History Film / RolloAndTheSpiritOfTheWoods

''[[CharacterNameAndTheNounPhrase Rollo and the Spirit of the Woods]]'' (Finnish: ''Rölli ja metsänhenki'', also titled ''Rolli'') is a 2001 Finnish fantasy film directed by Olli Saarela. It is the second film based on the children's television character ''[[Series/{{Rolli}} Rölli]]'', with the first being ''Rölli – hirmuisia kertomuksia'' (English: ''Film/RolliAmazingTales'') from the year 1991. Unlike ''Rölli – hirmuisia kertomuksia'' that was much truer to the TV character, ''Rollo and the Spirit of the Woods'' was taken further into the traditional world of fantasy and adventure.

* BadassBaritone: Encouraged by Cacophony's flute-playing, the terse and snarling Big Rölli sings a beautifully melodic song in a deep tone.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* NiceHat: A number of rolleys have hats that distinguish them from each other as individuals, like Lackey, Cacophony and the Old Chief. A lot of elf men also have nice green hats.

* JerkassHasAPoint: During the election for a new rolley chieftain, Big intimidates the voters into supporting him, twisting the nose of the first voter who dares to vote for Cacophony. Losing his patience, Cacophony tirades to the voters in an offensive manner that they can support whoever candidate they want to and reap what they sow with the one they choose as their leader. He then tells Big (once again, highly offensively) that [[ManipulativeBastard Lackey]] is using him. [[DeconstructedTrope Unfortunately for Cacophony]], Big [[HumanHammerThrow throws him through the air]], but the fact that Big (who didn't much understand Cacophony's verbose tirade) does that on Lackey's incitement proves Cacophony's point right.

** True to his portrayal from TV, Rolli is mischievous, irritable, and he tries to live up to his people's bad guy image, but fails at it due to his ultimately kind heart. Though convinced to [[spoiler:lead an attack to scare the elves far away]] through peer pressure and anger, he [[spoiler:calls the attack off before it can begin the minute his burning arrow starts causing real damage]].
** Big Rolley is a growling, ill-mannered and intimidating brute, and he even wants to eat Millie at one point. Aside from that, some of his misdeeds can be attributed to his stupidity and gullibility. He takes it surprisingly well when Rolli knocks him out and replaces him as the rolleys' chieftain. He's also shown getting along well with the rolley children, allowing one to ride piggyback on him in the opening scene. [[spoiler:He also merrily dances with an elf female in the ending scene. In a deleted scene, just as Lackey gains the upper hand in the duel he has with Rolli, Big rushes to Rolli's aid and throws Lackey into the pond]].

* LackOfEmpathy: Lackey cares nothing about how the elves feel about being ripped off their homes, and even his own people's feelings don't concern him unless he can somehow exploit them. He also remorselessly causes Rolli to [[spoiler:hit the elves' tent with a flaming arrow]], and he marvels at [[spoiler:the sun being covered by the moon]] while everyone else is unsettled by this and dismayed by [[spoiler:Millie's death]]. A deleted scene plays this further by having him [[spoiler:gleefully plan how to make things worse as the new chieftain of his tribe even though everyone else is still unsettled by [[TheNightThatNeverEnds the permanent darkness]], and he mocks Rolli for mourning Millie's death]].
* LoudOfWar: When Lackey insults Cacophony and tells him to "just blow in his pipe", Cacophony responds by playing a gratingly high tone with his clarinet... with the wind blowing Lackey right in the face.
* {{Manchild}}: The growling {{dumb muscle}} Big can come off as a big irritated kid with speech impediments. During his coronation, he's eating porridge and petulantly knocks the chieftain's headgear off his head to continue his eating, with Lackey trying to make him act with more dignity. When it's time to make a speech and he can't think anything to say of, he writhes in the spot like a kid hit by stage fright.
* ManipulativeBastard: Lackey, the glib adviser of the Old Chief. When Big asserts his position in the election for a new chieftain, Lackey decides to resign and rule the tribe by influencing the [[DumbMuscle dim-witted brute]]. When Rolli accidentally knocks out Big, Lackey quickly gets in his good graces through adulation, even convincing him to [[spoiler:lead an attack to drive the elves far away]].
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Though Rolli isn't heard saying anything, his expression all but screams this trope as [[spoiler:he [[PietaPlagiarism holds Millie]] who's just been killed in the attack he started]].

* TheNightThatNeverEnds: The Master of the Scales warns Millie that if [[BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil the evil measured by his scales]] grows too heavy, the forest will be veiled by an eternal darkness. He also matter-of-factly tells Rolli that without the sunlight, all life in the forest (and elsewhere) will die. [[spoiler:When evil has won due to Millie's death, the sun is covered by the moon. This is fortunately reversed when good and evil become balanced once again.]]

* OlderThanTheyLook: The lifespan of rolleys is apparently a long one. The song they have about their wandering claims they've been traveling for three centuries. Rolli claims he's young for a rolley, less than four hundred years old.

* PietaPlagiarism: Done by [[spoiler:Rolli]] to [[spoiler:Millie]] after [[spoiler:she's crushed under a boulder]].

* RingRingCRUNCH: Anytime Rolli is awakened by an alarm clock, he starts hitting it with a hammer before throwing it into Millie's flowerbed where it finally shuts down.

** Rolli being annoyed [[RingRingCRUNCH by a ringing alarm clock]] to the point of hitting it with a hammer and throwing it into a flowerbed.

* SmugSnake: Lackey is undeniably malevolent and considers himself more shrewd than the other rolleys. The soundtrack even includes a song in which he flaunts his superior intelligence, considering brainpower to be true power.

* TastesLikeFriendship: When Millie and Rolli first meet without anyone else around, he's highly reluctant to socialize with a non-rolley out of the fear of what other rolleys might think and tells her to leave. She first attempts to get him to open up by offering to make him lichen tea when he sneezes, but the offer's immediately turned down. She then notices some captured viviparous lizards and offers to make soup from their tails. That piques Rolli's interest, and they're next shown conversing over lizard tail soup.

* TickleTorture: After Rolli's first caught by his brethren after he escaped from them with Millie, they start tickling him to teach him a lesson. Millie provoking them to chase her instead puts a stop to this.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Lackey to the rolleys. He's from the start the meanest rolley and at the forefront in showing hostility to the elves. He's the only one who's in a good mood following the attack which leads to [[spoiler:Millie dying and the sunlight being taken away. He's also the only rolley who doesn't turn nice]].
* TokenGoodTeammate: Rolli's the nicest rolley, even though he wouldn't want to admit it. His jerkass behaviour is just a defence mechanism.
* VillainSong: Lackey is the lead singer of "Lakeijan Manaus" ("Lackey's Incantation") and "Sotaanlähtö" ("To War"). He sings the former as Millie's about to be cooked, and the latter when the rolleys [[spoiler:march to drive the elves far away]]. Though it didn't make it to the movie, he has one more song of his own in the soundtrack, appropriately named "Lakeijan laulu" ("Lackey' song").
* WhamLine: When Rolli accidentally knocks out Big while rescuing Millie, he's surrounded by other rolleys and expects to be captured or attacked. Much to his surprise, Lackey -- who has shown him nothing but disdain up until this point -- calls him Rolli the Great and offers him the sceptre, saying that the first beater of Big is the new chieftain.
-->'''Lackey''': Unbelievable. No-one's ever knocked Big out. Rolli the Great, here's the sceptre. You're our new leader. I'm your humble servant.
* WhatTheHellHero: At [[spoiler:Millie's funeral]], the Master of the Scales reproaches Rolli for [[spoiler:causing Millie's death and bringing the eternal darkness over the forest]] by letting his people to act selfishly.

'''Rolli''': Just a little, not too much.\\
'''The Master of the Scales''': Not too much? What do you most wish for, Rolli?\\
'''Rolli''': Is [[spoiler:Millie]] too now going to turn into one of those great tits or wagtails? Is this all turning into a feathery tale as well? Is [[spoiler:Millie now dead]]? I'd like [[spoiler:her as an elf]].\\
'''The Master of the Scales''': [[spoiler:An an elf?]] Wasn't it you rolleys who wanted to drive all the elves and forest creatures away to... to...\\
'''Rolli''': To where the peppercorn grows.\\
'''The Master of the Scales''': Exactly. Aren't all living creatures equal? Equally worthy and important? Do you see, Rolli the Great? [[spoiler:Darkness has fallen. If the light of the sun disappears, all life in the forest will be gone.]]\\
'''Rolli''': What should I do to return everything back to normal and [[spoiler:get Millie back]]?\\

A tribe of hairy and rowdy troll-like creatures called rolleys (''röllit'') have sailed to find a new home. They beach in a lush and beautiful land, finding in the forest a village inhabited by peaceful elves (''menninkäiset''). Scared by the dirty strangers, the elves retreat from their village, and the rolleys take it as their new home. When all seems to look fine for the tribe, the Old Chief decides it's his time to leave this world and departs, leaving his leadership position open for the rolleys to compete over. It's during these turbulent times that the elves gather up the courage to meet with the rolleys and offer friendship. Unfortunately, with the tribe being directed by the glib adviser Lackey (Lakeija), the rolleys aren't willing to share the village and drive the elves away.

The brave elf girl Millie the Elf (Milli Menninkäinen) decides to try and make peace with the rolleys. She befriends the kindest rolley known as Rolli (Rölli). The other rolleys aren't pleased with one of their own fraternizing with an outsider, but Rolli and Millie have to work together to bring their peoples together, learning that the hostility is threatening the balance of the entire forest.

* {{Animorphism}}: Upon dying, the Old Chief of the rolleys turns into a turkey and joins the aviary of the Master of the Scales. [[spoiler:When Millie's dead, Rolli fears that this will happen to her as well, but fortunately nothing like that happens.]]
* ArrowsOnFire: [[spoiler:While leading the rolleys to attack the elves, Rolli plans to launch the attack with a burning arrow. He does intent to aim it at the sea, but Lackey intentionally strikes his shoulder, causing the arrow to set the elves' tents ablaze.]]
* BadassBaritone: Encouraged by Cacophony's flute-playing, the terse and snarling Big Rolley sings a beautifully melodic song in a deep tone.

* BaitAndSwitch: Soon after replacing Big as the rolley chief, Rolli finds himself alone with the giant rolley. As Big looms over him menacingly, Rolli cowers, fully expecting a beatdown. [[DefeatMeansFriendship Then Big starts laughing and applauding, even hugging and patting Rolli in the back.]]
* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: The Master of the Scales has gigantic scales he uses to measure good and evil in the forest. Concerned about how much evil is outweighing good due to the hostilities between the rolleys and the elves, he asks Millie to help him with balancing the scales. He tells that if evil conquers the world, [[TheNightThatNeverEnds an eternal darkness]] will cover the forest. [[spoiler:When Millie dies in the rolleys' attack, evil becomes so strong that the darkness the Master feared occurs. Rolli manages to return the balance and lift the darkness when he expresses his remorse to Millie's body, bringing her back to life in the process.]]

* ButNowIMustGo: [[spoiler:As soon as his scales are balanced and the sunlight has returned, the Master of the Scales departs with his scales and birds, waving goodbye for Rolli and the resurrected Millie from a distance.]]

** After being made a new chief, Rolli enjoys his new status for a time. However, when Millie asks him to bring the elves and rolleys together, he refuses to bother his head with such complicated issues and sends her away. He soon afterwards goes to ask his best friend Cacophony to make a song about him and ends up quarreling with him when he refuses to give the leadership position to him. Rolli ends up lampshading this trope by admitting that it's very lonely to be a leader.
* CoveredInMud: While first running from the rolleys, Millie trips over a root and falls face down into a sludge pond. With her face covered in mud, she goes to meet Rolli who doesn't at first recognize her as an elf until she washes herself.

* DefeatMeansFriendship: After Rolli accidentally knocks out Big and replaces him as the rolleys' chief, Big takes it surprisingly well and becomes Rolli's supporter.

* EvilChancellor: Lackey is the adviser of the rolley tribe's elderly chieftain. When the Old Chief resigns, Lackey runs for the chieftain position against Cacophony, but as soon as Big includes himself, Lackey decides to let the [[DumbMuscle dim-witted brute]] be elected and direct him. He indeed takes it upon himself to uphold the tribe's hostility toward the elves. When Rolli knocks out Big and is made the new chief, Lackey quickly convinces "Rolli the Great" to make him his adviser. He eventually manipulates Rolli into attacking the elves and drive them far away. In an aftermath deleted scene, [[spoiler:the ashamed Rolli is about to resign and Lackey decides to replace him and make things worse than they already are. Refusing to allow this, Rolli duels with Lackey and beats him with Big's help]].
* FigureItOutYourself: When Rolli asks from the Master of the Scales what he must do to [[spoiler:bring the sun back and resurrect Millie]], the Master merely says that he already knows the answer.

* HeroicBSOD: Rolli after [[spoiler:Millie dies]].

* HiddenDepths: Big Rolley is a snarling DumbMuscle who rarely utters a full word to the point that he's hit by stage fright when he's supposed to make a speech. However, when Cacophony starts playing his flute, Big sings with a deep voice and eloquently about tender feelings hidden under the rolleys' rowdy shells.
* HoistHeroOverHead: The deleted scenes include an example done to a villain; [[spoiler:while rescuing Rolli from Lackey, Big raises Lackey above his head before throwing him into the pond]].

* InTheHood: The mysterious Master of the Scales covers his face with a hood until Rolli and Millie first meet him.
* {{Jerkass}}: Lackey is mean, [[SmugSnake conceited]], manipulative, and thoroughly hostile to the elves from the beginning. In a deleted scene, he mocks [[HeroicBSOD the broken]] Rolley for failing as the chieftain and being sad over [[spoiler:Millie's death]].

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: When Millie asks how Rolli is able to sleep in the middle of a day, he answers mildly that he has always been good in bed. He then returns to his earlier cranky tone in a manner that makes him sound [[ThatCameOutWrong embarrassed of what he just said]], and Millie covers her slightly awkward smile.

* OurElvesAreBetter: These elves are the Wood Elves variety; they're peaceful, fair-haired, more nature-friendly than the rolleys, and have green as their most prominent garment color. However, they're not called elves by the Finnish term (haltija) in the movie. They're instead called menninkäinens (singular as menninkäinen), creatures that are Finnish equivalents for {{the fair folk}}.

* TokenGoodTeammate: Rolli's the nicest rolley, [[JerkassFacade even though he wouldn't want to admit it]].

** The rolleys on the whole. They're erratic, like to portray themselves as scary meanies, and they're not good at taking others into account. They don't want to share the village with its real owners, but they tolerate the ponies left there and have on the whole a good community spirit. They quickly support Lackey's idea to scare the elves away from the forest, but they lose their enthusiasm when [[spoiler:Millie dies and the sunlight's blocked]]. In the end, [[spoiler:all the rolleys expect for Lackey learn to share the village with the elves]]. The novel based on the movie states that even though rolleys try to act meaner than they are, they're quite harmless, if thoughtless.