When they were growing up, my kids latched onto this film. They probably watched it thirty times. I could hear it in the background until the tunes were stuck in my head. It is a musical with songs that are not all that sophisticated. The story is simplistic. But it is for kids. Pippi is played by a young lady named Tami Erin. She does a decent job as the weird daughter of a sea captain that has arrived at an old house, along with a horse and a monkey. Of course, she gravitates toward the neighbor kids whose parents immediately see her as a bad influence. She is a child, living a world of rules and regulations. Soon the cold blooded authorities swoop in. It's all pretty formula but there are nice scenes and she does kind of sparkle.

Kiddy movie about a spirited redhead named Pippi Longstocking who's separated from her sea captain father in a storm and comes to live in a small town. There she introduces the kids to her madcap ways while dealing with stuffy adults and some thieves. Okay this is meant for kids and only kids, so let's keep that in mind before ripping it apart. I know it's corny and cheesy and I can't say that I enjoyed it very much, but I think I might have if I had seen it when I was a child. I am old enough to have seen this when it was first released but, for some reason, I didn't. Truth is I forgot this movie even existed until recently catching it on TV. The cast all does fine, particularly Tami Erin as Pippi. Not recognizing her, I looked at her other roles and saw this was the biggest part in her limited acting career. I also saw that she did a sex tape a few years ago. I can only imagine that is either deeply disturbing or extremely exciting to people who were fans of her back in the day. Aside from Tami, there's some solid support from vets like Eileen Brennan, Dick Van Patten, and John Schuck. There are also many songs in this but none is more catchy than the theme song that's repeated throughout the movie. I want to warn you in advance, this song will find a corner of your brain to inhabit and it will be impossible to get it out. Overall, it's a fun little movie that will play better to pre-teen girls than anybody else. Just be prepared that it's pretty sugary and corny. Oh, and that theme song will stay in your brain forever.

This appalling film somehow saw the light of day in 1988. It looks and sounds as if it had been produced 20 or 30 years earlier, and features some of the worst songs ever included in a major motion picture. I weep for the parents and children who paid top dollar to see this.