Kari Grandi
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Kari Grandi (played by Eeki Mantere) is a fictional character, the main protagonist in the Finnish TV advertisements for Grandi, a brand of ready-to-drink juice.
The advertisements are parodies of typical 1920s-era adventure movies where a group of villains kidnap a woman and torture her by withholding water and other drinks from her. Somewhere at a distance, Kari Grandi hears her cries for help and rushes to her aid. First he drinks a carton of Grandi juice, then he drops the empty carton on the ground and steps on it. The ensuing sonic boom knocks out the villains, and Kari Grandi is able to revive the woman by giving her a carton of Grandi juice.
The narration of the advertisements always ends with an established catch phrase:
- Hän on kaikkien janoisten sankari, aikamme legenda: Kari... Grandi!
In English:
- He is the hero of all who are thirsty, the legend of our time: Kari... Grandi!
The character's name is an obvious homage to the actor Cary Grant. The character Kari Grandi was himself parodied in the Finnish sci-fi movie Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning, in the form of Babel 13 security officer Mihail Karigrandi (English name: Mikhail Garybrandy), who is a parody of the Babylon 5 character Michael Garibaldi.
