The Prankster, the Funster, and the Overhelper: The Comedy of Mischief in the Swedish folkhem

This chapter on the comedy of mischief in Swedish cinema explains the popularity of little rascals as a public interplay between adult filmmakers, child actors, and young spectators. We argue that the intergenerational complicity between the rascals and their adult partners, was a central tenet in the formation of a democratic culture. Civic education does not only mean learning to obey, but also to develop a mind of one’s own by enjoying rule-breaking pranks. The development of the Swedish rascal, rackarunge, is highlighted in films ranging from the successful matinée favourite Anderssonskans Kalle (1922), via the popular Pippi Longstocking (1969) made for children’s television, to the family film Emil and the Piglet (1973). The little rascal was transformed into a popular hero in line with the different phases of folkhemmet (‘the People’s Home’). Kalle uses pranks as a counter-strategy against local slander and social injustice in an urban community. The legendary prankster was refigured as a crazy funster by Pippi Longstocking, who challenged the middle-class order and rationality by playful creativity. The ‘overhelper’ Emil of Lonneberga updated the rascal tradition with a historical distance.