Rölli facts for kids

Rölli (sometimes called Rollo in English) is a fun character from Finland. He is played by Allu Tuppurainen. Rölli first appeared on a children's TV show called Pikku Kakkonen in 1986. He would tell amazing stories about his adventures. Rölli often questioned how people act, especially humans.

Rölli has also been in five movies. The first one, Rölli - hirmuisia kertomuksia (Rölli - Terrible Stories), came out in 1991. It was very much like the TV show. The 2001 movie, Rölli ja Metsänhenki (Rölli and the Forest Spirit), was more of a fantasy adventure. Rölli even appeared in an animated film called Röllin sydän (Quest for a Heart) in 2007. This movie was made by four different countries working together. The most recent films are Rölli ja kultainen avain (2013) and Rölli ja kaikkien aikojen salaisuus (2016).

A special part of the show and movies are the many songs. Because of this, Rölli has also released many popular cassettes and CDs with his stories and songs.

Who is Rölli?

Even though many people think Rölli is a troll, he isn't! Allu Tuppurainen, the creator, said that Rölli belongs to his own special kind of creature. This creature is not an animal or a human. It's just a Rölli! We don't know why other Röllis have names, but the main character is just "Rölli."

Rölli's Home and Habits

Rölli lives in a place called Röllimetsä, which means "Rölli Forest." Many strange creatures live there. Rölli is proud that he never brushes his teeth or takes a bath. His famous saying shows this: "Kautta likaisten varpaitteni!" This means "By my dirty toes!"

Rölli often criticizes humans. But sometimes he gets interested in their cool inventions. Then he usually regrets it later. He also likes to think he is scary, but he often ends up being quite silly.

Rölli's World and Fairies

At first, the Rölli TV series didn't have a very clear story world. Rölli would often say he met witches, ghosts, robots, and giants. These creatures never actually appeared on the show. Some did show up in later audio stories.

Rölli does not trust fairies (menninkäiset). He calls them tricky creatures who like to play pranks on him. But in one TV episode, he met a fairy. It seemed that Rölli was just being unfair to them. Fairies look very different in the TV series compared to the movies. In the TV show, they are small, winged creatures. They might look like flashes of light in the trees at night. In the movies, they look more like earthy creatures. They are about the same size as trolls.

Other Characters in Rölli's World

Rölli meets many interesting characters on his adventures.

• Suuri Rölli ("Big Rölli") is a well-known character. He is bigger, meaner, and not as smart as Rölli. People think he is very dangerous. Rölli often runs away when he sees him.
• Rölli Riitasointu (Riitasointu means "dissonance" in music) is a female Rölli. She is good at music. Rölli used to take music lessons from her. But in the movie Rölli ja Metsänhenki, Riitasointu is shown as a man.
• Robotti Ruttunen is a robot that Rölli builds. Robotti Ruttunen sometimes finds it hard to understand others. He feels left out because of this. In a song about him, Ruttunen eventually marries an old kitchen stove!
• Roskanheittäjät (Trash Throwers) are characters who throw rubbish. Rölli thinks they are part of one evil thing. In the first movie, they became real characters. They were servants of an evil group. This group served a strange blob creature called Suuri roska (Great Trash). The Trash Throwers tried to destroy the Röllimetsä. Rölli stopped them by throwing a toothbrush into the trash creature's mouth, which defeated it. Later, an old tree saved Rölli by falling on the cult leader.
• Rölli has also met several female characters. These characters might have been his love interests. They include Tiina Tonttu (elf/gnome/brownie), the beautiful Forest Maiden, and others from the movies. These include Maahiskeiju in Rölli Hirmuisia Kertomuksia and Milli Menninkäinen in Rölli ja Metsänhenki and Röllin Sydän.

Rölli's Popularity

On August 24, 2006, Rölli was voted the greatest Finnish fictional character. This happened on a TV show called Satusuomalainen on YLE. In the live final vote, Rölli competed against Uuno Turhapuro, Rokka from The Unknown Soldier, and Little My from The Moomins. Rölli received more than a quarter of all the votes! Little My came in second, Rokka in third, and Uuno in fourth place.

Other characters who were in the first round of voting included Väinämöinen, Moomintroll, Captain Pirk from the Star Wreck film series, and the comic strip characters Viivi and Wagner.

Rölli in Media

Television

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

Movies

• Rölli - hirmuisia kertomuksia (1991)
• Rölli ja metsänhenki (2001)
• Röllin sydän (2007)
• Rölli ja kultainen avain (2013)
• 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); This album tells the story of the movie, 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)