Rölli - hirmuisia kertomuksia
Encyclopedia
Rölli - hirmuisia kertomuksia (Rölli - Amazing Tales, English title from the Nordisk Film
DVD
release) 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. Sari Mällinen also won Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Maahiskeiju.
It is the first feature length film based on Rölli
created by musician and actor Allu Tuppurainen, which first appeared as a children's show on YLE TV2
. The film and TV show do not share similarities except for Rölli's attire and the film being set in the Rölli Forest. Suuri Rölli, a character featured in the Rölli audio-plays, appears portrayed by actor Jussi Lampi.
The songs for the film were composed by Allu Tuppurainen, as in the TV series.
. As he is about to chop an old tree
, the tree begins to speak to him begging to instead collect the dead branches from the ground, promising that he'll repay the favour if he ever has the chance. All the while, Rölli is stalked by Big Rölli. He encounters a Forest Fairy (Maahiskeiju) and tries to scare her, but gets captured by Big Rölli instead. The Forest Fairy uses a log which the Big Rölli dragged with him to hit him on his foot to release Rölli. The two escape from Big Rölli and become friends.
Meanwhile, the owner of a toy company, Seesteinen (Risto Kaskilahti), and his butler Lerkkanen come to Rölli Forest to inspect it for the building of a new toy-factory. Rölli and the Forest Fairy try to scare them off by pretending to be a giant, but they're plan fails and the humans give chance. They, however, run into Big Rölli and flee the forest in their jeep
. However, the High Priest of the Kingdom of Evil (Rolf Labbart), has plans for the two humans. He causes the car to veer off the road and both Seesteinen and Lerkkanen are taken by the Priests lackeys, The Trashers, to their secret lair where they're brought before the Great Trash, a monstrous creature with the vague resemblance of a human head, which the Trashers worship. They are converted into Trashers and begin to plot the destruction of the Rölli Forest.
Seesteinen, pretending to be a good fairy god spirit, convinces Rölli that the sudden amounts of trash that have appeared all over the forest, confusing the residents and turning them on one another, are a good thing. He also leaves him a bottle of whisky
telling it is a magic potion. Rölli becomes violently drunk and chases the Forest Fairy away. Disappointed at her own inability to stop the pollution in the forest she decides to leave but is captured by the Trashers.
Rölli regains his composure and realises that the other inhabitants of the forest are being fooled with an elaborate shopping mall like structure, where they dance to peppy music before being sucked down into the Trashers' lair and converted. Rölli tries to sneak in but is caught. At the lair he is reunited with Forest Fairy. At the same time Big Rölli stumbles upon the fake shopping mall and is also sucked down, but the Trashers are easily over-powered by him. He constantly grooms himself with a piece of a broom
he got when the Forest Fairy hit him over the head with it earlier in the film. Brooms and brushes are the Trasher's and the Great Trash's only weakness and thus the Trashers try to get it. The agitated Big Rölli throws the brush at the Trashers and it bounces off their helmets into the mouth of the Great Trash. He begins to deflate and this causes the cave to collapse. The Trashers flee in horror and seem to regain their prior personalities.
Rölli and the Forest Fairy escape also, arriving at the very same tree that Rölli spared earlier in the film. The High Priest ambushes them and reveals his face which has begun to deteriorate due to his defeat. In a final effort he tries to kill Rölli and the Forest Fairy but the tree begins to scream, bewildering him. As his cape is stuck in a nook the tree falls on him killing him.
Timo Tervo performed Edullisesti itse kullekin which plays during the mall-dance sequence in the film. The songs were recorded at ML-studio and the soundtrack is distributed through VL-Musiikki OY.
Nordisk Film
Nordisk Film , established in Denmark in 1906 by Danish filmmaker Ole Olsen, is the oldest continuously operating film studio in the world. Olsen started his company in the Copenhagen suburb of Valby under the name "Ole Olsen's Film Factory" but soon changed it to the Nordisk Film Kompagni...
DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
release) is a 1991 children's 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...
-comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
film. It stars Allu Tuppurainen, Sari Mällinen, Jussi Lampi
Jussi Lampi
Jussi Lampi is a Finnish musician and long-time actor. Lampi has appeared in many films and TV shows, including V2 - jäätynyt enkeli , Matti , Pelikaanimies , Rölli ja metsänhenki , Ansa ja Oiva and Ruusun aika. It is believed that Lampi started his recording career in the band Bodyguards...
, Rolf Labbart, Risto Kaskilahti
Risto Kaskilahti
Risto Pekka Kaskilahti is a Finnish actor.Kaskilahti has worked in the Helsinki City Theatre since 2001, but he came to the public's attention as a regular competitor on Se on siinä, a humorous sports quiz show, of which screenwriter he has also been...
and Harri Hyttinen. The film was nominated for and won 3 Jussi Awards in 1992 including for Best Costume Design and Best Make-Up. Sari Mällinen also won Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Maahiskeiju.
It is the first feature length film based on Rölli
Rölli
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...
created by musician and actor Allu Tuppurainen, which first appeared as a children's show on YLE TV2
YLE TV2
YLE TV2 is a Finnish television channel owned and operated by YLE.TV2 launched in 1964, and broadcasts public service programming, children's, youth, sport and music programmes.-Own Productions:* Ajankohtainen kakkonen* Akuutti* Jopet Show* Kummeli...
. The film and TV show do not share similarities except for Rölli's attire and the film being set in the Rölli Forest. Suuri Rölli, a character featured in the Rölli audio-plays, appears portrayed by actor Jussi Lampi.
The songs for the film were composed by Allu Tuppurainen, as in the TV series.
Plot
The film begins with Rölli going to look for some firewoodFirewood
Firewood is any wood-like material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form....
. As he is about to chop an old tree
Tree
A 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...
, the tree begins to speak to him begging to instead collect the dead branches from the ground, promising that he'll repay the favour if he ever has the chance. All the while, Rölli is stalked by Big Rölli. He encounters a Forest Fairy (Maahiskeiju) and tries to scare her, but gets captured by Big Rölli instead. The Forest Fairy uses a log which the Big Rölli dragged with him to hit him on his foot to release Rölli. The two escape from Big Rölli and become friends.
Meanwhile, the owner of a toy company, Seesteinen (Risto Kaskilahti), and his butler Lerkkanen come to Rölli Forest to inspect it for the building of a new toy-factory. Rölli and the Forest Fairy try to scare them off by pretending to be a giant, but they're plan fails and the humans give chance. They, however, run into Big Rölli and flee the forest in their jeep
Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...
. However, the High Priest of the Kingdom of Evil (Rolf Labbart), has plans for the two humans. He causes the car to veer off the road and both Seesteinen and Lerkkanen are taken by the Priests lackeys, The Trashers, to their secret lair where they're brought before the Great Trash, a monstrous creature with the vague resemblance of a human head, which the Trashers worship. They are converted into Trashers and begin to plot the destruction of the Rölli Forest.
Seesteinen, pretending to be a good fairy god spirit, convinces Rölli that the sudden amounts of trash that have appeared all over the forest, confusing the residents and turning them on one another, are a good thing. He also leaves him a bottle of whisky
Whisky
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...
telling it is a magic potion. Rölli becomes violently drunk and chases the Forest Fairy away. Disappointed at her own inability to stop the pollution in the forest she decides to leave but is captured by the Trashers.
Rölli regains his composure and realises that the other inhabitants of the forest are being fooled with an elaborate shopping mall like structure, where they dance to peppy music before being sucked down into the Trashers' lair and converted. Rölli tries to sneak in but is caught. At the lair he is reunited with Forest Fairy. At the same time Big Rölli stumbles upon the fake shopping mall and is also sucked down, but the Trashers are easily over-powered by him. He constantly grooms himself with a piece of a broom
Broom
A broom is a cleaning tool consisting of stiff fibers attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. It is thus a variety of brush with a long handle. It is commonly used in combination with a dustpan....
he got when the Forest Fairy hit him over the head with it earlier in the film. Brooms and brushes are the Trasher's and the Great Trash's only weakness and thus the Trashers try to get it. The agitated Big Rölli throws the brush at the Trashers and it bounces off their helmets into the mouth of the Great Trash. He begins to deflate and this causes the cave to collapse. The Trashers flee in horror and seem to regain their prior personalities.
Rölli and the Forest Fairy escape also, arriving at the very same tree that Rölli spared earlier in the film. The High Priest ambushes them and reveals his face which has begun to deteriorate due to his defeat. In a final effort he tries to kill Rölli and the Forest Fairy but the tree begins to scream, bewildering him. As his cape is stuck in a nook the tree falls on him killing him.
Name changes
Though the film doesn't have an official English release, the official DVD includes English subtitles with the following name changes.- hirmuisia kertomuksia - Amazing Tales - The film's title originally translates as terrible/terrifying stories and is officially spelled without capital letters.
- Rölli - Rolli - The official name used for Rölli in the English language releases of the later films.
- Suuri Rölli - Big Rölli - A larger and dumber troll who is initially an antagonist and later a comic-relief character. He also reappears in the two later films. In his live action performances he is played by actor Jussi Lampi.
- Maahiskeiju - The Forest Fairy - While original name also contains the word Fairy (Keiju) the Maahis part comes from the word Maahinen (Brownie) and would be difficult to include in to the character's name.
- Yrjö Lerkkanen - George Larky - The name of the butler is changed to a more pronouncable form for English speakers. The name George is most often localized in Finnish media as Yrjö.
- Reino Seesteinen - Raymond Serene - The surname retains the original meaning of the Finnish name.
- Roskanheittäjät - Trashers - The original name of roskanheittäjät (literally "trash throwers") means litterLitterLitter consists of waste products such as containers, papers, wrappers or faeces which have been disposed of without consent. Litter can also be used as a verb...
bugs. In the television show they are referred to but intentionally never shown, obviously indicating that they are just people who litter.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was released the same year. Allan Tuppurainen was the voice for the Trasher's during the song Roskanheittäjien messu and his voice was also used for the Great Trash, albeit heavily altered to make him sound more menacing. The soundtrack features commentary with sound-effects by Rölli in a similar fashion to other Rölli audio tapes and CDs released around the time.Timo Tervo performed Edullisesti itse kullekin which plays during the mall-dance sequence in the film. The songs were recorded at ML-studio and the soundtrack is distributed through VL-Musiikki OY.
Tracklisting
- Olipa kerran
- Mielikuvitusta vaan?
- Röllin tavaralaulu
- Maahiskeijun lähtölaulu
- Ystäväni menettänyt oon
- Edullisesti itse kullekin
- Roskanheittäjien messu
- Suuren roskan tuho
- Me ollaan hänen lapsiaan