At two o’clock, once they were finished with their lessons, Tommy and Annika ran to Pippi’s house. They opened the gate, and fed horse a sugar cube in order to convince him to move away from the front door and further down the porch. They let themselves into the house, as they normally did.
“Pippi! Pippi! Where are you?,” both children shouted as soon as they got inside.
They heard Mr. Nilsson give a small screech from Pippi’s bedroom upstairs. He scurried down the banister of the staircase and placed one finger over his mouth, indicating that the children should quietly follow him to find their friend.
Tommy and Annika walked upstairs only to find that Pippi was laying perfectly still, and perfectly straight in bed. All they could see sticking out of a blanket draped over her body, were her feet which were rested upon her pillow, and two carrot-colored braids that stuck straight out of her head at the foot of the bed.
“It is absolutely unfair!,” said Pippi as she threw off the covers disappointedly. “On one of my adventures to Africa, a tribesman told me about a princess that fell asleep for a hundred years, and woke up three feet taller when she first went to sleep! I’ve been laying in bed asleep since I finished giving Mr. Nilsson a bath, and I haven’t grown an inch.”
Pippi stood out of bed and the three walked downstairs and sat around the kitchen counter.
“Pippi, Tommy and I are going to present the movie that was made about you in show & tell on Friday during school! We are so excited!,” said Annika as she chewed through a caramel candy.
“Oh, I love shows! In China, everyone turns their backs on the stage during a show and watches the character’s shadows on the wall in front of them. Makes for a totally different perspective.” Tommy and Annika laughed, and Pippi handed a piece of candy to Mr. Nilsson who proceeded to throw it at horse who had managed to fit his head perfectly into the window from the porch and drink from the sink.
“What should I wear to the show?,” Pippi asked.
Tommy giggled. “Oh Pippi, this isn’t a show like a play, or anything like that! This is a time where everyone picks something that they want to share with the class. We want to show the video so that everyone at school can get to know you better!”
Pippi jumped off the counter. “Tommy and Annika, I would be honored to be lead role in your show.”
On Friday morning, Tommy and Annika were so excited that they couldn’t sleep. They skipped to school, and volunteered to go first in show & tell.
“Good morning, class! Tommy and I are very excited to tell you today about the animated movie that was released, which tells the story of our dear friend, Pippi Lonstocking.”
The troublemaker boy in the class, Ryan, interrupted in this moment and shouted, “Isn’t that the girl that couldn’t do math?”
The teacher authoritatively and sternly said, “Ryan, please don’t interrupt Tommy and Annika during their presentation. Pippi was a sweet girl who has promised to come back to school once she’s more settled in town. Please continue Annika.”
Annika, a shy and soft-spoken girl, did not want to speak first. She was very nervous and cleared her throat anxiously before she spoke: “Thank you. Tommy, would you like to start us off?”
“Hi class. Today Annika and I are each going to tell three of our favorite stories that are portrayed in the animated movie. Most of these stories were originally told in the book written by Astrid Lindgren, but we feel the movie gives a greater perspective of our dear friend and her adventures.”
“But first a bit of history,” and Annika proceeded to explain how the animated movie was made in the United States during the year 1997 and was directed by Michael Schaack and Clive A. Smith. From this movie stemmed a television series, which ran on HBO in the United States and on Teletoon in Canada.
“We want to show you the trailer made for the movie released in 1969 first, because it inspired the 1997 animated film.”
The 1969 version of the Pippi Longstocking movie was significant because Astrid Lindgren herself wrote the script for it. She was dissatisfied with the interpretations of Pippi Longstocking in previous films, and decided that she wanted to play a large role in the production of this version. The song playing in the background of the trailer is the original Pippi Longstocking theme, which is significant because Pippi loves to sing it herself, “I am Pippi Longstocking! If you say it fast, it’s funny.”…etc.
The class applauded excitedly. Tommy and Annika continued with their presentation with much more confidence than when they started.
“Now Tommy will begin with the first of his three favorite stories of Pippi and her adventures.”
“My first story is of the first time I met Pippi. You’ll see why I was instantly captivated by her unique dress, her knowledge of far away lands, and her friends Mr. Nilsson and horse.”
http://youtu.be/ap8e0K15U9I?t=11m14s (please start at 11:14 and stop at 14:38, or continue if you’d like!)
The class laughed at Pippi and the occasional whisper could be heard about how Tommy and Annika were famous because they were in a movie.
“My turn now!,” exclaimed Annika excitedly. “After we met Pippi, she taught us how to make pancakes. But this wasn’t any ordinary breakfast. She loves singing and dancing, and the pancakes were of course, the best I’d ever had!”
Tommy added, “Oh, and the lady in purple, that’s Mrs. Prysselius. She’s the one that wants Pippi to go live in a children’s home.”
http://youtu.be/ap8e0K15U9I?t=14m38s (please start at 14:38 and stop at 20:00!)
Everyone giggled because they knew how mean Mrs. Prysselius could be.
“Next, I’d like to tell the story of when Pippi came to school. I know you all know the story since you were here, but I thought you would enjoy it from an animated perspective!”
http://youtu.be/ap8e0K15U9I?t=28m57s (please start at 28:57 and stop at 33:29!)
Annika began as soon as the class was finished laughing and had quieted down about pointing themselves out in the film and giggling. “Mother will never forget the time that Pippi came to our tea party. Pippi made quite a mess, but I couldn’t stop laughing.”
http://youtu.be/ap8e0K15U9I?t=35m (please start at 35:00 and stop at 38:52!)
“Annika and I love this story about Pippi. It always makes me laugh to think about, because it’s the time when Officers Kling and Klang visited Pippi’s house on orders from Mrs. Prysselius. She wasn’t happy!”
Annika added, “Our mom even wrote a letter to them about Pippi!”
http://youtu.be/ap8e0K15U9I?t=44m2s (please start at 44:02 and stop at 47:44!)
“Last one Annika,” whispered Tommy to his sister. “I hope we’re not boring them with all of these clips!”
Annika began, “My favorite moment of my friendship with Pippi happens after she entertains two burglars, and defeats Adolf, the strongest man in the world. It’s even after her father returns from being lost at sea. My favorite moment is when Pippi decides she’s leaving to continue her life as a pirate with her father, and his crew. It was in fact, where Pippi grew up, and although both Tommy and I were sad she was leaving, we knew that she would be happy.”
Tommy added, “We had never had as good a friend as Pippi, and we knew that whether she was in the South Pacific somewhere, or in some tribal kingdom on the other side of the world, that she would always be our friend. She’s so much fun to be around, incredibly caring, while at the same time, strong, brave, and self-resilient. She never takes “no” for an answer, and lives by the motto that she will always ‘come out on top.’”
“Anyway,” Annika began timidly, after becoming slightly emotional from her brother’s response, “here’s the final scene of the movie. Hope you enjoy, and thank you for allowing us to present and better introduce you to our forever friend, Pippi Longstocking.”
http://youtu.be/ap8e0K15U9I?t=1h10m38s (please start at 1:10:38 and stop at 1:12:36 – or when the final song is complete!)