Emil i Lönneberga

The shout we heard quite a few times.When ever Emil did something bad his father would yell his name and Emil would lock himself in a tool shed and carve wooden figures.The five-year-old Emil and his family live in a farm in the district of Lönneberga over a hundred years ago.Astrig Lindgren came up with Emil and all these other fantastic characters.The movies and the series of 13 episodes were made in the early 1970's.I can't picture anybody else doing the role of Emil Svensson better than Jan Ohlsson.And Allan Edwall as his father Anton.Those two made a fantastic comedy team.Emy Storm is terrific as his mother Alma who adores her son and writes down every bad thing Emil does in a blue book.Lena Wisborg is adorable as his little sister Ida.Björn Gustafson is perfect as Emil's best friend, farm hand Alfred.Maud Hansson plays brilliantly the role of Lina who likes Alfred but not so much Emil.Carsta Löck makes Krösa-Maja a great character with her horrible stories.Those 13 episodes had a lot of great and funny stuff.Once Emil locked his father in an outhouse.And he got his head stuck in the family's only soup bowl.He also hoisted his sister up the flag pole and arranged a lavish Christmas party for the poor.And let's not forget the pig behaving badly.Or the horse he got at Vimmerby market.And it ended with Emil taking Alfred to a doctor through a terrible snowstorm.Emil i Lönneberga is great fun the whole family can enjoy.

Like about all the stories coming from Astrid Lindgren's genius, Emil i Lönneberga is written for kids, but seems to captive adults just as much. Watching the series for maybe the tenth time is no less amusing than the first. There are a few main factors, first of all there's Lindgren's amazing abilty to capture her audience with rich storytelling, human knowledge, character creating and folklore environment description beyond anyone and anything - all recreated into film and television series and Swedish drama making at it's very best. Director Olle Hellbom and his co-workers have all done a perfect job, likely in a very enjoyable set atmosphere. The casting is fantastic, with Jan Ohlsson and Allan Edwall as Emil and his dad, both shining, but among a group of actors so carefully and well selected that it simply couldn't have been better. Everything is framed with the brilliant music written by Georg Riedel. The series about Lindgren's world famous girl figure Pippi is absolutely fantastic - but without comparison, the series about Emil is just as good, at least.

So funny. A little rascal putting a Swedish village ablaze. Verbally speaking. --- Or is it funny ? Because Emil (in German: Michel) is - in brutal honesty - another pet. Predating E. T. the Extraterrestrial pet from another planet by a decade. Astrid Lindgren gave Stephen Spielberg that dehumanising idea. Watch a little pet boy do all sorts of shenanigans, that adults will find funny in the end. Like getting his head stuck in a soup ceramic. Am I harsh in my judgement ? No. Because I saw people getting children just to have one of those Emils. Isn't that what life is all about ? (Because Emil is alive) Having a rascal for a kid ? No. God no.