History YMMV / OlsenBanden

* SoOkayItsAverage: The Norwegian version of the very last movie, ''Olsenbandens siste stikk.'' As listed in the {{Sequelitis}} entry above, the original Danish version (''Olsen-bandens sidste stik'') is not very well liked -- but the Norwegian version of the movie got a more positive reception. While fans agreed that it's ''not'' the best in the series, it was generally viewed as at least an okayish finale. While Carsten Byhring, the Norwegian Kjell, had been dead for years, and so doesn't appear in the movie at all, it helped that his role in the gang was taken over by Valborg (the Norwegian Yvonne) and Harry, who were both popular with fans, and whose actors still had the charm and comic timing that had made them popular in the first place. The characters and actors have also aged better than as the Danish ones; they are older and less agile than before (which gets {{Lampshaded}} by Harry, who now walks with a cane after an explosion-related accident, and at one point raises a fuss because he doesn't want to climb a staircase with his bad leg), but they still bring a lot of heart and energy to the movie, which is accepted by the fans as a much-deserved happy ending for the surviving members of the gang.

* NightmareFuel:

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The jazzy [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_adWFrdBDU theme]] (written by Bent Fabricius-Bjerre, the man behind the "Alley Cat") remains one of the most beloved tunes in Denmark today.
** Same with the [[https://youtu.be/kUBYYPlOYc4 Swedish]] theme by Ragnar Grippe, a short electronic tune with different arranges in each of the films. In general, the electronic soundtracks he wrote for the movies really add to the more intense scenes.
* FanonDiscontinuity:
** The Danish gang was reunited in 1998, 17 years after the last film. The new film did not entirely capture the magic of old, in part due to the lack of Yvonne (whose actress had died) and the death of Poul Bundgaard, the actor who played Kjeld, half way through filming (he was replaced by a double who is only filmed from behind). It was a bittersweet experience for most to see the gang back together, but looking rather decrepid, in a story that clearly had to be rewritten to excuse Kjeld from the action.
** Averted with the Norwegian version. While fans agree that the movie is ''not'' the best in the series, it's generally viewed as at least an okayish finale. While Carsten Byhring, the Norwegian Kjell, had been dead for years, and so doesn't appear in the movie at all, it helped that his role in the gang was taken over by Valborg (the Norwegian Yvonne) and Harry, who were both popular with fans, and whose actors still had the charm and comic timing that had made them popular in the first place. The characters and actors have aged better than the Danish ones; they are older and less agile than before (which gets {{Lampshaded}} by Harry, who now walks with a cane after an explosion-related accident, and at one point raises a fuss because he doesn't want to climb a staircase with his bad leg), but they still bring a lot of heart and energy to the movie, which is accepted by the fans as a much-deserved happy ending for the surviving members of the gang.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Jensen's expository speech about how the politicians are letting a group of large multinational companies take control of Europe from 1979 has only gotten more worrying over the decades:
--> You see, young man, the politicians have to consider the voters. The people and suchlike. The big multinational companies don't have to do that. They can just focus on the real issues. Budget control, contribution margin, management, profitability. Survival of the fittest. They'll run everything just fine.

** Benny's brother Harry is a minor character in the original Danish series, but both in the Norwegian and Swedish versions he was so popular he got much larger roles, even becoming a permanent member of the gang in the Swedish version.
** To much lesser extent than in Eastern Germany, the Danish series was still very popular throughout the rest of Eastern Block. Censors had no political issues with it, while audiences considered them both amusing and as a window to the Western world.
* GrowingTheBeard: The first two movies in the Danish version mainly rely on sight gags and love stories. The third, ''Olsen Banden in Jutland'', is widely considered the first ''real'' Olsen-Banden movie.
* HilariousInHindsight:
** In the 9th Danish movie ''Olsen Banden Deruda'' (1977) Yvonne's computer-savvy nephew Georg mocks Egon's age, saying that in America leaders are burned out and fired when they hit forty. Three years later the septuagenarian UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan was elected president, becoming the oldest American president ever. Disproven once again when UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump became president, just barely edging out Reagan in age (70 vs. 69), and ''again'' when UsefulNotes/JoeBiden became a President-elect at age 77.
** In one of the Swedish comics, Vanheden's cry of "25 ''långschalar''[[note]]25 000SEK, with "långschalar" being Stockholman slang for 1 000SEK[[/note]]! We're rich!!!" is already over-the-top considering how the gang tends to earn much more on their heists in the films... But it seems even more of an overreaction every year, what with the crown's value diminishing to the point where the same amount of money in 2020 would be worth less than ''half'' as much in the 1980's (when the films, and therefore comics by extension, take place). Could also be HarsherInHindsight, depending on your sense of humour.

** ''Jönssonligan på Mallorca'' has a few instances of this:
*** In one scene, the gang has to break into a seaside mansion, where the only access is a trap door leading to a system of seaside caves. The only way to get up to the door is by flooding the shaft and floating up, which is a very claustrophobic scene. Making it worse is that Dynamite-Harry lets the waters out too soon, leading to Sickan having no way to escape the room with the safe, and is caught by the villains. Vanheden also has to climb up a nearly-vertical cliff to reach the mansion pool and drain it to flood the shaft for Sickan. He almost falls down several times, especially when Harry has to dynamite part of the caves to allow the water in.
*** One of the villains, Ödlan ("the Lizard"), stands out a lot from the rest of the cast in an unsettling manner. He's a dwarf with extremely pale skin, which makes him stand out from not just the native Mallorcans but also the other Swedes, including his own brother. (This became NightmareRetardant for some Swedes as the same actor eventually became the mascot for ''Ipren'', a Swedish brand of painkiller).
* SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames: The two Swedish games, while very short, fall under this. The series staple of Charles-Ingvar listing the items needed for his plans translates well to a PointAndClickGame, with the player having to figure out how to collect and actually use said items, and the characters have unique, voiced reactions to most of the interactable objects and other characters in the game. It helps that most of the original actors lended their voices to the game, except for Charles-Ingvar's actor, Gösta Ekman Jr; while his replacement takes a ''[[SmugSnake different]]'' and comically exaggerated approach to the character, it still fits the mood. That said, the second game, while definitely an upgrade in the graphics department, is sometimes considered [[FirstInstallmentWins not as fun as the first]].

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Though never unpopular in Denmark, the films enjoyed great popularity in Eastern Germany, where they were easily allowed broadcast as the target of the gang's heists were pretty much all greedy capitalist archetypes. Allegedly the people of the DDR liked it because they saw it as a tale of "the little man vs. [[TheMan the system]]".

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: In the pre-credit heists, Egon often resigns and accepts his impending arrest, even if he would still have a chance to run. While no official reason is given, some people interpret it as him giving Kjeld and Benny a better chance to escape.

** Same with the [[https://youtu.be/kUBYYPlOYc4 Swedish]] theme by Ragnar Grippe. In general, the soundtracks he wrote for the movies really add to the more intense scenes.

** The Danish gang was reunited in 1998, 17 years after the last film. The new film did not entirely capture the magic of old, in part due to the lack of Yvonne (the actress had died) and the death of Poul Bundgaard, the actor who played Kjeld, half way through filming (he was replaced by a double who is only filmed from behind). It was a bittersweet experience for most to see the gang back together, but looking rather decrepid, in a story that clearly had to be rewritten to excuse Kjeld from the action.
** Averted with the Norwegian version. While fans agree that the movie is ''not'' the best in the series, it's generally viewed as at least an okayish finale. While Carsten Byhring, the Norwegian Kjell, had been dead for years, and so doesn't appear in the movie at all, it helped that his role in the gang was taken over by Valborg (the Norwegian Yvonne) and Harry, who were both popular with fans, and whose actors still had the charm and comic timing that had made them popular in the first place. The characters and actors have aged better than the Danish ones; they are older and less agile than before (it's even {{Lampshaded}} by Harry, who now walks with a cane after an explosion-related accident, and at one point raises a fuss because he doesn't want to climb a staircase with his bad leg), but they still bring a lot of heart and energy to the movie, which is accepted by the fans as a much-deserved happy ending for the surviving members of the gang.

** In the 9th Danish movie ''Olsen Banden Deruda'' (1977) Yvonne's computer-savvy nephew Georg mocks Egon's age, saying that in America leaders are burned out and fired when they hit forty. Three years later the septuagenarian UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan was elected president, becoming the oldest American president ever. Disproven once again when UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump became president, just barely edging out Reagan in age (70 vs. 69), and ''again'' when UsefulNotes/JoeBiden became a President-elect at age 77.
** The Olsen gang wouldn't be the [[VideoGame/PAYDAY2 last burglars]] to make a heist during a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHEMDWVEtIA musician's performance]].

** The grenade in the third film. Especially when it's charging straight at the trio.

** One film featured a scary acid factory where Biffen intends to dump Egon in a vat of steaming acid.
** If you have a fear of heights, the infamous clocktower scene is scary, with the characters forced to climb around on the clock face hundreds of feet above the air. It's especially bad for Sickan in the Swedish movie when his arms are tied behind his back and he can't even cling to safety - and he almost ''detaches himself from the clock and falls to his knees'' from trying to loosen up the ropes around his wrists.

* SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames: The two Swedish games, while very short, fall under this. The series staple of Charles-Ingvar listing the ingredients needed for his plans translates well to a PointAndClickGame, with the player having to figure out how to collect and actually use them, and the characters have unique, voiced reactions to most of the interactable objects and other characters in the game. It helps that most of the original actors lended their voices to the game, except for Charles-Ingvar's actor, Gösta Ekman Jr; while his replacement takes a ''[[SmugSnake different]]'' and comically exaggerated approach to the character, it still fits the mood. That said, the second game, while definitely an upgrade in the graphics department, is sometimes considered [[FirstInstallmentWins not as fun as the first]].

** Same with the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42zMSXt3nW4 Swedish]] theme by Ragnar Grippe. In general, the soundtracks he wrote for the movies really add to the more intense scenes.

** In one of the Swedish comics, Vanheden's cry of "25 ''långschalar''[[note]]25 000SEK, with "långschalar" being Stockholman slang for 1 000SEK[[/note]]! We're rich!!!" is already over-the-top considering how the gang tends to earn much more on their heists in the films... But it seems even more of an overreaction every year, what with the crown's value diminishing to the point where 25 000SEK in 2020 would be worth less than ''half'' as much in the 1980's (when the films, and therefore comics by extension, take place). Could also be HarsherInHindsight, depending on your sense of humour.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Stellan Skarsgård, at least to non-Swedish viewers, who would only become familiar with the actor in the 2000s.

* CelibateHero: While Egon does have an interest in women in the first two movies, he seems to have zero understanding or patience for either the emotional or the physical side of such a relationship in the later movies. Sickan from the Swedish movies is similar; he does occasionally check out women but has virtually zero actual interest in them, despite his love for the other sweet aspects of life money can buy.

** If you have a fear of heights, the infamous clocktower scene is scary, with the characters forced to climb around on the clock face hundreds of feet above the air. It's especially bad for Sickan in the Swedish movie when his arms are tied behind his back and he can't even cling to safety - and he almost ''detaches himself from the clock and falls'' from trying to loosen up the ropes around his wrists.

* SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames: The two Swedish games, while very short, fall under this. The series staple of Charles-Ingvar listing the ingredients needed for his plans and the player then figuring out how to collect and actually use them translates well to a PointAndClickGame, and the characters have unique, voiced reactions to most of the interactable objects and other characters in the game. It helps that most of the original actors lended their voices to the game, except for Charles-Ingvar's actor, Gösta Ekman Jr; while his replacement takes a ''[[SmugSnake different]]'' and comically exaggerated approach to the character, it still fits the mood. That said, the second game, while definitely an upgrade in the graphics department, is sometimes considered [[FirstInstallmentWins not as fun as the first]].

%* TheWoobie:
%** Kjeld. ''So'' much.
%** Harry, especially in the Norwegian version.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: In the pre-credit heists, Egon often resigns and accepts his impending arrest, even if he would still have a chance to run. Is it possible he does that to give Kjeld and Benny a better chance to escape?

** Same with the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42zMSXt3nW4 Swedish]] theme.
* CelibateHero: While Egon does have an interest in women in the first two movies, he seems to have zero understanding or patience for either the emotional or the physical side of such a relationship in the later movies.
** Same with Sickan from the Swedish movies, who does occasionally check out women but has virtually zero actual interest in them, despite his other loves for the sweet life money can buy.

** In one of the Swedish comics, Vanheden's cry of "25 ''långschalar''[[note]]25 000SEK, with "långschalar" being Stockholman slang for 1 000 of the currency[[/note]]! We're rich!!!" seems more of an overreaction every year, what with the crown's value diminishing to the point where 25 000SEK in 2020 would be worth less than ''half'' as much in the 1980's (when the films, and therefore comics by extension, take place). Could also be HarsherInHindsight, depending on your sense of humour.

** The Olsen gang won't be the [[VideoGame/PAYDAY2 last burglars]] to make a heist during a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHEMDWVEtIA musician's performance]].

** If you have a fear of heights, the infamous clocktower scene is scary, with the characters forced to climb around on the clock face hundreds of feet above the air. It's especially bad for Sickan in the Swedish movie when his arms are tied behind his back and he can't even cling to safety.
** ''Jönssonligan på Mallorca'' has a scene where the gang has to break into a seaside mansion, where the only access is a trap door leading to a system of seaside caves. The only way to get up to the door is by flooding the shaft and floating up, which is a very claustrophobic scene. Making it worse is that Dynamite-Harry lets the waters out too soon, leading to Sickan having no way to escape the room with the safe, and is caught by the villains.
*** During that same part of the movie, Vanheden had to climb up a nearly-vertical cliff to reach the mansion pool and drain it to flood the shaft for Sickan. He almost falls down several times, especially when Harry has to dynamite part of the caves to allow the water in.
** One of the villains in this movie, Ödlan (Lizard), can be this for some people, just due to how unsettling he looks and how much he stands out. He's a dwarf with extremely pale skin, which makes him stand out from not just the native Mallorcans but also the other Swedes, including his own brother. (This became NightmareRetardant for some Swedes as the same actor eventually became the mascot for ''Ipren'', a Swedish brand of painkiller).
* SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames: The two Swedish games, while very short, fall under this. The series staple of Charles-Ingvar listing the ingredients needed for his plans and the player then figuring out how to collect and actually use them translates well to a PointAndClickGame. It helps that most of the original actors lended their voices for the game, except for Charles-Ingvar's actor, Gösta Ekman Jr; while his replacement takes a ''[[SmugSnake different]]'' approach to the character, it still fits the mood. That said, the second game is sometimes considered [[FirstInstallmentWins not as good as the first one's]].

* FanonDiscontinuity:

** Averted with the Norwegian version. While fans agree that the movie is ''not'' the best in the series, it's generally viewed as at least an okayish finale. While Carsten Byhring, the Norwegian Kjell, had been dead for years, and so doesn't appear in the movie at all, it helped that his role in the gang was taken over by Valborg (the Norwegian Yvonne) and Harry, who were both popular with fans, and whose actors still had the charm and comic timing that had made them popular in the first place. The characters and actors have aged better than the Danish ones; they are older and less agile than before (it's even {{Lampshaded}} by Harry, who now walks with a cane after an explosions-related accident, and at one point raises a fuss because he doesn't want to climb a staircase with his bad leg), but they still bring a lot of heart and energy to the movie, which is accepted by the fans as a much-deserved happy ending for the surviving members of the gang.
* FridgeHorror: A pretty mild version of Horror, admittedly, more like a TearJerker... but watching the ''Olsenbanden Jr'' movies and getting to know the younger, more heroic and vastly more successful version of the gang, it's definitely a bit of a shock to go over to the regular movies where the adult gang are criminals who never catch a break, with Egon going in and out of prison... but after a fashion, the development ''makes sense.'' No matter how much the gang are hailed as heroes at the end of one movie, they're back to being viewed as hooligans at the beginning of the next. Get one corrupt and greedy head of the orphanage fired, and another head who's just as corrupt and greedy will soon take his place. Nothing really changes; the rich douchebags keep on being rich douchebags and the poor people never catch a break. Small wonder, really, that Egon as he grew up lost his faith in humanity and decided that he might as well become a criminal for real.
* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Though never unpopular in Denmark the films enjoyed great popularity in Eastern Germany, where they were easily allowed broadcast as the target of the gang's heists were pretty much all greedy capitalist archetypes. Allegedly the people of the DDR liked it because they saw it as a tale of "the little man vs. [[TheMan the system]]".

** In the 9th Danish movie ''Olsen Banden Deruda''' (1977) Yvonne's computer-savy nephew Georg mocks Egon's age, saying that in America leaders are burned out and fired when they hit forty. Three years later the septuagenarian UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan was elected president, becoming the oldest American president ever. Disproven once again when UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump became president, just barely edging out Reagan in age (70 vs. 69).

** Egos is [[AndIMustScream walled up alive]] in ''Olsenbanden Ser Rødt''. Many suffered the same fate before him and they weren't rescued. It is strongly hinted at, although not shown, that this is what happens to [[spoiler:the villain, Baron Løvenwold, in the end]].

** If you have a fear of heights, the infamous clocktower scene us scary, with the characters forced to climb around on the clock face hundreds of feet above the air. It's especially bad for Sickan in the Swedish movie when his arms are tied behind his back and he cant even cling to safety.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Stellan Skarsgård, at least to non-Swedish viewers would only become recognisable in the 2000s.
* TheWoobie:
** Kjeld. ''So'' much.
** Harry, especially in the Norwegian version.

** Kind of averted with the Norwegian version. While fans agree that the movie is ''not'' the best in the series, it's generally viewed as an okayish finale. Carsten Byhring, the Norwegian Kjell, had been dead for years, so the movie was rewritten for his role to be filled by Valborg, the Norwegian Yvonne, and Harry, who continues his AscendedExtra role in the series... and nobody was going to complain about getting more Harry, whose actor Harald Heide-Steen still had the charm and comic timing that had made him popular in the first place. All in all, the general consencus may be that the characters are a little reduced in the final movie due to the actors being older and less agile (it's even {{Lampshaded}} by Harry, who walks with a cane after an explosions-related accident, and at one point raises a fuss because he doesn't want to walk up a staircase with his bad leg), but they have aged better than the Danish version; at least to the point where the final movie is accepted by the fans as a much-deserved happy ending for the surviving members of the gang.