On 23 February 2019, the red parrot who played Rosalinda in the classic Pippi Longstocking film Pippi Långstrump på de sju haven/Pippi in the South Seas (Olle Hellbom, 1970) has died. Remember how Rosalind croaked “You’re a pumpkin, a pumpkin” at the father of Pippi Longstocking when she was locked together with him in a tower dungeon? Rosalinda's real name was Douglas, yes she was a male. Douglas died of old age at the Karlsruhe Zoo, aged 51. His story was a tragic tale: the former film star was the victim of brutal Swedish bureaucracy!
Douglas and friend in 2016, Malmö reptilcenter, Folkets Park, Malmö, Sweden. Photo: Paul van Yperen.
German postcard by Edition Tushita, no. B 921. Photo: Tushita / Cinemathek.
German postcard by Art concept. Photo: dpo-Bildarchiv.
The scarlet macaw at the right of our photo above was one of Sweden's most famous animal film stars. He was called Douglas and played the female parrot Rosalinda in the classic children's film Pippi Långstrump på de sju haven/Pippi in the South Seas (Olle Hellbom, 1970). Remember how Rosalinda croaked “You’re a pumpkin, a pumpkin!” at the father of Pippi Longstocking when she was locked together with him in a tower dungeon?
Douglas was one the few film stars we actually met. In 2016, we visited the Reptilcenter, a small tropical house at the Folkets Park in Malmö, Sweden, where Douglas then he spent his well-earned retirement. But sadly he could not be there for long anymore.
Swedish bureaucracy threatened the then 49-year-old bird with death. Because his cage in the Malmö Reptilcenter was too small according to new regulations, the authorities wanted him to sleep. The Swedish Agricultural Office considered that the three-square-foot cage where Douglas lived with the green parrot lady Gojan, was too small. The birds could not fly in it and would need an aviary of at least 30 square meters. And if that was not possible, the birds would have to be put down.
Zookeeper Frank Madsen was desperate. “Such a big cage is only possible in the outdoor area,” he told the press. “And outside the two would freeze.” Normally an Ara of this kind does not get older than 28 years. The reason that Douglas could no longer fly, is not the lack of space but his age. “It’s nonsense to resettle the two birds now, while they live only three to four years more anyway.” However, the two parrots had to move. Swedish bureaucracy is the worst in the world.
It was not the first time the bird made headlines. In 2002, Douglas garnered much attention in the Swedish press when authorities were considering putting him to death because his owner did not have the proper paperwork. A petition pleading for Douglas's life received over 50,000 signatures, including that of actress Inger Nilsson, who played Pippi in the 1970 film. Ultimately Douglas was spared after his first owner in Sweden produced the correct paperwork, showing that Douglas had been legally imported from Brazil in 1967.
In 2005, Douglas was moved to the small Malmö Reptilcenter in Folkets Parkö, where he lived happily with a female blue-and-yellow macaw called Gojan. Till the problems with the bureaucrats started again in 2016. After zoo director Frank Madsen had turned to the press, he received more than 100 offers for a new home for Douglas and Gojan.
Ultimately the Karlsruhe Zoo in Germany was selected and in April 2016, Madsen himself delivered Douglas and Gojan to Karlsruhe, where they were welcomed by the city mayor and a children's choir. Douglas went on to become one of the zoo's chief attractions. After Gojan died at the age of 45 in September 2016, the zoo paired Douglas with Rubin, a 22-year-old scarlet macaw that arrived in October that year.to be
Dutch postcard by Semic International, 1971. Caption: With permission of Astrid Lindgren. Pictured are Inger Nilsson as Pippi, and Beppe Wolgers as her father, Captain Efraim Longstocking.
Dutch postcard by Semic International, 1971. Caption: With permission of Astrid Lindgren.
Dutch postcard by Semic International, 1971. Caption: With permission of Astrid Lindgren.
Pippi Långstrump på de sju haven/Pippi in the South Seas (Olle Hellbom, 1970) was a sequel to the classic Swedish Pippi Langstrump (Pippi Longstocking) television series about a super-strong redheaded little girl, based on the books by Astrid Lindgren. Opposite Douglas in his memorable starring role as the parrot Rosalinda, the young Inger Nilsson gave a confident oddball performance as Pippi.
Pippi Långstrump på de sju haven/Pippi in the South Seas (Olle Hellbom, 1970) was Swedish-German coproduction and there are alternative versions of the production. The 4-part German TV version called Pippi und die Seeräuber/Pippi and the Pirates has lots of rare footage never seen in Sweden. These are deleted scenes from the film, according to IMDb. They may have been included in each episode to patch up the running time.
The first episode of the original Pippi Langstrump series was broadcast on Sveriges Radio TV in February 1969. The production was a Swedish-West German co-production and several German actors had roles in the series. As Astrid Lindgren was unhappy with the 1949 adaptation, she wrote the script herself for this version. The series was directed by Olle Hellbom who also directed several other Astrid Lindgren adaptations.
Originally, Astrid Lindgren had spinned the tales of Pippi Langstrump for the entertainment of her children. She never thought of printing Pippi's remarkable creative tales until incapacitated with a twisted ankle. Initially rejected by publishers, the tales of Pippi Longstocking were put to print in the year after Lindgren's literary debut. The first three Pippi chapter books were published from 1945 to 1948, followed by three short stories and a number of picture book adaptations. Eventually spawning an estimated 40 film and television adaptations and selling nearly 130 million copies translated into dozens of languages.
In Pippi Långstrump på de sju haven/Pippi in the South Seas (Olle Hellbom, 1970) receives a message in a bottle that her father, Captain Efraim Longstocking, has been captured by South Seas pirates. Along with her best friends Tommy and Annika and her pet monkey Mr. Nilsson, Pippi steals a hot air balloon and sets off to Taka Tuka Island to save him. There she faces the gang of pirates who captured her father and the secret spy of the gang... Rosalinda!
The Pippi Langstrump series has been repeated numerous times on European TV stations. The series was re-edited as three feature films for the cinemas: Pippi Långstrump/Pippi Longstocking (1969), Pippi går ombord/Pippi Goes on Board (1969) and Här kommer Pippi Långstrump/Here Comes Pippi Longstocking (1973).
Another two feature film spin-offs were also shown in the cinemas: Pippi Långstrump på de sju haven/Pippi in the South Seas (1970) and På rymmen med Pippi Långstrump/Pippi on the Run (1970). They became weekend television staples throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
Back to Douglas. Last Saturday, 23 February 2019, he died of old age at the Karlsruhe Zoo, aged 51. His old keeper in Malmö, Frank Madsen, said Douglas had a vocabulary of 50 words, and his handler in Karlsruhe, Maria Rüssel, remembered him as a "great character" with whom she developed a "true friendship". We wish Douglas to rest in peace. And to the fundamentalists at the Swedish Agricultural Office we can only say: “You’re a pumpkin, a pumpkin”!
Dutch postcard by Semic International, 1971.
Dutch postcard, 1971. Photo: Semic International. Publicity still for Pippi Långstrump/Pippi Longstocking (Olle Hellbom, 1969) with Inger Nillson as Pipi, right Maria Persson as Annika, and left Pär Sundberg as Tommy.
Dutch postcard by Semic International, 1971. Photo: publicity still for Pippi Långstrump/Pippi Longstocking (Olle Hellbom, 1969), with Inger Nilsson as Pippi.
Sources: Jason Buchanan (AllMovie), BBC News, NOS.nl (Dutch), Wikipedia and IMDb.
Douglas and friend in 2016, Malmö reptilcenter, Folkets Park, Malmö, Sweden. Photo: Paul van Yperen.
German postcard by Edition Tushita, no. B 921. Photo: Tushita / Cinemathek.
German postcard by Art concept. Photo: dpo-Bildarchiv.
You're a pumpkin, a pumpkin!
The scarlet macaw at the right of our photo above was one of Sweden's most famous animal film stars. He was called Douglas and played the female parrot Rosalinda in the classic children's film Pippi Långstrump på de sju haven/Pippi in the South Seas (Olle Hellbom, 1970). Remember how Rosalinda croaked “You’re a pumpkin, a pumpkin!” at the father of Pippi Longstocking when she was locked together with him in a tower dungeon?
Douglas was one the few film stars we actually met. In 2016, we visited the Reptilcenter, a small tropical house at the Folkets Park in Malmö, Sweden, where Douglas then he spent his well-earned retirement. But sadly he could not be there for long anymore.
Swedish bureaucracy threatened the then 49-year-old bird with death. Because his cage in the Malmö Reptilcenter was too small according to new regulations, the authorities wanted him to sleep. The Swedish Agricultural Office considered that the three-square-foot cage where Douglas lived with the green parrot lady Gojan, was too small. The birds could not fly in it and would need an aviary of at least 30 square meters. And if that was not possible, the birds would have to be put down.
Zookeeper Frank Madsen was desperate. “Such a big cage is only possible in the outdoor area,” he told the press. “And outside the two would freeze.” Normally an Ara of this kind does not get older than 28 years. The reason that Douglas could no longer fly, is not the lack of space but his age. “It’s nonsense to resettle the two birds now, while they live only three to four years more anyway.” However, the two parrots had to move. Swedish bureaucracy is the worst in the world.
It was not the first time the bird made headlines. In 2002, Douglas garnered much attention in the Swedish press when authorities were considering putting him to death because his owner did not have the proper paperwork. A petition pleading for Douglas's life received over 50,000 signatures, including that of actress Inger Nilsson, who played Pippi in the 1970 film. Ultimately Douglas was spared after his first owner in Sweden produced the correct paperwork, showing that Douglas had been legally imported from Brazil in 1967.
In 2005, Douglas was moved to the small Malmö Reptilcenter in Folkets Parkö, where he lived happily with a female blue-and-yellow macaw called Gojan. Till the problems with the bureaucrats started again in 2016. After zoo director Frank Madsen had turned to the press, he received more than 100 offers for a new home for Douglas and Gojan.
Ultimately the Karlsruhe Zoo in Germany was selected and in April 2016, Madsen himself delivered Douglas and Gojan to Karlsruhe, where they were welcomed by the city mayor and a children's choir. Douglas went on to become one of the zoo's chief attractions. After Gojan died at the age of 45 in September 2016, the zoo paired Douglas with Rubin, a 22-year-old scarlet macaw that arrived in October that year.to be
Dutch postcard by Semic International, 1971. Caption: With permission of Astrid Lindgren. Pictured are Inger Nilsson as Pippi, and Beppe Wolgers as her father, Captain Efraim Longstocking.
Dutch postcard by Semic International, 1971. Caption: With permission of Astrid Lindgren.
Dutch postcard by Semic International, 1971. Caption: With permission of Astrid Lindgren.
A confident oddball performance
Pippi Långstrump på de sju haven/Pippi in the South Seas (Olle Hellbom, 1970) was a sequel to the classic Swedish Pippi Langstrump (Pippi Longstocking) television series about a super-strong redheaded little girl, based on the books by Astrid Lindgren. Opposite Douglas in his memorable starring role as the parrot Rosalinda, the young Inger Nilsson gave a confident oddball performance as Pippi.
Pippi Långstrump på de sju haven/Pippi in the South Seas (Olle Hellbom, 1970) was Swedish-German coproduction and there are alternative versions of the production. The 4-part German TV version called Pippi und die Seeräuber/Pippi and the Pirates has lots of rare footage never seen in Sweden. These are deleted scenes from the film, according to IMDb. They may have been included in each episode to patch up the running time.
The first episode of the original Pippi Langstrump series was broadcast on Sveriges Radio TV in February 1969. The production was a Swedish-West German co-production and several German actors had roles in the series. As Astrid Lindgren was unhappy with the 1949 adaptation, she wrote the script herself for this version. The series was directed by Olle Hellbom who also directed several other Astrid Lindgren adaptations.
Originally, Astrid Lindgren had spinned the tales of Pippi Langstrump for the entertainment of her children. She never thought of printing Pippi's remarkable creative tales until incapacitated with a twisted ankle. Initially rejected by publishers, the tales of Pippi Longstocking were put to print in the year after Lindgren's literary debut. The first three Pippi chapter books were published from 1945 to 1948, followed by three short stories and a number of picture book adaptations. Eventually spawning an estimated 40 film and television adaptations and selling nearly 130 million copies translated into dozens of languages.
In Pippi Långstrump på de sju haven/Pippi in the South Seas (Olle Hellbom, 1970) receives a message in a bottle that her father, Captain Efraim Longstocking, has been captured by South Seas pirates. Along with her best friends Tommy and Annika and her pet monkey Mr. Nilsson, Pippi steals a hot air balloon and sets off to Taka Tuka Island to save him. There she faces the gang of pirates who captured her father and the secret spy of the gang... Rosalinda!
The Pippi Langstrump series has been repeated numerous times on European TV stations. The series was re-edited as three feature films for the cinemas: Pippi Långstrump/Pippi Longstocking (1969), Pippi går ombord/Pippi Goes on Board (1969) and Här kommer Pippi Långstrump/Here Comes Pippi Longstocking (1973).
Another two feature film spin-offs were also shown in the cinemas: Pippi Långstrump på de sju haven/Pippi in the South Seas (1970) and På rymmen med Pippi Långstrump/Pippi on the Run (1970). They became weekend television staples throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
Back to Douglas. Last Saturday, 23 February 2019, he died of old age at the Karlsruhe Zoo, aged 51. His old keeper in Malmö, Frank Madsen, said Douglas had a vocabulary of 50 words, and his handler in Karlsruhe, Maria Rüssel, remembered him as a "great character" with whom she developed a "true friendship". We wish Douglas to rest in peace. And to the fundamentalists at the Swedish Agricultural Office we can only say: “You’re a pumpkin, a pumpkin”!
Dutch postcard by Semic International, 1971.
Dutch postcard, 1971. Photo: Semic International. Publicity still for Pippi Långstrump/Pippi Longstocking (Olle Hellbom, 1969) with Inger Nillson as Pipi, right Maria Persson as Annika, and left Pär Sundberg as Tommy.
Dutch postcard by Semic International, 1971. Photo: publicity still for Pippi Långstrump/Pippi Longstocking (Olle Hellbom, 1969), with Inger Nilsson as Pippi.
Sources: Jason Buchanan (AllMovie), BBC News, NOS.nl (Dutch), Wikipedia and IMDb.
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