“When he isn’t locked in his room or the cellar for punishment), the little redheaded boy known as ‘Poil de Carotte’ [‘Carrot Top’] manages to triumph through imagination, cunning, and sheer persistence.”
The principal is, of course, pure evil. The other adults are mostly unaware of the epic battle shaping up around them. Only when evil is about to triumph do the young people at last understand the true nature of their power.