Today I went to Stockholm to give a seminar at the Karolinska Insitutet, and that went well. On the train home I was looking out at the countryside as we went past Uppsala and for whatever reason remembered a kids’ movie I watched a loooong time ago. I know lots of kids will read the same book over and over or watch the Lion King over and over. I never really did that, except for this one show, which was my absolute favourite. Happily, the Internet is perfect for identifying something you can’t quite fully remember but would like to be reminded of.
I came home and looked up “Peter no tail”. It turns out the show I watched as a kid was an English-dubbed Swedish show from the Swedish version of the NFB. In Swedish he is called ‘Pelle Svanslös’, based on the books (which means there are probably more Peter/Pelle adventures!) I guess I have always had a taste for Swedish things?  I re-watched the first few segments and I think it stands up fairly well, despite being 29 years old. My tastes have matured a bit past some of the slapstick, but I think overall it is pretty cute and gentle watching for kids. The first few minutes with the litter of kittens in the barn in the country really does look and seem like Sweden – although maybe as a youngster I thought it was our neighbourhood. The first YouTube video is embedded above, there are 8 segments in total in case you want to make some popcorn and get ready for some cinematic chicken soup.
UPDATE!
There is a Pelle Svanslös museum AND a guided tour through his nighbourhood in Uppsala… which is where I was riding the train when I thought about it. Find all you ever wanted to know about Pelle on Wikipedia.