History Literature / Heidi

Among several adaptations (even one with ShirleyTemple), ''Heidi'' was adapted in 1974 as an Anime series known as ''Anime/{{Heidi Girl of the Alps}}''.

* SceneryPorn: The Alps. ''And how''.

*** In the version I have it's explicitly stated Peter's father died a few years back, crushed by a tree.

* PuppyLove: {{In-universe}}: Heidi and Peter. Aww.
** They do get married in the sequel by Charles Tritten.

* AdaptationalVillainy: In the animated TV movie, ''Heidi's Song,'' Sebastian the butler has been changed from a good-natured ServileSnarker and an ally of Heidi's to Fraulein Rottenmeier's snobbish and brutal [[TheDragon Dragon.]]
** The same movie inverts the trope for Tinette the maid, who is haughty and often unsympathetic in the book but in the movie has become a sweet and kind young woman who helps Heidi escape and [[TokenRomance eventually runs off with the handsome milkman.]]

* HeyItsThatGuy: The 2005 movie adaptation did this so much that it verged on a MindScrew: at one point, Heidi, whose grandmother is [[Series/TheAvengers Emma Peel]], witnesses a conversation between [[FatherTed Mrs Doyle]] and [[TheSeventhSeal the Knight]], and later on she is given some cats by LudwigWittgenstein which she then lets loose in the house of Creator/CharlieChaplin's daughter, who also happened to play her own grandmother in Chaplin's {{Main/Biopic}}.

''Heidi'', published 1880 in two parts named in full ''Heidi's Years of Learning and Travel''[[hottip:*:Orig.: ''Heidi's Lehr- und Wanderjahre'']] and ''Heidi Makes Use of What She has Learned''[[hottip:*:Orig.: ''Heidi kann brauchen, was es gelernt hat'']], is a novel by Swiss author Johanna Spyri.

* AluminiumChristmasTrees: The concept of a person's physical health deteriorating due to being away from home may seem strange to modern audiences, but until the late 19th century, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nostalgia nostalgia]] [[hottip:*:originally a Greek word meaning "pain for home"; the English word "homesickness" is derived from it]] was considered a genuine medical condition. It was first observed among Swiss mercenaries serving abroad, and some deaths from it were even reported.

* BookDumb: Peter again.

* CoolOldLady: Klara's grandmother, so much.
* CountryMouse: Heidi, again.

* FishOutOfWater: Heidi becomes this when she is forced to move to Frankfurt and become Klara's playmate.

** While not a ''horrible'' person per se, Aunt Dete gets two instances of this: First when she forces her niece to live with an old man everybody believes is insane and possibly dangerous just so she has time to further her career, and secondly a few years later when she then drags off the same niece, unwillingly, to do a job she doesn't want in a city she doesn't want to live in.
*** What's arguably worse about Dete is how she suggests to Alm-Uncle the chance that Klara (whom the audience has not yet met) will ''die'' and then Heidi will be adopted by Klara's father. She looks forward to the prospect with distinct pleasure because it will work out better for ''her.''
** Fraulein Rottenmeier's treatment of the kittens and her abusive behavior towards Heidi is also this, if not even worse. Dete didn't relish on her own behavior, unlike her.

* BigEater: Peter the goatherd.

* CheerfulChild

* MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold: The grandfather.

* HeyItsThatGuy: The 2005 movie adaptation did this so much that it verged on a MindScrew: at one point, Heidi, whose grandmother is [[Series/TheAvengers Emma Peel]], witnesses a conversation between [[FatherTed Mrs Doyle]] and [[TheSeventhSeal the Knight]], and later on she is given some cats by LudwigWittgenstein which she then lets loose in the house of CharlieChaplin's daughter, who also happened to play her own grandmother in Chaplin's {{Main/Biopic}}.

* HeyItsThatGuy: The 2005 movie adaptation did this so much that it verged on a MindScrew: at one point, Heidi, whose grandmother is [[TheAvengers Emma Peel]], witnesses a conversation between [[FatherTed Mrs Doyle]] and [[TheSeventhSeal the Knight]], and later on she is given some cats by LudwigWittgenstein which she then lets loose in the house of CharlieChaplin's daughter, who also happened to play her own grandmother in Chaplin's {{Main/Biopic}}.

* AdaptationalVillainy: In the animated TV movie, ''Heidi's Song,'' Fraulein Rottenmeier (not a sympathetic person in the book but not an out-and-out villain) has become a lot more villainous and scary. Likewise, Sebastian the butler has been changed from a good-natured ServileSnarker and an ally of Heidi's to Fraulein Rottenmeier's snobbish and brotal [[TheDragon Dragon.]]

* MainstreamObscurity: One TV movie became known to a lot of people only because a broadcast of it once pre-empted an extremely tense NFL game.

''Heidi'', defined by its author as a book "for children and those who love children", quickly became a classic of ChildrensLiterature and is still one of the world's most popular book for children. Possibly it is also the internationally best known work of Swiss literature.

The novel's eponymous heroine is an orphaned [[UsefulNotes/{{Switzerland}} Swiss]] girl who, at the age of five and out of necessity, is given by her Aunt Dete into the care of her grumpy grandfather, who lives as a recluse in the Swiss Alps. The grandfather, an embittered man commonly known as the Alp-Öhi, is not at all happy about this, but eventually Heidi's {{blithe spirit}} thaw's the old man's heart. But the happiness of the two is not to last, when Aunt Dete, having received an employement in the city of Frankfurt, returns to take Heidi with her to Frankfurt.

* ToyShip: {{In-universe}}: Heidi and Peter. Aww.
** They do get married in the sequel by Charles Tritten.

* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Tomboy Heidi and Girly Girl Klara.

The novel's eponymous heroine is an orphaned Swiss girl who, at the age of five and out of necessity, is given by her Aunt Dete into the care of her grumpy grandfather, who lives as a recluse in the Swiss Alps. The grandfather, an embittered man commonly known as the Alp-Öhi, is not at all happy about this, but eventually Heidi's {{blithe spirit}} thaw's the old man's heart. But the happiness of the two is not to last, when Aunt Dete, having received an employement in the city of Frankfurt, returns to take Heidi with her to Frankfurt.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: ''Heidi'' is a classic in the German-language sphere as well as the world, but it is notably popular in Japan and Turkey.

''Heidi'', published 1880 in two parts named in full ''Heidi's Years of Learning and Travel''[[orig.:hottip:''Heidi's Lehr- und Wanderjahre'']] and ''Heidi Makes Use of What She has Learned''[[orig.:hottip:''Heidi kann brauchen, was es gelernt hat'']], is a novel by Swiss author Johanna Spyri.

The novels eponymous heroine is an orphaned Swiss girl who, at the age of five and out of necessity, is given into the care of her grumpy grandfather, who lives as a recluse in the Swiss Alps. The grandfather, an embittered man commonly known as the Alp-Öhi, is not at all happy about this, but eventually Heidi's {{blithe spirit}} thaw's the old man's heart.

Among several adaptations (even one with ShirleyTemple), ''Heidi'' was adapted in 1974 as an Anime series known as ''{{Heidi Girl of the Alps}}''.

!!This book provides examples of:

* BigEater - Peter the goatherd.
* BlitheSpirit - Heidi.

* CoolOldLady - Klara's grandmother, so much.
* CountryMouse - Heidi, again.
* CuteKitten - Heidi and Klara like them and probably Sebastian too. Fraulein Rottenmeier, on the other hand, can't stand them.
* FishOutOfWater - Heidi becomes this when she is forced to move to Frankfurt and become Klara's playmate.
* FoodPorn - [[MemeticMutation Admit it]]. ''[[MemeticMutation You want the cheese toast]].''
* GossipyHens - The village below the mountain is full of these. Especially on the matter of Heidi's grandfather and the myriad possible reasons for his seclusion. In some versions of the book, one of the village women (Elisabeth) even talks to Dete on their way up there so Dete can become MrExposition and explain Heidi's backstory.
* GreenEyedMonster - Peter smashes Klara's wheelchair on purpose, pretty much just because he's jealous of another playmate taking all of Heidi's time. His conscience and fear of being caught catches up to him, though.
* HeroicBSOD - Heidi goes into these more and more as she can't adapt to city life, to the point of starting to ''sleepwalk''.
* IllGirl - Klara, also a LonelyRichKid.
* InHarmonyWithNature - Alm-Uncle has many elements of this (with the comeuppance that he is not a people person). Heidi manages to live in harmony with the goats and charm everyone around her. She also suffers in city environments.

* KickTheDog -

* LonersAreFreaks - Until Heidi comes in...

* MaddenIntoMisanthropy - The implied reason for Grandfather's long years of seclusion up a mountain.
* MainstreamObscurity - One TV movie became known to a lot of people only because a broadcast of it once pre-empted an extremely tense NFL game.

* MoralityPet - Heidi seems to have this effect on her grandfather.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname - Heidi's real name is Adelheid, like her mother. Everyone who cares the slightest bit about her calls her Heidi.

* PetTheDog - Grandfather gets more and more moments like this as time goes by. Fixing Peter's grandmother's rickety shack for the sake of it was just the start.
* RichBitch - Averted by Klara and pretty much the entire Sesemann family, who are rich but [[SpoiledSweet pretty nice]]. Their head housekeeper, on the other hand, is ''not''.
* SceneryPorn - The Alps. ''And how''.
* ServileSnarker - Sebastian. Tinette, the maid, has her moments as well, but is played less sympathetically.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS - In some editions, "Detie" instead of "Dete" and "Clara" instead of "Klara" are used.
* ThrowingOffTheDisability - Klara.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl - Tomboy Heidi and Girly Girl Klara.

In the Swiss Alps lives an antisocial old man. He once had a family, but there was a falling out and he hasn't heard from them in decades. Doesn't want to. Same thing happened between him and God, so he's basically sworn off any need to head down to town except for occasional groceries. He lives up there in the Alps, in a small log cabin. Owns a couple of goats. Everyone in the nearest town hates him and fears him because he's so antisocial.

Then one day a young relative, Dete, stops by... with the old man's five-year-old granddaughter Adelheid aka Heidi in tow. She says the girl's parents (the father being the old man's son) are dead, and the relative can't care for her anymore since she's getting a job in the city. So she leaves the little girl there and flees back down the mountain.

"Grandfather" doesn't really like the situation, but he does figure out pretty quickly that "Heidi" is a smart child, respectful, polite, energetic, curious, and in all ways delightful. And it isn't long before they're as close as can be. Heidi loves living in the mountains and finds ever so many things to enjoy about the details of her life there.

That's about when Dete comes back and drags Heidi off to the German city of Frankfurt. Seems her new boss has a crippled daughter who wants a playmate, and if she can get some money by bringing in a girl, Heidi's opinion on the matter is irrelevant, and the poor kid is dragged away kicking and screaming. The Grandpa closed off even more than he already did.

Stuck in Frankfurt, Heidi does become friends with the other girl, Klara. But she aches to get back to the Alps, back to her grandfather. At first she thinks that her stay is temporary, but when she's informed that it's permanent, she begins to act out in ways that surprise even her. For worse, Klara's father is well-intentioned but keeps travelling away, so she and Klara are under the care of a borderline SadistTeacher named Miss Rottenmeyer.

(Meanwhile: Klara's grandmother makes a visit, and introduces Heidi to Jesus, the Bible, and prayer. And later on she puts it to Heidi that when God answers prayer, sometimes He does not say "yes" right away, but either "no" or "wait". That if God said "yes" at the wrong time, it would be a sorrowful thing, but if God in His wisdom says "wait" or even "no", then in due time it will prove to be better in all ways than if He had said "yes" back at the start. This philosophy forms a cornerstone for the rest of the book.)

When the family doctor diagnoses Heidi with acute homesickness after he finds her [[HeroicBSOD sleepwalking and crying]], the family is forced to send her back to the Alps, to her grandfather. She goes scarcely believing that it is happening. Once she is home, her good health and vigor come back straightaway.

What is more, she brings lessons from the city. Her friend Peter had always thought reading to be too hard a task, and his attitude had convinced Heidi that it was impossible to learn; but Klara's grandmother opened up her mind and got her to learn reading practically overnight, and now Heidi will not rest until Peter learns (at least as far as his stubborn mind will let him). And Heidi uses a tale from her beloved storybook (given her by the grandmother), the tale of the Prodigal Son, to convince her grandfather to give God another chance - that no matter how long he has forsaken God, God will yet welcome him back with open arms. The two of them start going to church, where the grandfather makes up with the pastor.

Eventually, the family from Frankfurt visit the grandfather, and are thrilled to see Heidi in such good health again. Equally charming is the atmosphere, though it is a trying hike up the mountain from the town below. The grandfather proves that he is capable of caring for an invalid (a skill learned from caring for his crippled commander, back in the war), and persuades the family to let Klara sleep overnight in the cabin, a move greeted with delight by both girls. The family heads back down to the inn.

The next day, the children are about to enjoy a picnic with Peter. But jealousy burns inside Peter, for until now Heidi was his friend alone, and here has come this other child to take up her attention. In a fit of rage, he hurls Klara's wheelchair down the mountainside.

When Heidi discovers the wheelchair gone (but imagines that the wind took it), she is not deterred, but convinces Peter to help her support Klara as they walk up to the picnic site. Between this and the Grandfather's later attentions, Klara manages to strengthen her weak legs enough to walk, though it hurts terribly and she cannot do it unaided (yet).[[hottip:*:Anyone reminded of ''TheSecretGarden''?]]

When the grandmother returns, she finds a Klara who bravely walks to her - on the Grandfather's arm - and she is so happy that she doles out treats. In the midst of this, the truth about the wheelchair comes out, but the grandmother takes it in stride as God's providence (providing reason for Klara to experiment with walking). Instead of punishing Peter, she rewards him with a little money, that works out to "two pennies a day"; when he misunderstands her as promising this for the rest of his life, she laughs and declares it will be written into her will, two pennies a day for him the rest of his life.

So Heidi understands with clarity the way things worked out for the best because God did not answer her prayer immediately, but let things happen in good time, no matter how much she hated to be away from her grandfather. And they all lived HappilyEverAfter.