Inger Nilsson as Pippi Longstocking-Gap Rating 2/10

Pippi's full name is Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint, Efraim's Daughter Longstocking (in the Swedish original Pippilotta Viktualia Rullgardina Krusmynta Efraimsdotter Långstrump).

Pippi is a nine-year-old girl with fiery red hair, worn in a pair of braids so tightly wound that they stick out sideways from her head. She is very unconventional, assertive, rich, and has an amazing talent for spinning lies and tall tales, though these are usually in the form of humorously strange stories rather than lying with malicious intent. She is also extraordinarily strong, being able to lift her horse one-handed without difficulty. Though lacking in much formal education, Pippi is very intelligent in a common-sense fashion, and has a well-honed sense of justice and fair play. She lives alone with her monkey, Mr. Nilsson, and an unnamed horse in an old house named Villa Villekulla, located in a small Swedish village. Her friends and next-door neighbors, Tommy and Annika Settergren, accompany her on her adventures; though the children's mother disapproves of Pippi's sometimes coarse manners and lack of education, Mrs. Settergren knows that Pippi would never put Tommy and Annika in harm's way, and that Pippi values her friendship with the pair above nearly all else in her life.

Pippi lives with a complete lack of adult supervision, and frequently mocks and dupes the adults she does encounter, an attitude likely to appeal to young readers; however, Pippi usually reserves her worst behavior for the most pompous and condescending of adults, and will show respect (though still in her own unique style) for adults who treat her and other children fairly. Her attitude towards those worst of adults (from a child's viewpoint) is often that of a vapid, foolish and babblemouthed child, and few of her targets realize just how sharp and crafty Pippi is until she's made fools of them.

Pippi is the daughter of seafarer Efraim Longstocking, captain of the sailing ship Hoptoad, from whom Pippi inherited her common sense and incredible strength, being the only human known who can match Pippi in biological ability. Captain Longstocking originally bought Villa Villekulla to give his daughter a more stable home life than that on shipboard (though Pippi loves the seafaring life, and is indeed a better sailor and helmswoman than most of her father's crew). Pippi retired to the Villa after her father was believed lost at sea, determined that her father was still alive and would come to look for her there. As it turned out, Captain Longstocking was washed ashore upon a South Sea island known as Kurrekurredutt Isle, where he was made the "fat white chief" by its native humans. The Captain returned to Sweden to bring Pippi to his new home in the South Seas, but Pippi found herself attached to the Villa and her new friends Tommy and Annika, and decided to stay where she was, though she and the children sometimes took trips with her father aboard the Hoptoad, including a trip to Kurrekurredutt where she was confirmed as the "fat white chief"'s daughter, Princess Pippilotta.

With the publication of the first Pippi book in 1942, Lindgren rejected established conventions for children's books. Although well received by contemporary critics, the book was controversial among some conservatives who desired children's books that, by their standards, set a good example for children.

There are four Pippi Longstocking books:

• 1944: Pippi Longstocking
• 1946: Pippi Goes on Board
• 1948: Pippi in the South Seas
• 1959: Pippi's After Christmas Party

A Swedish TV series was created based on the Pippi Longstocking books in the 1970s. Inger Nilsson gave a confident oddball performance that was uncommonly consistent and eccentric for a child actress.

The Swedish series was reedited as four poorly dubbed feature films for U.S. distribution. They became weekend television staples in several cities in America throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The original series, newly dubbed using British actors, became available in 2002.

An American feature film version was released in 1988, ironically titled The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking (while the title suggests a continuation, it is in fact, a remake of the original story). A further film version was released in USSR (Peppi Dlinnyychulok, 1982).

A remake as an animation series was released in 1997.