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A British young children's cartoon made in 1980, consisting of [[BritishBrevity 13 five-minute episodes]] narrated by Creator/RayBrooks. Each episode was focused around the antics of Rollo, an inept and profoundly [[{{Manchild}} childish]] monarch, who was kept in check by his parent figures, the [[CourtMage magician]] and [[AlmightyJanitor cook]].

Besides British television, the King Rollo shorts also broadcast in the United States as a segment on the Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} show ''Series/{{Pinwheel}}''.

!Tropes in this series:
* AlmightyJanitor: Rollo would usually defer to the advice of the cook.
* AnimatedAdaptation: The cartoons were adapted from the King Rollo books by David [=McKee=], published from 1979 to 2001.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: King Rollo's reasons for not liking King Frank: "He's bossy, he cheats, and he's bigger than me!". Later, King Rollo denies the first two, but admits that King Frank is taller than him.
%% * TheCaligula: An [[DownplayedTrope unusually benign example]], but Rollo is nonetheless completely incapable of being in charge of a lemonade stand, let alone a kingdom.
%% * CourtMage: The Magician.
* CopycatMockery: By Hamlet the cat, who often imitates King Rollo, especially King Rollo's sad walk at the beginning of "King Frank".
* DownerEnding: The episode "The Comic" ended with Queen Gwen angrily leaving King Rollo when King Rollo was too busy reading a comic book at the dinner table to pay any attention to her. King Rollo then laments that he now has nothing to do.
* FunnyBackgroundEvent:
** Hamlet the cat is frequently involved in these. For example, King Rollo opens a cupboard and lots of shoes fall out, mostly on Hamlet.
** King Rollo is very miserable about King Frank's imminent visit, saying he doesn't like King Frank; but when King Frank arrives, they have a lot of fun together. Throughout the episode, the Magician is in the background, reading his book of spells; perhaps he is whispering spells under his breath.
* HyperCompetentSidekick: Hamlet, King Rollo's cat, was more than just a pet. He often proved himself to be smarter than Rollo.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: When playing with his toy bow and arrow, Rollo hits the bullseye with his first shot, and hits the shaft of the previous one with each of the next two.
* LaboriousLaces: King Rollo buys himself his first pair of lace-up shoes, but does not know how to tie them. The Magician shows him how, and tells King Rollo to practise, which he does with great difficulty. Everybody else hears strange noises from his bedroom, including a shoe being thrown. However, he is proud when he succeeds.
* {{Manchild}}: King Rollo of course. His daily schedule is indistinguishable from that of a five-year-old boy, wanting to play with toys, visit friends or just have fun. His kingdom doesn't seem to suffer too much from his behaviour, though.
%% * NarratingTheObvious: Inevitable, given its very young target audience.
* ParentalSubstitute: Both the Magician (a father figure) and the Cook (a mother figure) to Rollo.
* ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: The kingdom requires absolutely no royal supervision to keep it ticking over. This is fortunate for Rollo, whose time is thus freed up for activities such as climbing trees and playing with a train set. It is also fortunate for the population, who would no doubt be in for a world of trouble if their king ever had to make a decision more momentous than which sock he should put on first.
%% * PluckyComicRelief: Hamlet the cat.
* SillyWalk: Rollo never goes anywhere without flailing his arms wildly.
* SolemnEndingTheme: After Rollo's selfish comic-reading at the dinner table causes Queen Gwen to abandon him, the usual happy ending music is replaced with this.
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