Theatre / Latibær

A pair of Icelandic television plays created by Magnús Scheving, best known for being later adapted into the television series LazyTown.

The first play, Áfram Latibær! ("Let's Go LazyTown!"), is based on Scheving's book by the same name. The mayor of Latibær wants to hold a sports competition in the town, but its citizens are too lazy to compete. Thankfully, the athletic elf Íþróttaálfurinn (who would later become known as Sportacus) arrives to teach the people of the town the importance of exercise and healthy lifestyle and convinces them to partake in the competition.

The second play, Glanni Glæpur Í Latabæ ("Robbie Rotten in LazyTown"), based on the book Latibær í Vandræðum ("LazyTown in Trouble"), introduces the villain Glanni Glæpur, who would later be known as Robbie Rotten. He comes to the town disguised as a rich man in Íþróttaálfurinn's absence, planning to trick the citizens into becoming unhealthy again and eventually making him their mayor.

Provides examples of:

• Adaptation Distillation: The plays greatly streamlined the story compared to the books, taking out plot-irrelevant characters and narration, focusing more on the main cast and their personalities, and foreshadowing events.
• Adapted Out:
  • In the original books, Halla (Trixie) has a twin brother named Halli, who is left out from the plays.
  • The constantly money-wasting girl Eyrún Eyðslukló doesn't appear in the second play.
• Antagonist Title: The second play is named after its antagonist Glanni Glæpur.
• Can't Argue with Elves: Partially subverted. Íþróttaálfurinn doesn't exactly lecture the humans on how to live better, healthier lives. Instead, he teaches them.
• Card-Carrying Villain:
  • Glanni Glæpur's very first scene has him proudly sing a song about how he's the worst criminal you'll ever meet.
  • The members of Glaumbæjargengið immediately agree when Glanni calls them selfish, mischievous and thievish.
• Covers Always Lie: The VHS cover for the second play displays 3D models of the characters, despite the whole play being live-action.
• Defeat Means Menial Labor: In the end of Glanni Glæpur Í Latabæ, the people of Latibær force Glanni to clean the president's car, which he stole, with a cotton stick.
• Evil Is Hammy: Glanni Glæpur is the hammiest character in his play and has a tendency for Evil Gloating even when nobody is around to listen.
  Glanni: Quiver in fear, you filthy flowers! (sprays poison at them)
• The Gadfly: Íþróttaálfurinn in the first play is a lot more mischievous than the character he'd later become. Among other things, he pretends to be a still picture on Goggi's television as long as he's looking at him and hits him on the head when he looks away, he continues to sit in a bus stop that Nenni claims he owns while humming his song, and he pulls Halla into a trash can and rolls it around while she's in it to illustrate how much of a bully she is.
• "I Am" Song:
  • Íþróttaálfurinn's introductory scene has him sing about how he's the most athletic of all elves.
  • All of the kids in Áfram Latibær! sing songs about their flaws: Siggi about his candy obsession, Goggi about his television addiction, Maggi about his refusal to eat healthy food, Eyrún about how she loves wasting money, Solla about how stiff her body is, Halla about how she's a bully, and Nenni about how he claims to own everything he sees.
  • Glanni Glæpur introduces himself in the second play by singing a song about what a rotten criminal he is.
• Meaningful Rename: After the town wins the sports competition in the first play, the now-active Latibær decides to change its name to Leikbær (PlayTown).
• Miscarriage of Justice: In the second play, Glanni frames Halla for poisoning the town's vegetables, leading her to be wrongfully sent to jail. Later, Solla joins her after her footprint is found in the flower bed, leading the others to believe she poisoned the flowers.
• Mood Whiplash: In the first play, the mayor is sulking about how the town will never have that sports competition. Cue Íþróttaálfurinn jumping out of nowhere and singing a happy song.
• Our Elves Are Different: Sportacus is a traditional Icelandic Elf named Íþróttaálfurinn ("The Sports Elf") in these plays. In addition to being amazingly fit and agile, he also has magical powers.
• Polka-Dot Disease: In Glanni Glæpur Í Latabæ, Glanni poisons all the fruit and vegetables in the town, leading to the citizens getting sick with colorful spots visible on their faces after eating them. The vegetables themselves even have spots too!
• Talking Animal: Glanni Glæpur Í Latabæ has a talking rooster, who mostly comments on the events and doesn't really affect the plot.
• Triumphant Reprise: In the first play, Solla, Nenni, Siggi and Eyrún all get verses in one song that show they're growing out of their flaws to the tune of their "I Am" Songs.
• Villain Song: Glanni Glæpur Í Latabæ has two: "Versti fantur" sung by Glanni, and "Glaumbæjargengið" sung by the titular gang that Glanni hires. Glanni gets another song with "Lifid Er Svo Lett" where though he's singing about a positive cooperation message, he's doing so to decieve everyone into trusting him and following his lead.
• You Don't Look Like You: All of the characters returning from the first play look different in the second. The most obvious instance is probably Goggi, who is a bald man with glasses in Áfram Latibær! but looks much younger and has green hair in Glanni Glæpur Í Latabæ.
  • The 2018 revival that played in Iceland's Hveragerðis Theatre updates the characters' outfits to be more in line with the TV series, though some characters still don't look like themselves (for example, Íþróttaálfurinn wears a track jacket and lacks his "10" crystal).