Jan 5, 2015
It is hard to not make a biased review of this show if you are from Sweden, which I am. "Why?" you may ask.
This show is based on the story "Ronia the robbers daughter" (Ronja rövardotter), written by one of Swedens most beloved author Astrid Lindgren and made into a movie in 1984 by Tage Danielsson. The movie by Tage Danielsson is one of the top 10 most watched movies in Sweden. Even today it is impossible to escape this movie if you grow up in Sweden.
Because of this swedes will ether hate or love this show. I personally is biased towards loving it.
...
Therefore, If I were to make a complete review, it would probably be an awfully lot of text, ending with a strong recommendation to go and watch this show now. I will however only talk about some things I find especially worth mentioning about this show.
In my opinion the show manage to do the original story justice.
The series faithfully follows the book, takes some inspiration from Tage Danielssons movie while adding the well known Ghibli flavor to it. The result is original and nostalgic at the same time.
The series is slow paced and really spends time fleshing out the characters. Don't expect any fast-paced action-filled adventure. This series likes to take its time and let the moments sink in. While watching this I have noticed things about the story, characters and environment I never thought about in the original.
When it comes to bizarre creatures, Studio Ghibli are masters. This story contains some strange creatures which is depicted in a very Ghiblish way. The most successful one in my opinion being the Harpies. These evil birdlike creatures was meant to be scary in the original story. Tage Danielssons version of them may be scary if you are a 6 year old child. But the Ghibli Harpies gives me goosebumps every time I see them.
The animation is done with CGI, which is unusual for a Ghibli production. Sadly it makes some scenes look a little bit too synthetic. In other scenes they have manage to squeeze in enough filler animation in between everything to makes the characters feel more organic and alive.
When I first started watching the series I had some problems accepting the CGI animations. I had hoped for a classic hand-drawn Ghibli production. But I guess this was the tradeoff they had to do to make it a 26 episode series.
After a couple of episodes however I stopped noticing it.
For most people I think the animation is where this show will stand or fall. Its not bad, but its not what you would expect.
Some will probably find the protagonist Ronja to be a little annoying in the first 3 or 5 episodes. While she is out exploring the world she finds even the simples things in the forest very amusing. She is constantly laughing intensely at everything. This is a passing phase and won't be that extreme the whole series.
Now go and watch this show!
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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