Pippi Longstocking is a Swedish/West German TV series based on Astrid Lindgren's Pippi Longstocking children's books. The show ran for thirteen episodes, the first episode being broadcast 8 February 1969 on Sveriges Television. The series' theme song, "Here Comes Pippi Longstocking" ("Här Kommer Pippi Långstrump") was composed by Jan Johansson (in one of his last works, before his death a year before the series aired), with lyrics by Astrid Lindgren. The song was sung by series star Inger Nilsson.

English-language film version

In 1969, the Swedish series was re-edited into two German-dubbed feature films by Beta Film, which was one of the German co-producers of the TV series (and was the distributor in all territories outside of Sweden). When released in English-dubbed form in the United States by G.G. Communications, they became weekend television staples in several cities in America throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Additionally, the two original feature film sequels from 1970, which featured the same cast and crew, were also dubbed in English for USA distribution. The re-edited TV-series feature films are: The feature film sequels are: The first six uncut episodes of the original series, newly dubbed in English using British actors, and remastered from new film prints, became available on DVD in 2002 by Hen's Tooth Video and Junior.TV GmbH & Co. KG.

Location

The Swedish town where the show is set is Visby in Gotland, the largest island in the Baltic Sea and the location of the fictional Villa Villekulla.

Episodes

For the German cut of the series aired on Das Erste (which have been distributed in all the countries outside Sweden), 8 additional episodes were added, splitting the two original feature films in four parts each. Lots of outtake footage not seen even in Sweden were also added to patch up the running time.

Cast