Ronia, the Robber's Daughter (film)

Ronja, daughter of robber-chief Mattis becomes friends with Birk Borkasson. His father, robber-chief Borka, is the main rival and fiercest enemy of Ronja's father.

The film opens at the castle of Mattis (Börje Ahlstedt, Ronia’s father) and Lovis (Lena Nyman, Ronia’s mother). The weather is unfriendly, as there is heavy lightning outside. Lovis is expectant and about to give birth to a baby, Ronia (Hanna Zetterberg). The movie is then fast forwarded to ten years later when Ronia is old enough to explore the wilderness. Mattis is the head of a band of good-natured robbers, and he warns his daughter of the dangers that she is likely to meet in the wilderness. Nonetheless, Ronia sets out on the adventure and encounters the various dangers as already told by her father.

Meanwhile, there is another group of robbers that lives nearby, and they are led by Borka (Per Oscarsson). Mattis believes that the woodland around his home is his territory, and therefore, the other gang should not operate there. His frustration worsens when he realises that Borka has moved his people into the castle to live alongside Mattis’ people. Consequently, Mattis hatches a plan to drive Borka’s people away from the woodland.

Borka has a son, Birk (Dan Håfström) who happens to share a birthday with Ronia. There is some eminent enmity between Birk and Ronia at first, but the two eventually become friends. Though separated by the constantly unfriendly weather and the hatred between their parents, the dual reunites a couple of times. Mattis kidnaps Birk to force Borka’s group away, but Ronia comes out openly in support of Birk. That act forces Birk and Ronia to run away from their families, as their parents refuse to get over their enmity.

• Hanna Zetterberg as Ronja
• Dan Håfström as Birk (also as Dick Håfström)
• Börje Ahlstedt as Mattis
• Lena Nyman as Lovis
• Per Oscarsson as Borka
• Med Reventberg as Undis
• Allan Edwall as Skalle-Per
• Ulf Isenborg as Fjosok
• Henry Ottenby as Knotas
• Björn Wallde as Sturkas
• Tommy Körberg as Lill-Klippen

The film was a major success, becoming the highest-grossing 1984 film in Sweden,[6] More than 1.5 million people attended its screenings in Sweden.[7]

Particularly, it was viewed as a children's film owing to the fact that various media houses made it appear as a children's piece. The New York Times, for instance, wrote, “ALL those kids in New York who have been longing to see a movie in the original Swedish can now throng to the 23d Street Triplex, where ''Ronja Robbersdaughter'' opens today”.[8] To increase the audience size, the film was reproduced as a cartoon.[9] Espeland noted, "The story has also been made into musicals, stage plays, and an animated TV series".[10] That shows that the film was not just appealing to the ordinary viewers, it equally impressed artists who say it as an opportunity to catch more viewers.

The film has been adapted as a cartoon with a similar title, “Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter”.[11] Further, there is an English dub and a lullaby, each adapted from the same film. There is also a play written by Allison Gregory that goes by the same title.[12]

The film won Reader's Jury prize of the Berliner Morgenpost. It was in competition for a Golden Bear at the 35th Berlin International Film Festival in 1985, where it was awarded a Silver Berlin Bear for outstanding artistic contribution.[13] Additionally, the film was considered for the 58th Academy Awards as one of the best in the category of Foreign Language Films. Though it was disputed and eliminated from the list of contestants, its proposal shows that it merited to some extent.

• List of submissions to the 58th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
• List of Swedish submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

• Ronia, the Robber's Daughter at IMDb
• Ronia, the Robber's Daughter at the Swedish Film Institute Database