Troll voted in as "Greatest Fictitious Finn"

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A year and a half ago, Finland's wartime commander and post-war President, Marshal C.G. E. Mannerheim, was almost overwhelmingly voted the Greatest Finn.
      In a rather more light-hearted contest that culminated during the Night of the Arts on Thursday night, the award for the top Finnish fictitious or legendary character of all time went instead to a rather manky-haired forest troll named Rolli (Rölli in Finnish).
      Rolli the Troll, a popular children's TV character for many years, beat out three other finalists in a telephone vote in which some 43,000 took part. The competition, like the earlier one, was arranged by the Finnish Broadcasting Company.
     
The other finalists included a character from Tove Jansson's Moomintroll books, an anarchic infantryman and archetype of Finnish sisu from the novel (and popular film) The Unknown Soldier, and the totally dysfunctional but much-loved Uuno Turhapuro, hero of the Uuno series of slapstick comedy films made by the late Spede Pasanen.
      Rolli is in fact created and played by actor Allu Tuppurainen. The character is currently in retirement, though his new title may yet require him to make a comeback.
     
Among those making it into the last eight was a very recent addition to the canon - Pirk, from the remarkably successful Finnish spoof of Star Trek and Babylon 5 known as Star Wreck - In The Pirkinning (2005).
      Made available over the internet under a Creative Commons licence, this parody feature has been downloaded more than 3.5 million times, making it the most popular Finnish film of all time.
      But it did not help Pirk to gain the ultimate accolade. Still, he was in good company: another also-ran who did not quite make the grand final was the great Väinämöinen, the bearded sage and seer at the heart of the Finnish national epic Kalevala.
      The old gent was not available for comment, but was doubtless less than pleased to be upstaged by a troll. First J.R.R. Tolkien bare-facedly stole his look to create Gandalf, and now THIS happens.  


Previously in HS International Edition:
  War-time leader Mannerheim voted "Greatest Finn" (7.12.2004)
  Rolli the Troll: By his dirty toes ye shall know him (27.12.2001)

Links:
  Star Wreck

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