenders (from which the four most voted went into the finale) were Väinämöinen
, Moomin, Captain Pirk of Star Wreck
and the comic-book characters Viivi ja Wagner.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
television portrayed by Allan "Allu" Tuppurainen. The character originally appeared in segments on the children's TV show Pikku Kakkonen
Pikku Kakkonen
Pikku Kakkonen is an ongoing Finnish magazine-type children's TV show shown on YLE TV2. The first episode aired on January 11, 1977...
on YLE's Channel 2. In these segments Rölli would tell stories of his amazing adventures while often criticising and questioning public norm or the activities of people (especially human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s). Rölli has also appeared in two feature-length film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s. The first, made in 1991 and titled Rölli - hirmuisia kertomuksia
Rölli - hirmuisia kertomuksia
Rölli - hirmuisia kertomuksia is a 1991 children's fantasy-comedy film. It stars Allu Tuppurainen, Sari Mällinen, Jussi Lampi, Rolf Labbart, Risto Kaskilahti and Harri Hyttinen. The film was nominated for and won 3 Jussi Awards in 1992 including for Best Costume Design and Best Make-Up...
("Rölli - Terrible Stories") was much truer to the TV character, whereas the 2001 Rölli ja Metsänhenki ("Rölli and the Forest Spirit") was more of a traditional fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
/adventure
Adventure
An adventure is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. The term is often used to refer to activities with some potential for physical danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing and or participating in extreme sports...
film. Rölli has appeared in an animated film Röllin Sydän (Quest for a Heart) which appeared in Finnish movie theaters December 2007.
Despite popular belief, Rölli isn't really a troll. Allu Tuppurainen has said himself that he though Rölli was part of this strange species which wasn't human but not really animal either and that species is called Rölli. Reason why other röllis have "names" and main character Rölli is just Rölli is mystery. (The common word rölli refers to the grass genus Agrostis
Agrostis
Agrostis is a genus of over 100 species belonging to the grass family Poaceae, commonly referred to as the bent grasses...
, e.g. nurmirölli is common bent.)
Rölli lives in Röllimetsä ("Rölli Forest") which is home to many strange creatures. He prides himself on the fact that he never brushes
Toothbrush
The toothbrush is an oral hygiene instrument used to clean the teeth and gums that consists of a head of tightly clustered bristles mounted on a handle, which facilitates the cleansing of hard-to-reach areas of the mouth. Toothpaste, which often contains fluoride, is commonly used in conjunction...
his teeth
Tooth
Teeth are small, calcified, whitish structures found in the jaws of many vertebrates that are used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores, also use teeth for hunting or for defensive purposes. The roots of teeth are embedded in the Mandible bone or the Maxillary bone and are...
or takes a bath
Bathing
Bathing is the washing or cleansing of the body in a fluid, usually water or an aqueous solution. It may be practised for personal hygiene, religious ritual or therapeutic purposes or as a recreational activity....
. His popular catchphrase embodies his lack of personal hygiene
Hygiene
Hygiene refers to the set of practices perceived by a community to be associated with the preservation of health and healthy living. While in modern medical sciences there is a set of standards of hygiene recommended for different situations, what is considered hygienic or not can vary between...
: "Kautta likaisten varpaitteni!" ("By my dirty toes!"). While Rölli is very critical of humans he himself has been known to fall prey to their wonders and gadgets, and later regret it. He also likes to think of himself as a scary figure but comes over as silly.
In the beginning, the Rölli series did not have a very well organised mythos and Rölli would often claim to have met witches, ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
s, robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s, giants
Giant (mythology)
The mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...
and some such which would never actually appear on the show (some did appear in later audio plays).
Rölli is also very distrustful of fairies
Fairy
A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term...
(menninkäiset) calling them a mischievous lot who like to play pranks on him, though a later encounter with a fairy in the TV show seemed to prove that Rölli was just being xenophobic
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
. The depiction of fairies differs greatly between the series and the movies. In the series fairies are depicted as small winged creatures which may appear as flashes of light amongst the trees during night. In the movie they seem to be fair earthy creatures and about the same size and height as trolls.
A notable feature of the show and later the movies are the many songs sung as a part of the story. Consequently Rölli has been the basis of many successful children's cassettes and CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
s.
Other characters
- Suuri Rölli ("Big Rölli") is a well-known recurring character who is bigger, meaner and dumber than Rölli. He is popularly considered very dangerous as Rölli will often run away upon encountering him.
- Rölli Riitasointu (riitasointu = a dissonanceDissonanceDissonance has several meanings, all related to conflict or incongruity:*Consonance and dissonance in music are properties of an interval or chord*Cognitive dissonance is a state of mental conflict...
) is a musicMusicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
ally talented female rölli from whom Rölli used to take music lessons. Notably, however, in Rölli ja Metsänhenki Riitasointu is depicted as an effiminite man. - Robotti Ruttunen, a robot that Rölli constructs, appears in the cassette plays. Robotti Ruttunen has personality characteristics reminiscent of humans with Asperger syndromeAsperger syndromeAsperger's syndrome that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development...
, and finds himself ostracized for this. In the song about him, Ruttunen eventually marries an old kitchen stove. - Roskanheittäjät (Trash Throwers), a pun on the name commonly used for people who throw rubbish. Rölli considers them to be part of one evil entity, though originally they were not intended to be depicted like this. In the first movie they became actual characters, servants of an evil cultCultThe word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
who served a bizarre blobbish creature called Suuri roska (Great Trash) and who were trying to destroy the Röllimetsä. Rölli stops them by throwing a toothbrush to the mouth of the trash deity, killing it, and is later saved by an old treeTreeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
who kills the cult leader by falling on him. - Rölli has also encountered a number of female characters who are potential love interests. These include Tiina Tonttu (elfElfAn elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...
/gnomeGnomeA gnome is a diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature...
/brownie), the fair Forest Maiden and also other characters from the Rölli movies like Maahiskeiju in Rölli Hirmuisia Kertomuksia ("Rölli Frightening Stories") and Milli Menninkäinen in Rölli ja Metsänhenki (Rollo and the Woods Sprite) and Röllin Sydän (Quest for a Heart).
Satusuomalainen
On the 24th of August 2006, Rölli was voted the greatest Finnish fictional-character on the programme Satusuomalainen on YLE. In a live televote finale Rölli was up-against Uuno TurhapuroUuno Turhapuro
Uuno Turhapuro is a Finnish comedy character created by Spede Pasanen and played by Vesa-Matti Loiri. Originally appeared in Spede Show during 1971–1973, the character gained popularity through the Uuno Turhapuro films....
, Rokka from Tuntematon Sotilas
Tuntematon sotilas
Tuntematon sotilas, Finnish for "The Unknown Soldier" can refer to any of the following*The Unknown Soldier by Väinö LinnaOr either of the two movies based on the book*The Unknown Soldier *The Unknown Soldier...
and Little My from The Moomins. Rölli received well over a quarter of the votes, followed by Little My in second, Rokka in third and Uuno in fourth place.
Other characters who were part of the original eight contenders (from which the four most voted went into the finale) were Väinämöinen
Väinämöinen
Väinämöinen is the central character in the Finnish folklore and the main character in the national epic Kalevala. His name comes from the Finnish word väinämö, meaning minstrel. Originally a Finnish god, he was described as an old and wise man, and he possessed a potent, magical...
, Moomin, Captain Pirk of Star Wreck
Star Wreck
Star Wreck is a series of Finnish Star Trek parody movies started by Samuli Torssonen in 1992. The first movie, simply named Star Wreck, was a simple Star Control-like animation with three ships shooting at each other, but later movies featured 3D CGI, animated characters and, in the latest films,...
and the comic-book characters Viivi ja Wagner.