Karlsson-on-the-Roof
Karlsson with Svante "Lillebror" (little brother) Svanteson on a Russian stamp (1992).
  • Karlsson-on-the-Roof
  • Karlsson Flies Again
  • Karlsson-on-the-Roof is Sneaking Around Again
AuthorAstrid Lindgren
Original title
Karlsson på taket
CountrySweden
LanguageSwedish
Media typePrint (hardcover and paperback)

Karlsson-on-the-Roof (Swedish: Karlsson på taket) is a character who figures in a series of children's books by the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. Lindgren may have borrowed the idea for the series from a similar story about Mr. O'Malley in the comic strip Barnaby (1942) by Crockett Johnson.[1]

Plot

Karlsson is a very short, plump, and overconfident man who lives in a small house hidden behind a chimney on the roof of "a very ordinary apartment building on a very ordinary street" in Vasastan, Stockholm. When Karlsson pushes a button on his stomach, it starts a clever little engine with a propeller on his back, allowing him to fly.

In his own opinion, Karlsson is the best at everything. He befriends Svante Svantesson, a seven-year-old boy and youngest member of the Svantesson family, who is often referred to as "Little Brother", Swedish: Lillebror.

Karlsson is quite mischievous and likes to make fun and prank others. He often gets Lillebror into trouble, as Karlsson usually disappears just before Lillebror's family arrives leaving him to deal with consequences of Karlsson’s actions.

At first, parents, siblings and friends of Lillebror don't believe that Karlsson is real, and consider him to be an imaginary friend, but after they meet him in person they begin to like the little flying man.

Another character to encounter Karlsson is Fröken Bock (Miss Hildur Bock), a mean nanny (presumably in her late 40s or 50s), who undergoes an emotional transformation after meeting Karlsson.

Development

Karlsson's predecessor is Mr. Lilyvale (Swedish: Herr Liljonkvast). Mr. Lilyvale was a small, flying, friendly old man, and fantasy friend of Lindgren's daughter Karin. In the evening he visited her in her room. Lindgren's daughter explained that Mr. Lilyvale could not be seen by anyone else because he flew away or hid as soon as someone entered the room. Astrid Lindgren wrote the book In the Land of Twilight about Mr. Lilyvale. At that time, Mr. Lilyvale was friendlier, less selfish, bossy or self-centered. He also had no propeller.[2][3] According to Astrid Lindgren, Mr. Lilyvale later turned into Karlsson.[4]

Characters

The characters' names are often changed in English-language translations.

Series and English translations

There are three Karlsson-on-the-Roof books:

Cultural impact and adaptations

The characters from the Soviet animated film directed by Boris Stepantsev depicted on a Russian stamp, 2012

Translated books and cartoon adaptation of the series became popular in the Soviet Union. "Lillebror" has been changed to (Russian: Малыш, romanized: Malysh), which means "Junior" or "Little boy". Other characters' names have not been changed.

The two Soviet animated films Junior and Karlson [ru][6] (1968) and Karlson Returns [ru][7] (1970), directed by Boris Stepantsev at Soyuzmultfilm studio are among the most celebrated and loved cartoons in Russia and other ex-Soviet countries.[8][9] Karlsson was voiced by Vasily Livanov and Junior by Klara Rumyanova in both animated films, while Fröken Bock was voiced by Faina Ranevskaya in the second film. In 1971, the character was also adapted for the Soviet stage at the Moscow Satire Theatre, where Karlsson was portrayed by Spartak Mishulin.

A live-action version, Världens bästa Karlsson, was released in Sweden in 1974, as was an animated film in 2002.

A Ukrainian military unit during the Russian invasion of Ukraine named itself after Karlsson-on-the-Roof and took the name "Karlsson-on-the-Roof Battalion".[10]

References

  1. ^ Astrid Lindgren hade förebild i USA, Dagens Nyheter, 15 januari 2012.
  2. ^ "I Skymningslandet".
  3. ^ "Karlsson på taket".
  4. ^ Schade, Frauke (2008). Astrid Lindgren – ein neuer Blick: Kinderkultur, Illustration. ISBN 9783825810580.
  5. ^ "Karlson series reviews".
  6. ^ "Junior and Karlson". IMDb. 1968.
  7. ^ "Karlson Returns". IMDb. 1970.
  8. ^ Giannalberto Bendazzi (2016). Animation: A World History: Volume II: The Birth of a Style - The Three Markets at Google Books, p. 287, 77
  9. ^ Sergei Kapkov (2006). Encyclopedia of Domestic Animation. — Moscow: Algorithm, p. 615—616
  10. ^ Fridh Kleberg, Carl (16 October 2022). ""Karlsson på taket"-bataljon krigar för Ukraina – från luften" ["Karlsson-on-the-Roof" battalion fights for Ukraine – from the air]. SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 1 May 2023.
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