Like so many classic children’s characters, Pippi Longstocking was born from a child’s request for a story. While confined to her sickbed, young Karin Lindgren asked her mother, the adventurous Swedish journalist Astrid Lindgren, to tell her a story about Pippi Långstrump. Or, as we know her in English, Pippi Longstocking — a name that Karin pulled out of thin air and invented right there on the spot.

Working just as fast, Astrid fabricated a story to go along with this newly created character, giving her a mismatched, raggedy outfit, and a pet monkey. More importantly, she granted Pippi superhuman strength and a rebellious personality that was unconventional in the 1940s, a reflection of Lindgren’s “own childish longing for a person who has power but does not abuse it.” The budding author later put pen to paper and turned her stories into a manuscript. And from there, the rest is history.

Since her debut in 1945, Pippi Longstocking has become an icon. Her books have been sold all over the world, translated into dozens of different languages. Pippi’s freckled face and red hair, with those uniquely styled pigtails, are instantly recognizable to millions of people — but perhaps not so much to younger generations. This brings up the question: is it time for a modern adaptation of Pippi Longstocking?

Pippi’s Adaptation History
IdunaFilm

Between 1945 and 1948, Lindgren wrote only three chapter books featuring Pippi Longstocking. But this famous literary character has been adapted multiple times across both film and TV over the years, with the earliest adaptation being a 1949 black-and-white Swedish film starring Viveca Serlachius as the titular character.

One of Pippi’s most famous appearances was in a 1969 Swedish/German TV series based on Lindgren’s books. That same year, this thirteen-episode show was re-edited to create two feature films, which were later followed by two additional films starring the original TV cast.

In the late 1970s, famed director Hayao Miyazaki and producer Toshio Suzuki were passionate about adapting the story into a movie, and even flew to Sweden to meet Astrid Lindgren to get her approval for the project — but they were unsuccessful. However, the character of Pippi would go on to influence many of Miyazaki’s later works.

Related: The 10 Most Dangerous Child Protagonists In Movies

Probably the most famous adaptation for Americans is the 1988 The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking, a musical adventure live action film that saw Tami Erin as Pippi. The most recent release came years after, in 1997 in the form of a new medium: the animated movie, Pippi Longstocking. That film’s success birthed an animated TV series, which ran until 1998.

Since then, Pippi has been in hibernation and hasn’t appeared in any new adaptations. Maybe it’s time to bring her character back to the screen — but would Pippi Longstocking even work in today’s world?

Rent The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking and the Pippi Longstocking animated film on Apple TV+

Some Aspects Are Controversial and Dated

There are definitely some aspects of Pippi Longstocking that feel dated, moments that have aged more like milk than wine — and we’re not just talking about the monkey that she keeps as a pet, or the horse that she uses as transportation and constantly lifts over her head, which may not sit well with modern animal lovers.

One of the biggest problems is the story’s handling of race. These issues pop up most in the third book, Pippi in the South Seas. Here, Pippi is reunited with her lost father, who’s become the king of an island. Pippi herself becomes a princess, and the two of them rule over the island’s inhabitants: primitive, dark-skinned natives.

Related: 10 Inspirational Movies That Will Make You Love Being A Woman

These people wait on Pippi and her father like slaves, obeying their every beck and call, fanning them to keep them cool in the heat. This prejudiced depiction would make some modern viewers shake their heads while generating outrage in others. The 1969 TV show takes this racial insensitivity even further when Pippi shouts out, “My father is the N*gro King!”

This isn’t the only racist moment in the show. In another scene, Pippi stretches her eyes and sings a song in an Asian accent. Both scenes were cut from Swedish public television in 2014. A modern adaptation would need to avoid this plotline and any racial stereotypes in order to work with modern audiences.

Pippi Is the Perfect Heroine for Our Times
Columbia Pictures

Despite the aforementioned issues, Pippi Longstocking could absolutely work in a modern adaptation. In a world of increased feminist values and gender fluidity, she refuses to conform to gender norms and society’s expectations of her. Pippi also defies typical beauty standards, a rising trend in a society that now applauds body types of all shapes, sizes, and colors.

When passing by a drugstore and spotting a sign that says “Do you suffer from freckles?”, Pippi walks into the store to inform the proprietor that she’s not suffering from her freckles at all. Pippi is the embodiment of self-love and self-acceptance. She happily embraces her unique personality and appearance, freckles and all.

Pippi is strong — not just physically, but mentally. To see how such a powerful and wild character would fit in today’s modern world of social media, instant gratification and being glued to screens, could be fascinating. This sassy, rebellious girl is the perfect heroine for contemporary audiences and could serve as a great role model for little girls everywhere.