VIDEO: Ronia the Robber’s Daughter

by · May 28, 2015

Sofie reviews the new Studio Ghibli anime Ronia the Robber’s Daughter, based on the book by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren, which makes her happy to see something from her childhood appearing again and being treated with so much respect.

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  • Jonathan Campbell

    Why don’t you try putting your videos onto Vimeo or some other video-sharing website?

    I mean, it seems like Blip will be shutting its doors sooner or later, and if YouTube is giving you problems, why not put your old videos somewhere else before they are lost?

    Asking as a fan who doesn’t want to see these disappear; just curious.

    • Sofie Liv

      Well… Youtube is for gathering viewership. I just saved all the videos I think is worth anything on my external hard drive, so they wont dissapear.

      I probably will make a vimeo backup channel at some point, how ever, I will be driving on youtube as that is the place I have a shadow of a chance to actually garner any new viewers.

      • Jonathan Campbell

        Makes sense.

      • danbreunig

        Many others have gone there and had some reasonable success in keeping their old vids with less policy hassles. So yes, give Vimeo a try.

        Just make sure you remember the viewers back here. You have some people wanting to talk with you in the AB Raw Feed section, since not all of your (or your colleagues’) videos make it to the front page like this one, and may go completely unseen otherwise. I made a brief mention of this in my last message; in fact I’m starting to miss some of you guys here.

        To get new fans that way, yes, by all means. But please don’t forget the rest…
        As for Blip–pointless to further acknowledge the name.

        As for your back catalog–
        In all seriousness, I suggest if you still have those videos on your hard drives, keep them, every single one under the sun you’ve made, even the ones you think may be crap now, because:
        1-you don’t want to think you don’t need one anymore, and then five or ten years later you wish yourself to death you never got rid of it (been there, never fun), and
        2-one of your least personal favorite videos may be some fan’s or partner’s most favorite or meaningful, and vice versa.

        I know that means maxing out system memory at some point, to which I suggest getting some flash drives and saving them that way. I’ve done that with quite a lot of my own stuff, and I can assure you it’s well worth the investment, having peace of mind, knowing you’ll have two sources (at least always one for sure in case you lose the other) if you really need to look up something old.

        Now, getting to the video, after all the technical ranty stuff–

        Little Sofie really wins the jackpot, doesn’t she? Happiest childhood memories in a series that actually follows its source book? Jealousy!
        You read Pippi Longstocking, I read the Josh McBroom stories–as a kid I really thought that Pippi herself was an American girl because she had a lot in common with American standards like Tom and Huck, and even Josh McBroom because those stories were early 20th. Century Americana mixed with folk tale like fantasy.

        So happy to see you so happy again.

        • Sofie Liv

          Pippi Longstocking is very very much Sweedish and is heavily based on how Sweeden really were back then i’m afraid.
          So nope… Not American.

          And as far as I can tell, Astrid Lindgren and her children has been VERY strict with any adaptations following the original source very closely.
          I heard the reason why Miyazaki didn’t get to make that Pippi movie was in fact because his story weren’t close enough to the books and they were unhappy with it… And that leads me to question where exactly Miyazaki strayed from the books, because when I look at his amazing adorable pippi sketches… They look exactly like scenes from the books.

          Well… Now they’ve made Ronja, perhaps they’ll do more Astrid Lindgren, though I suppose that depends on so much. This series was not a success, unfortunately, it has pretty much gone overlooked.
          Studio Ghibli itself has not coming out with any statements in regards of ending their hiatus so…. We are just stepping around in dark waters right now :/

          Well ones again as I said, i’ve saved all the videos I feel like is worthwhile on an exsternal hardrive.
          As for the rest… I’m cool with some of it being thinned out, there are videos I am definetely not proud of any longer.
          And i’m going in a new direction, that direction seems fairly succesful already, i’m going to new exciting places and I am very excited about that.

          Of course I can’t forget the booth, it’s where I got my start and my first solid fan support.
          But I can’t let that be holding me back either you know… if oppertunity strikes somewhere else, I just follow suite. That’s just how it is.

          • danbreunig

            Well, it sure could’ve fooled me–and did. Pippi just…really, my little mind back then would make me think of her more as a compatriot of Becky Thatcher than of Kae and Gerda. (I know, different author, still Scandinavians, moving on). Back then I would’ve also believed that the Muppets’ Swedish Chef was what real Swedes were like. Impressionable youth is weird. Speaking of, a quick anecdote I need to mention concerning reading favorite childhood authors and learning something of European history:

            My all-time favorite fictional novel/story/book ever, certainly the one which impacted me most, is Journey To The Center Of The Earth (told you, I’m a Vernian). I could write a book itself about why it’s so good to me (even used it in at least four of my college papers), but I want to point out where there’s a chapter or two early on about real-life travel from Hamburg, Germany to Reykjavik, Iceland. The main characters spend about a week in Copenhagen waiting for their ship, and spend each day over at Vor Frelsers Kirk climbing the steeple to get used to mountain-climbing. That whole phase of the trip I learned for the first time some Danish names and features–Zealand, Kongens-Nye-Towr, Cape Elsinore, Rosenborg and Kronsborg Castles, a Hamlet reference, and some more. Even learned some words, but I think they were more Icelandic than pure Danish.

            So picture that: a young American, learning about Danish history and culture, through German and Icelandic characters, in a story written by a Frenchman.

            I thought the series was still going, not over and done with already. 26 episodes with that budget is still pretty impressive, though.

            Far be it from me to ever suggest you don’t keep succeeding–I’m just asking wherever or however far you go, to never forget your roots, Dane, Booth, partners, fans, or otherwise.

          • CaptainCalvinCat

            My childhood-books were “I Marched with Hannibal” by Hans Baumann, the books written by Paul Maar, which revolved around a magical being known as the “Sams” – and I tried to find the english title to the first novel of that series (Eine Woche voller Samstage – literal translation: a week full of saturdays – but since the book deals with the presence of this being called “sams” in Germany that is getting a double meaning.)- apparently there is an english version of the movie “Das Sams in Gefahr” (the Sams in danger) called “my magical friend Sams” – but anyway, I digress.

            So, my childhood books:
            I marched with Hannibal – Hans Baumann
            the Sams-trilogy: Eine Woche voller Samstage (A weekful of Saturdays) , Am Samstag kam das Sams zurück (The Sams returned on Saturday), Neue Punkte für das Sams (new Points for the Sams)
            Book 1 of the second Sams-Trilogiy :Ein Sams für Martin Taschenbier (A Sams for Martin Taschenbier)
            The “Caius-Trilogy” by Henry Winterfeld: “Caius ist ein Dummkopf” (literal translation: Caius is a meathead – real english title: Detectives in Togas), “Caius geht ein Licht auf” (literal translation: Caius has a revelation – real english title:
            Mystery of the Roman Ransom) and “Caius in der Klemme” (literal translation: Caius in a squeeze – no real english title, since the book apparently never has been translated).
            Quintus geht nach Rom – Hans-Dieter Stöver (Quintus moves to Rome – apparently never translated)
            Die unendliche Geschichte – Michael Ende (Neverending Story)
            Schlupp vom grünen Stern – Elis Kaut (again – no englisch translation, so in this case I go with either “Schlupp of the green star” or – more in tune to the actual story in the book “I, Schlupp”) – which I originally saw as a TV-Show. – Did anyone else remember this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVQ1KRqA5EQ
            And I so would’ve loved to get my hand on the literature-adaptaion of “Pan Tau”, back in the Days. Anyone remember that? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzMsXe1G3ow

            A good old childhood. ^^
            But – I’m so glad, that some of the tropes from yesterday can still be relevant in the more modern literature. Take my alltime favourite anime for example: Detektiv Conan – it evolves sometimes about a bunch of kids investigating crimes – as the Caius-Gang, I read about as a child.
            Schlupp from Grünen Stern: My very first Sci-Fi-Show, a genre, that still is important and near and dear to my heart.

            All of those books – well, maybe with the exception of “I marched with Hannibal” had some things in common: No matter what, there was always time for at least a humourous situation – not necessarily a big, laughing joke, but – at least a bit of humour.

      • Mike

        Hey I got here a little late. I kept waiting for new videos from you to show up on Blip and my server can’t connect me to your website for some reason. So would you mind explaining to someone who isn’t really familiar with setting up and keeping video channel would has been the problem(s)?

        • Jonathan Campbell

          She posts on YouTube now. You can’t see any new videos on Blip because she isn’t posting on Blip anymore. Blip is on it’s way out.

          Here is her new channel:

          https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsCPWGoSm4Th_GlF5iF-xnQ

          • Sofie Liv

            And my site is down, it doesn’t exsists. So that’s why.

            But yeah, what Jonathan said, I post on youtube now.

          • Jonathan Campbell

            I didn’t know you had a site.

            I learnt something today.

          • danbreunig

            It was around for just one year, 2012, a little into 2013. Iron Man 3 was the last post there.

          • Mike

            I did find your youtube site. it just got me wondering what kind of problems would require someone to change hosting sites and if you are currently posting anyplace else or planning to in the future. Ursa has her new videos on at least four sites right now.

          • Jonathan Campbell

            Blip.tv is not a very good site and its been on its way out now for some time. It was supposed to close up shop to make room for a new site called Maker.tv that…does not seem to have worked out. The last two years they had purges of their producers who they felt weren’t up to scratch (even though many were, and many who seemingly weren’t got spared…there have also been complaints from producers that they are owed ad revenue and are not getting paid).

            Basically, Blip had a LOT of problems. Sofie and some other producers got an e-mail a few months ago telling them that Blip was closing down (it still hasn’t) and that they should look for a new hosting site. Linkara and Nostalgia Critic are on Screenwave now; others, including Ursa, have moved to Youtube, but that has its own problems (copyright issues mostly- bots will flag a video with copyrighted footage and take it down automatically even though legally the footage is fine under Fair Use laws, and producers have to appeal to get it back up; some, like Film Brain, are still taking their chances with Blip even though it’s closing because they had enough of that). Don’t be surprised if after the summer, most videos on the Booth are unwatchable because Blip has shut down.

            Ursa is on all these different sites because she got picked up by them; it’s a matter of networking, entering competitions, or just getting lucky. Sofie IS on other sites; they just aren’t as well known as the ones Jill is on, which is also partly a matter of luck- you do as well as your site does.

          • danbreunig

            Much of that luck is more than being (re)discovered; it’s also finding a lucky hosting site with the least hassles. From what I understand, Blip’s biggest advantage was that it had the least restrictions for using outside/copyrighted material, which made it relatively great for review video producers. But all these video sites–Blip, Youtube, what have you–tend to be especially fickle about who stays and who goes. It’s like how tornadoes approach a neighborhood of identical houses, and then completely destroy one house while not even touching the identical house right next to it–so some videos and producers are cut for the least questionable content while another inexplicably stays. Your explanation about the YT bots clarifies quite well why it keeps happening there.

            This is why I can’t emphasize enough to all video producers, Sofie too, to save *every single video you ever made, including your crap and least favorites* on whatever drives you can, so whatever happens down the road you all may have a chance to repost them later on through other sites and services.

  • Mike

    Just re-watched this video with the same fascination I had the first time. Got me to wondering what the first books I have read as a child. Anyhow a couple of thoughts and questions…

    I remember seeing an english adaptation of Pippi Longstocking from 1988 on the Disney Channel a few times growing up and found not particularly good or bad. It seemed like a decent kids movie overall. So you can imagine my surprise when I found out year later it did REALLY poorly at the box office and with critics and was nominated for two Razzie awards! Huh, maybe it wasn’t that good, but I can’t think of any reason why anyone thought it was THAT bad. Makes you curious.

    I also heard the first book read aloud in classrooms a couple times and don’t think the movies plot different that much. Though the second class I heard it read (and the first time I heard it from beginning to end) I was than thrilled. Maybe it was just getting older, but Pippi just suddenly seemed TOO perfect. Like my first notion of MarySue before I even heard the terms. I suppose you could say the same thing about Peter Pan, but at least there was kind of sad undercurrent of his friends eventually having to leave and grow-up. I don’t now if it happened more in the later books, but I surprised how little tension there seemed to be for Pippi and her friends. Adults were annoyed by there shenanigans, but were useless at trying to stop them.

    Anyway enough of my speculating. Here an awkward question. About that Miyazaki drawing at 3:45…is it my imagination or does it seem like something within the outline of Pippi’s shirt looks…well…like something only a much older would have there if you get my drift!? I don’t know if that supposed to be a tag or what…it just looks odd to me.

    One final thought. You mention how surprisingly accurate the period clothing of Scandinavian people are in this series. That’s something must people probably wouldn’t have noticed unless the really knew the history of that culture. Much as I loved How to Tame Your Dragon, I know that real Viking wouldn’t have been dressed that way, but didn’t really mind since was clearly a fantasy.
    Sofie what do you of cultural motif in children’s entertainment: is accuracy usual important or not really?

  • Mike

    Sofie are you still receiving? Sorry my last post was a little too long, but I was hoping you could at least answer my last question. Especially since you probably have from different frame of reference on this sort of thing than I do.

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