Amazon Prime Video will be launching its original kids’ series Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter on January 27 for subscribers in the US and UK. The new animated adventure from Oscar-winning Studio Ghibli and Saltkråkan (the Astrid Lindgren Company) is narrated by Golden Globe winner Gillian Anderson, directed by Gorō Miyazaki (From Up on Poppy Hill, Tales from Earthsea).
“We’re thrilled to be collaborating with Studio Ghibli on their first television series, excited to have the talented Gillian Anderson narrate, and proud to bring Astrid Lindgren’s well-loved novel to life,” said Tara Sorensen, Head of Kids Programming at Amazon Studios. “We look forward to sharing this incredible story of love, family and friendship with our customers.”
Based on the children’s fantasy book by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren (Pippi Longstocking), Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter is already a hit series in Japan, and winner of the International Emmy Award for Best Kids Animation.
The 26-part epic follows 10-year-old Ronja (voiced by Teresa Gallagher), who is born on a stormy night in a mountain fort, surrounded by her father (Rufus Hound), mother (Morwenna Banks) and a loving band of robbers. She grows to be a strong girl, and discovers that the forest is both a beautiful and frightening place inhabited by strange creatures. She befriends Birk (Kelly Adams), the son of her father’s rival, and so begins the drama of her friendship and family loyalties.
“With Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter, Astrid Lindgren seems to be telling children to believe in their own power to grow, whilst telling adults to learn more from children,” said director Gorō Miyazaki. “Mutual respect will attain freedom in the true sense of the word.”
Lindgren’s original novel has sold roughly 10 million copies worldwide since its initial publication in 1981, and has been translated into 41 languages and adapted for film and television internationally.
