Ronja Rövardotter

Like most Swedes, I have a special love for Astrid Lindgren's iconic coming of age tale set in a medieval Scandinavia that is both idyllic and cruel. In a place where unlikely friends are made and strange creatures can be found, this series is sure to be loved by many.

Although a modern take in technical aspects, it's not just a green screen production. Much is shot on location, displaying real landscapes with footage of some wild animals adding a nice touch to the world building. And even when cgi is used it looks good. Most creatures though are almost entirely practical, some designs being the best versions I've seen. Moments of humor also makes the cut, and I love how the show doesn't change how scary some scenes should be. For kids, the dark moments could even be the most intriguing aspect. At least it was for me.

However, a comparison to the 1984 film is inevitable. There's a raw passion there which is simply not found in the 2024 show. Ronja and Mattis, are played by great actors here who do the parts justice. But other characters are not given the depth they deserve. Instead, the writing makes room for completely new character's that don't anything to the story other than runtime. And on top of that, the dialogue can be stiff and feel somewhat unnatural.

Overall though, I really enjoyed this show for the most part. It is well worth a watch if you're the slightest interested in the story. And if you have kids, it's almost a must watch. I'm looking forward to seeing what they'll do with the rest of Astrid Lindgren's tale!

/Anton.

As a youth I loved Astrid Lindgren novels, including Emil from Lönneberg, Pippi Longstocking and, of cause, Ronja the Robber's Daughter. One of the first adaptations of the story I watched was the 1984 movie version and later the Danish stage musical adaptation. So when I saw that there would be a new interpretation of the story, I was kinda hopeful.

However, the end result was NOT what I expected or wanted!

Don't get me wrong, it's not that the entire Netflix series is just horrible, as it has some elements I kinda liked, such as some of the characters, the setting and the new interpretation of the fantastical creatures. However, they've added so much unnecessary subplot about a village and its corrupt magistrate that I always zoned out whenever we got to a point that wasn't part of Lindgren's original story.

This show has ups & downs. The production looks amazing, the costumes were pretty good, it was well played, had some solid music, the intro is a vibe and some good cinematography too. But its just a terrible adaptation. The show doesn't focus on Ronja at all. Instead it focuses on Mattis' story and Kappa's. Kappa is an original character with probably most of the screen time. She is not likeable she doesn't do anything, her character is nothing at all but still this her show. Why? None of these characters are likeable. Bot even Ronja. She just feels like a normal 13 year old. Ronja isn't even a supporting character in her own show. The plot is boring, stupid and full of people who don't do anything. We don't see Ronja learning on the forest. We don't see Ronja trying not to fall into the river. Instead we got Mattis who is.... there and Kappa who is..... Also there? Plus who designed the Harpies!? They're just big birds with nipples! There's nothing scary or menacing about them at all.

My favorite book as a child - I reread it more than five times and was deeply invested in the characters. I had the edition with Wikland's illustrations, and looking at them now brought back a wave of nostalgia. They were so vivid and full of life. When I found out that a series had been released, I was really excited, but not everything turned out smoothly.

I never expected that the series could be ruined this much by the actors - especially Ronja's father. He's supposed to be a fearsome bandit chieftain, but instead, we see a chubby man with kind, puppy-like eyes whose only abilities are throwing tantrums, looking pitiful, and waving his arms around. He even speaks like a gentleman. This is such a poor fit, so wildly out of place, that it completely breaks the immersion. His character is just a whiny, utterly foolish, and useless excuse for a... man, who doesn't command even the slightest bit of respect - and yet, for some inexplicable reason, the robbers do respect him. And he gets way too much screen time.

As for Birk - who, as one of the main characters, should at least have some charisma - the actor is a complete nobody with an empty filmography, a single facial expression, and a misaligned bite.

I've never paid much attention to actors in films before; everything always seemed more or less the same to me. But here, even I can see it's a total disaster.

The good parts: Ronja's actress does a decent job, and Lovis, her mother, feels like a real person - with emotions you actually believe in. She's the best character - level-headed, calm. Skalle-Per is also not bad.

All the other characters are just there - completely forgettable, failing to spark any interest or empathy.

The gnomes are horribly designed, while the wile-wings are OK. The nature shots, though - the mountains, castles, forests, waterfalls - are absolutely breathtaking. It's all filmed with a genuine love for nature, and the visuals are rich and vibrant.

The plot isn't particularly impressive. I remember the book being interesting to read, but here, it's mostly meaningless conversations plus the addition of a "bounty hunters" storyline - who, surprise, are all women and weren't in the original. This entire plotline is utterly pointless, dragged out, and leads absolutely nowhere. Every scene with these bounty hunters just made me want to skip ahead. Other than that, the series mostly follows the book's plot.

Overall, mixed feelings. But I'd still recommend giving it a try.

This production passes the minimum requirements to be watchable, but the persisting impression is why they made it at all. A bit darker than the original movie, the tone is yet quite mild and the dialouge not far from the book.

After watching 3 episodes, I am still wondering, why am I watching this?

The darker angle, is bathing in poor acting and a sense of rushed production. Sometimes almost cliché driven with rather weak and not very well represented subplots and story arcs.

Production quality is on par with other low to mid budget fantasy shows, and is utilizing passable basic CGI and clever practical effects.

I will watch the rest of the season, but I am not looking forward to it.