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Rölli (sometimes called Rollo in English 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 1986. Original episodes were produced until 2001 and older episodes have been seen in constant reruns on the program. In these segments, Rölli would tell stories of his amazing adventures while often criticising and questioning public norm or the activities of people (especially humans). Rölli has also appeared in five feature-length
film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
s. The first, made in 1991 and titled ''
Rölli - hirmuisia kertomuksia ''Rolli: Amazing Tales'' ( fi, Rölli – hirmuisia kertomuksia) is a 1991 children's fantasy film. It stars Allu Tuppurainen, Sari Mällinen, Jussi Lampi, Rolf Labbart, Risto Kaskilahti and Harri Hyttinen. The film was nominated for and won 3 ...
'' ("Rölli - Terrible Stories") was much truer to the TV character, whereas the 2001 ''
Rölli ja Metsänhenki ''Rollo and the Spirit of the Woods'' (also titled ''Rolli'', fi, Rölli ja metsänhenki) is a 2001 Finnish fantasy film directed by Olli Saarela. It is the second film based on the television series ''Rölli'', the first being ''Rölli – hirm ...
'' ("Rölli and the Forest Spirit") was more of a traditional fantasy/ adventure film. Rölli has appeared in an
animated film Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...
''
Röllin sydän ''Quest for a Heart'' ( fi, Röllin sydän) is a 2007 British/Finnish/Russian/German animated film directed by Pekka Lehtosaari. It is based on the Rölli character created by Allu Tuppurainen, and while it is the third Rölli film (previous fil ...
'' (Quest for a Heart) which appeared in Finnish movie theaters December 2007. This film was a co-production made in four countries. The latest films were called ''
Rölli ja kultainen avain Rölli (sometimes called Rollo in English language, English is a character from Finland, Finnish television portrayed by Allu Tuppurainen, Allan "Allu" Tuppurainen. The character originally appeared in segments on the children's TV show ''Pikku K ...
'' (2013) and ''
Rölli ja kaikkien aikojen salaisuus Rölli (sometimes called Rollo in English 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 1986. Origin ...
'' (2016). 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
cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in the ...
s and CDs.


Character and series mythos

Despite popular belief, Rölli isn't really a troll. Allu Tuppurainen has said himself that he thought Rölli was part of this strange species which wasn't animal but not human either and that species is called Rölli. The reason why other röllis have "names" and main character Rölli is just Rölli is a mystery. (The common word ''rölli'' refers to the grass genus ''
Agrostis ''Agrostis'' (bent or bentgrass) is a large and very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family, found in nearly all the countries in the world. It has been bred as a GMO creeping bent grass. Species * '' Agrostis aequivalvi'' ...
'', e.g. ''nurmirölli'' is
common bent ''Agrostis capillaris'', the common bent, colonial bent, or browntop, is a rhizomatous and stoloniferous perennial in the grass family ( Poaceae). It is native to Eurasia and has been widely introduced in many parts of the world. Colonial be ...
.) Rölli lives in Röllimetsä ("Rölli Forest") which is home to many strange creatures. He prides himself on the fact that he never
brushes A brush is a common tool with bristles, wire or other filaments. It generally consists of a handle or block to which filaments are affixed in either a parallel or perpendicular orientation, depending on the way the brush is to be gripped durin ...
his teeth or takes a
bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
. 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 off 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 A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
s, robots, 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 A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, o ...
(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 that 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.


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 dissonance) is a musically talented female rölli from whom Rölli used to take music lessons. Notably, however, in ''Rölli ja Metsänhenki'' Riitasointu is depicted as an effeminate man. * Robotti Ruttunen, a robot that Rölli constructs, appears in the cassette plays. Robotti Ruttunen has personality characteristics reminiscent of humans with Asperger syndrome, 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
cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...
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 tree 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 ( elf/
gnome A gnome is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature. Its characte ...
/ 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 Televoting, telephone voting or phone voting is a method of decision making and opinion polling conducted by telephone. Televoting can also extend to voting by SMS text message via a mobile cell phone. Broadcast contest televoting Televoting i ...
finale Rölli was up-against Uuno Turhapuro, Rokka from '' The Unknown Soldier'' and
Little My Little My (original sv, Lilla My, literally: "Little Mu") is a character in the Moomin series of books by Tove Jansson. The character first appeared in the fourth book, The Exploits of Moominpappa (1950). She is a small, determined and fiercely ...
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, Moomintroll, Captain Pirk of the ''
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 late ...
'' film series and the comic strip characters Viivi and Wagner.


Rölli Media


Television

* Original TV series 1986-1987, 1989-1990, 1993, 1997 and 2001


Movies

*
Rölli - hirmuisia kertomuksia ''Rolli: Amazing Tales'' ( fi, Rölli – hirmuisia kertomuksia) is a 1991 children's fantasy film. It stars Allu Tuppurainen, Sari Mällinen, Jussi Lampi, Rolf Labbart, Risto Kaskilahti and Harri Hyttinen. The film was nominated for and won 3 ...
1991 *
Rölli ja metsänhenki ''Rollo and the Spirit of the Woods'' (also titled ''Rolli'', fi, Rölli ja metsänhenki) is a 2001 Finnish fantasy film directed by Olli Saarela. It is the second film based on the television series ''Rölli'', the first being ''Rölli – hirm ...
2001 *
Röllin sydän ''Quest for a Heart'' ( fi, Röllin sydän) is a 2007 British/Finnish/Russian/German animated film directed by Pekka Lehtosaari. It is based on the Rölli character created by Allu Tuppurainen, and while it is the third Rölli film (previous fil ...
2007 * Rölli ja kultainen avain 201

* Rölli ja kaikkien aikojen salaisuus 2016


Albums

Story albums: * Tässä tulee Rölli - Rölli seikkailee 1 (1985) * Röllimetsän syksyn sävel - Rölli seikkailee 2 (1985) * Rölli ja kaverit - Rölli seikkailee 3 (1986) * Rölli ja omituisten otusten kerho - Rölli seikkailee 4 (1987) * Rölli ja Usvametsän neito - Rölli seikkailee 5 (1988) * Rölli onnea etsimässä - Rölli seikkailee 6 (1990) * Hirmuisia kertomuksia - Elokuvan laulut (1991); Despite the title, contains the plot of the movie as narrated by Rölli * Rölli ja vajonnut kaupunki - Rölli seikkailee 7 (1992) * Musiikkia elokuvasta Rölli ja metsänhenki (2001) * Hirmuinen Rölli seikkailee (2002) Song albums: * Röllin laulut 1 -laulukokoelma (1986) * Röllin laulut 2 -laulukokoelma (1987) * Röllin laulut 3 -laulukokoelma (1993) * Röllin suosituimmat laulut -laulukokoelma (1995) * Röllin parhaat laulut -laulukokoelma (2000) * 40 kaikkien aikojen Rölli-laulua -2CD laulukokoelma (2001)


References


External links


Rölli TV Series
at Internet Movie Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Rolli Children's television characters Fictional trolls Finnish children's television series