The Moomins (, ) are the central characters in a series of

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

s, short stories, picture books, and a comic strip by the Finnish writer and illustrator

Tove Jansson Tove Marika Jansson (; 9 August 1914 – 27 June 2001) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish author, novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. Brought up by artistic parents, Jansson studied art from 1930 to 1938 in Helsinki, Stockholm, ...

, originally published in Swedish by Finnish publisher

Schildts Schildts Förlags Ab was a Swedish-language book publisher in Finland. The publisher published textbooks as well as fiction and non-fiction. The head office was in Helsinki and there was a branch located in Vaasa. The publisher was owned by Sve ...

. They are a family of white, round fairy-tale characters with large snouts that make them resemble the

hippopotamus The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Sahar ...

. However, despite this resemblance, the Moomin family are

troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...

s who live in a house in

Moominvalley Moominvalley (, ) is a fictional place, where the Moomins live in the tales by Finnish author Tove Jansson. Especially in the early books Moominvalley is depicted as a beautiful place with green slopes, rivers, fruit trees, flowers and a pla ...

. Between 1945 and 1993, nine books were released in the series, together with five

picture books A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The ima ...

and a

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

. The Moomins have inspired numerous television series, films, and two theme parks: Moomin World in

Naantali Naantali (; ) is a municipalities of Finland, town in Southwest Finland, and, as a resort town during the summer, an important centre of tourism in the country. The municipality has a population of (), and is located west of Turku. The town h ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, and Akebono Children's Forest Park in Hannō, Saitama,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Etymology

There are two different stories of how the term ''moomintroll'' was invented. On one occasion, Jansson explained that the term ''mumintroll'' was originally coined during her childhood by her uncle: to deter the young Jansson from taking food from his pantry, the uncle told her that it was inhabited by "cold moomintrolls", which would come out of the corners and rub their noses against Jansson if she came to steal food.Bruun S
"HBL-serie del 3: Mumintrollet fanns i morbrors kök"
''Hufvudstadsbladet'' 15/1/2017 (in Swedish) In a 1973 letter to Paul Ariste, an Estonian linguist, Jansson wrote that she had created the word moomintroll to expresses something soft: She came up with an

ad hoc ''Ad hoc'' is a List of Latin phrases, Latin phrase meaning literally for this. In English language, English, it typically signifies a solution designed for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a Generalization, generalized solution ...

Swedish word because, in her opinion, the consonant sound of ''m'' in particular conveys a sensation of softness. As an artist, Jansson gave the Moomins a shape that also expresses softness, as opposed to flabbiness. Ariste, Paul. 1975l "Uusi sõeliseid." In ''Sõnasõel'' 3, p. 11. Tartu: Tartu Riiklik Ülikool.

Synopsis and characters

The Moomin stories concern several eccentric and oddly-shaped characters, some of whom are related to each other. The central family consists of

Moominpappa A large number of characters appear in the ''Moomin'' series by Tove Jansson. The original Swedish language, Swedish names are given with the etymologies and word associations suggested by Yvonne Bertills in her 2003 dissertation. Main character ...

, Moominmamma and Moomintroll. Other characters, such as the Snork Maiden, Hemulens, Sniff, Snufkin, and

Little My Little My (original , literally: "Little Mu") is a character in the Moomin series of books by Tove Jansson. The character first appeared in the fourth book, The Exploits of Moominpappa (1950). She is a small, determined and fiercely independe ...

are accepted into or attach themselves to the family group from time to time, despite generally living separate lives in

, the setting of the series, where the Moomin family decides to live at the end of ''

The Moomins and the Great Flood ''The Moomins and the Great Flood'' (Swedish language, Swedish: , literally ''The Little Trolls and the Great Flood'') is a book by Finland, Finnish author Tove Jansson. It was published in 1945, during the last months of World War II. It was the ...

''.

Characters

* Moomintroll, also referred to as "Moomin" in some of the English translations: The main

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

and little boy of the family, interested in and excited about everything he sees and finds, always trying to be good, but sometimes getting into trouble while doing so; he always tries to be brave and find a way to make his friends happy. *

: Orphaned in his younger years, he is a somewhat restless soul who left the orphanage to venture out into the world in his youth but has now settled down, determined to be a responsible father to his family. * Moominmamma: The calm mother, who takes care that Moominhouse is a safe place to be. She wants everyone to be happy, appreciates individuality, but settles things when someone is wronged. She always brings good food as well as whatever else may be necessary on a journey in her handbag. *

: A mischievous little girl, who lives in the Moomin house and has a cynical spunky personality. She likes adventure and loves catastrophes; she sometimes does mean things on purpose. She finds messiness and untidiness exciting and is very down to earth, especially when others are not. * Sniff: A creature who lives in the Moomin house. He likes to take part in everything, but is afraid to do anything dangerous. Sniff appreciates all valuables and makes many plans to get rich, but does not succeed. * Snork Maiden: Moomin's friend. She is happy and energetic, but often suddenly changes her mind on things. She loves nice clothes and jewelry and is a little flirtatious. She thinks of herself as Moomin's girlfriend. * Snufkin: Moomin's best friend. The lonesome philosophical traveller, who likes to play the harmonica and wander the world with only a few possessions, so as not to make his life complicated. He comes and goes as he pleases, is carefree and has many admirers in Moominvalley. He is also fearless and calm in even the most dire situations, which has proven to be a great help to Moomintroll and the others when in danger. * The

Mymble A large number of characters appear in the ''Moomin'' series by Tove Jansson. The original Swedish language, Swedish names are given with the etymologies and word associations suggested by Yvonne Bertills in her 2003 dissertation. Main character ...

, also referred to as "the Mymble's daughter": Little My's amiable and helpful big sister, and half-sister of Snufkin. She often has romantic daydreams about the loves of her life, particularly policemen. * The Snork: Snorkmaiden's brother. He is an introvert by nature and is always inventing things. The residents of Moominvalley often ask Snork for help solving tricky problems and building machines. Snorks are like moomintrolls, but change colour according to their mood. * Too-Ticky: A wise woman, and good friend of the family. She has a boyish look, with a blue hat and a red-striped shirt. She dives straight into action to solve dilemmas in a practical way. Too-Ticky is one of the people in Moominvalley who does not hibernate, instead spending the winter in the small changing shed and storehouse over the water at the end of the Moomin's summer landing stage. * Stinky: A small furry creature that always plays jokes on the family in the house, where he sometimes lives. He likes pinching things, is proud of his reputation as a crook, but always gets found out. He is simple and only thinks of himself.

Biographical interpretation

Critics have interpreted various Moomin characters as being inspired by real people, especially members of the author's family, with Tove Jansson having spoken in interviews about the backgrounds of her characters and possible models for them. The first two books about the Moomins (''

'' and '' Comet in Moominland'') were published in 1945 and 1946 respectively, and deal with natural disasters; they were influenced by the upheavals of war and Jansson's depression during the war years. The reception of the first two Moomin books was lukewarm at first; the second book received more attention than its predecessor, but sales figures were still poor. The third book, '' Finn Family Moomintroll'', which was the first Moomin book translated into English, became the first international bestseller. Tove Jansson's life partner was the graphic artist Tuulikki Pietilä, whose personality inspired the character Too-Ticky in '' Moominland Midwinter''. Moomintroll and

have been seen as psychological

self-portrait Self-portraits are Portrait painting, portraits artists make of themselves. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, the practice of self-portraiture only gaining momentum in the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century ...

s of the artist. The Moomins, generally speaking, relate strongly to Jansson's own family – they were

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...

, lived close to nature and were very tolerant towards

diversity Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to: Business *Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce *Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers * ...

. Moominpappa and Moominmamma are often seen as portraits of Jansson's parents Viktor Jansson and Signe Hammarsten-Jansson. Most of Jansson's characters are on the verge of melancholy, such as the always formal Hemulen, or the strange Hattifatteners, who travel in concerted, ominous groups. Jansson uses the differences between the characters' philosophies to provide a venue for her satirical impulses.

List of books

The books in the series, in order, are: # ''

'' (Originally: ''Småtrollen och den stora översvämningen'') – 1945. # '' Comet in Moominland'' (Originally: ''Kometjakten''/''Kometen kommer'') – 1946. # '' Finn Family Moomintroll'', Some editions: ''The Happy Moomins'' –(Originally: ''Trollkarlens hatt'') – 1948. # '' The Exploits of Moominpappa'', Some editions: ''Moominpappa's Memoirs'' (Originally: ''Muminpappans bravader''/''Muminpappans memoarer)'' – 1950. # '' Moominsummer Madness'' (Originally: ''Farlig midsommar'') – 1954. # '' Moominland Midwinter'' (Originally: ''Trollvinter'') – 1957. # '' Tales from Moominvalley'' (Originally: ''Det osynliga barnet'') – 1962 (Short stories). # '' Moominpappa at Sea'' (Originally: ''Pappan och havet'') – 1965. # '' Moominvalley in November'' (Originally: ''Sent i november'') – 1970 (In which the Moomin family is absent). All of the books in the main series except ''The Moomins and the Great Flood'' (Originally: ''Småtrollen och den stora översvämningen'') were translated and published in English between 1951 and 1971. This first book was eventually translated into English in 2005 by David McDuff and published by

of Finland for the 60th anniversary of the series. A later 2012 version of the same translation, featuring Jansson's new preface to the 1991 Scandinavian printing, was published in Britain by

Sort of Books Sort of Books is an independent British publishing house started in 1999 by Mark Ellingham and Natania Jansz, founders of the Rough Guides travel series. The company publishes both original and classic fiction and non-fiction titles: "The sort of ...

, and was more widely distributed. There are also five Moomin picture books by Tove Jansson: # '' The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My'' (Originally: ''Hur gick det sen?'') – 1952. # '' Who Will Comfort Toffle?'' (Originally: ''Vem ska trösta knyttet?'') – 1960. # '' The Dangerous Journey'' (Originally: ''Den farliga resan'') – 1977. # '' Skurken i Muminhuset'' (English: ''Villain in the Moominhouse'') – 1980 # '' Visor från Mumindalen'' (English: ''Songs from Moominvalley'') – 1993 (No English translation published). The first official translation of ''Villain in the Moominhouse'' by Tove Jansson historian Ant O'Neill was premiered in a reading at the ArchWay With Words literary festival on 25 September 2017. The books and comic strips have been translated from their original Swedish and English respectively into many languages. '' The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My'' is the first Moomin book to be adapted for

iPad The iPad is a brand of tablet computers developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple that run the company's mobile operating systems iOS and later iPadOS. The IPad (1st generation), first-generation iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010. ...

Comic strips

The Moomins also appeared in the form of

s. Their first appearance was in 1947 in the children's section of the ''

Ny Tid ''Ny Tid'' (English: ''Modern Times Review'') is Norway's largest international quarterly review of non-fiction books – up to 50 in each issue. It is currently owned by Ny Tid & Orientering AS. ''Ny Tid'' is headed by the newspaper founder ...

'' newspaper, and they were introduced internationally to English readers in 1954 in the popular

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

newspaper '' The Evening News''.

drew and wrote all the strips alone until 1959, then shared the workload with her brother Lars Jansson until 1961, when Lars Jansson took over the job completely - he worked on the strip until its completion in 1975.

Drawn & Quarterly Drawn & Quarterly (D+Q) is a publishing company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, specializing in comics. It publishes primarily comic books, graphic novels and comic strip collections. The books it publishes are noted for their artistic con ...

, a Canadian

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

publisher, released reprints of all ''The Evening News'' strips created by both Tove and Lars Jansson beginning in October 2006. The first five volumes, ''Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip'' have been published, whilst the sixth volume, published in May 2011, began ''Moomin: The Complete Lars Jansson Comic Strip''. The 2015 publication ''Moomin: The Deluxe Anniversary Edition'' collected all of Tove's work. In the 1990s, a comic book version of Moomin was produced in Scandinavia after Dennis Livson and Lars Jansson's

animated series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...

was shown on television. Neither Tove nor Lars Jansson had any involvement in these comic books; however, in the wake of the series, two new Moomin comic strips were launched under the artistic and content oversight of Lars and his daughter, Sophia Jansson-Zambra. Sophia now provides sole oversight for the strips.

TV series and films

The story of the Moomins has been made into television series on many occasions by various groups, possibly the most well known of which is a

ese– Dutch collaboration, that has also produced a

feature-length film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation ...

. However, there are also two Soviet serials, puppet animation ''Mumi-troll'' (''Moomintroll'') and

cutout animation Cutout animation is a form of stop-motion animation using flat characters, props and backgrounds cut from materials such as paper, card, stiff fabric or photographs. The props would be cut out and used as puppets for stop motion. The world's ...

''Shlyapa Volshebnika'' (''Magician's Hat'') of three parts each, and the Polish–

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n puppet animation

TV series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

, '' The Moomins'', which was broadcast and became popular in an edited form in the United Kingdom in the 1980s. Two feature films re-use the footage of the Polish-Austrian series: ''Moomin and Midsummer Madness'' had its release in 2008, and in 2010 the Moomins appear in the first Nordic

3-D film 3D films are motion pictures made to give an illusion of Three-dimensional space, three-dimensional solidity, usually with the help of Stereoscopy#3D viewers, special glasses worn by viewers. 3D films were prominently featured in the 1950s in Amer ...

production, with the title song by

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

, in '' Moomins and the Comet Chase''. The animated film titled '' Moomins on the Riviera'' is based on Moomin comic strip story ''Moomin on the Riviera'' and was first released on 10 October 2014 in Finland and made its premiere on 11 October 2014 at

BFI London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the BFI estimated that around 240 fe ...

in United Kingdom. In an October 2014 blog article at ''

Screendaily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company which also owned ''Broadcast''. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involve ...

'', Sophia Jansson states that the film's "artistic team has made an effort to be true to the original drawings and the original text". * '' Die Muminfamilie'' (''The Moomin Family'') 1959 West German

marionette A marionette ( ; ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by ...

TV series, and its 1960 sequel ''Sturm im Mumintal'' (''Storm in Moominvalley'') * '' Mūmin'' (''Moomin''), 1969–70 Japanese

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

TV series * ''Mumintrollet'' (''Moomintroll''), 1969 Swedish-language suit actor TV series produced by Sveriges Radio (Swedish national radio company) * '' ''Shin Mūmin'''' (''New Moomin''), 1972 Japanese

TV series, remake of the 1969 series by the staff of its latter half * ''Mūmin'' (''Moomin''), 1971 Japanese traditional animation film * ''Mūmin'' (''Moomin''), 1972 Japanese traditional animation half-hour film * '' Mumindalen'' (''Moominvalley''), 1973 Swedish suit actor TV series based on Moominland Midwinter * ''Mumi-troll'' (''Moomintroll''), 1978 Soviet Union

stop motion Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exh ...

serial film A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

of '' Comet in Moominland'' * '' Opowiadania Muminków'' (''The Moomins''), 1977–82 Austrian, German and Polish-produced " Fuzzy-Felt" stop motion TV series made in Poland. The series has been re-compiled a number of times in other formats: ** ''Moomin and Midsummer Madness'', 2008 Finnish-produced compilation movie of the TV series ** '' Moomins and the Comet Chase'', 2010 Finnish-produced

compiled and converted from the 1977–82 series ** '' Moomins and the Winter Wonderland'', 2017, from the TV series. ** ''The Moomins'', 2010 Finnish-produced

high-definition video High-definition video (HD video) is video of higher resolution and quality than standard-definition. While there is no standardized meaning for ''high-definition'', generally any video image with considerably more than 480 vertical scan lines ( ...

version of the 1977–82 series * ''Vem ska trösta knyttet?'', 1980 Swedish traditional animation half-hour film of '' Who Will Comfort Toffle?'' * ''Shlyapa Volshebnika'' (''Magician's Hat''), 1980–83 Soviet Union

serial film of '' Finn Family Moomintroll'', different staff and

aesthetic Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,'' , acces ...

to the 1978 serial * '' Tanoshii Mūmin Ikka'' (''Moomin''), 1990–91 Dutch, Finnish and Japanese-produced traditional

TV series made in Japan **''Moomin (1990 TV series)#Delightful Moomin Family: Adventure Diary, Tanoshii Mūmin Ikka: Bōken Nikki'' (''Delightful Moomin Family: Adventure Diary''), 1991–92 Dutch and Japanese-produced traditional

TV series made in Japan, a continuation of the 1990–91 series **''Comet in Moominland (film), Tanoshii Mūmin Ikka: Mūmindani no Suisei'' (''Comet in Moominland''), 1992 Dutch and Japanese-produced traditional

feature film made in Japan, a prequel to the 1990–91 series * ''Hur gick det sen?'' (''What Happened Next?''), 1993 Swedish short animation film of '' The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My'' * ''Փոքրիկ տրոլների կյանքից'' (''From the Life Of the Little Trolls''), 2008 Armenian short animation film based on ''The Last Dragon in the World'' (''Historien om den sista draken i världen'') * '' Moomins on the Riviera'', 2014 French hand-drawn animated feature film, with a plot line taken from the comic strip. * ''Moominvalley (TV series), Moominvalley'', 2019 Finnish and British-produced TV series, directed by Oscar-winner Steve Box. A crowdfunded campaign was made on April 19, 2017 to make a new by Finnish company It successfully passed the campaign threshold.

Moomin music

The Moomin novels describe the musical activities of the Moomins, particularly those of Snufkin, his harmonica with "trills" and "twiddles". All Moomin characters sing songs, often about their thoughts and themselves. The songs often serve as core statements of the characters' personalities.

Original songs

This music was heard outside Moominvalley after they went live on theater stage in Stockholm. Director Vivica Bandler told Jansson in 1959: "Listen, here the people want songs". The earlier version of the play was cast in Helsinki with no music. Helsinki based pianist and composer Erna Tauro was commissioned to write the songs to lyrics by Jansson. The first collection consisted of six Moomin Songs (''Sex muminvisor''): Moomintroll's Song (''Mumintrollets visa''), Little My's Song (''Lilla Mys visa''), Mrs. Fillyjonk's Song (''Fru Filifjonks sång''), Theater Rat Emma's Words of Wisdom (''Teaterråttan Emmas visdomsord''), Misabel's Lament (''Misans klagolåt'') and Final Song (''Slutsång''). More songs were published in the 1960s and 1970s, when Tove and Lars Jansson produced a series of Moomin dramas for Swedish Television. The simple, yet effective melodies by Tauro were well received by the theater and TV audiences. The first songs were either sung unaccompanied or accompanied by a pianist. While the most famous Moomin songs in Scandinavia are undoubtedly "Moomintroll's Song" and "Little My's Song", they appear in no context in the novels. The original songs by Jansson and Tauro remained scattered after their initial release. The first recording of the complete collection was made in 2003 by composer and arranger Mika Pohjola on the ''Moomin Voices'' CD (''Muminröster'' in Swedish), as a tribute to the late Tove Jansson. Tauro had died in June 1993 and some of Jansson's last lyrics were composed by Pohjola in cooperation with Jansson's heirs. Pohjola was also the arranger of all songs for a vocal ensemble and chamber orchestra. All voices were sung by Åland native vocalist, Johanna Grüssner. The same recording has been released in a Finnish version in 2005, ''Muumilauluja''. The Finnish lyrics were translated by Kirsi Kunnas and Vexi Salmi. The Swedish and Finnish recordings of Moomin Voices, and their respective musical scores, have been used as course material at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. The Moomin Voices Live Band (aka. ''Muumilauluja-bändi'') is dedicated to exclusively performing the original lyrics and unaltered stories by Tove Jansson. This band is led by Pohjola on piano, with vocalists Mirja Mäkelä and Eeppi Ursin.

Other musical adaptations

Independent musical interpretations of the Moomins have been made for the Moomin (1990 TV series), nineties anime, by Pierre Kartner, with translated versions being made including in Poland and the Nordic countries. Their lyrics, however, often contain simple slogans and the music is written in a children's pop music style and contrast sharply with the original Moomin novels and Jansson's pictorial and descriptive, yet rhyming lyricism, as well as Erna Tauro's Scandinavian-style songs (''visor''), which are occasionally influenced by Kurt Weill. A Moomin opera was written in 1974 by the Finnish composer Ilkka Kuusisto; Jansson designed the costumes. Musicscapes from Moominvalley is a four-part work based on the Moomin compositions of composer and producer Heikki Mäenpää. It was created on the basis of the original Moomin works for the Tampere Art Museum. Twenty new Moomin songs were produced in Finland by Timo Poijärvi and Ari Vainio in 2006. This Finnish language, Finnish album contains no original lyrics by Jansson. However, it is based on the novel, Comet in Moominland, and adheres to the original stories. The songs are performed by Samuli Edelmann, Sani, Tommi Läntinen, Susanna Haavisto and Jore Marjaranta and other established Finnish vocalists in the pop/entertainment genre. The same twenty compositions are also available as standalone multimedia CD postcards. The Icelandic singer

has composed and performed the title song (Comet Song) for the film Moomins and the Comet Chase (2010). The lyrics were written by the Icelandic writer Sjón. In 2010, Russian composer Lex Plotnikoff (founder of symphonic metal band Mechanical Poet) released a new-age music album ''Hattifatteners: Stories from the Clay Shore'', accompanied by photos of moomin characters models by photographer/sculptor Tisha Razumovsky. Due to copyright issues, the album was later re-released as ''Mistland Prattlers'', with references to Moomins removed.

Theatre

Several stage productions have been made from Jansson's Moomin series, including a number that Jansson herself was involved in. The earliest production was a 1949 theatrical version of ''Comet in Moominland'' performed at Åbo Svenska Teater. In the early 1950s, Jansson collaborated on Moomin-themed children's plays with Vivica Bandler. By 1958, Jansson began to become directly involved in theater as Lilla Teater produced ''Troll i kulisserna'' (''Troll in the Wings (theater), wings''), a Moomin play with lyrics by Jansson and music composed by Erna Tauro. The production was a success, and later performances were held in Sweden and Norway, including recently at the Malmö Opera and Music Theatre in 2011. Mischief and Mystery in Moominvalley, a production created by Get Lost and Found which included puppetry and a giant pop-up book set, toured the UK from 2018, with runs at London's Southbank Centre, Kew Gardens and the Manchester Literature Festival. This production was written by Emma Edwards and Sophie Ellen Powell with puppets and set designed and made by Annie Brooks.

Video games

In 1997, (''The Moomins and the Hobgoblin's Hat'') was developed by Norsk Strek AS and published by Bonnier Group, WSOY, later Nordic Softsales. It was only released for the PC game, PC. In 2000, ''Moomin's Tale'', developed and published by Sunsoft, was released for Game Boy Color. The game is based on the 1990 TV series, where Moomintroll is the game's protagonist. The player goes through six different stories throughout the duration of the game.Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley is a new puzzler starring the Moomins
- ''GamesRadar+'' Two video games were released for Nintendo DS, one exclusive to Japan. ''Moomin Tani no Okurimono'' was released in Japan on November 19, 2009. The game was never released in Finland or elsewhere than Japan and China. On November 3, 2021, the music-themed adventure game ''Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley'' was announced. The game features Snufkin as the protagonist, as he attempts to restore harmony within Moominvalley. The game is developed by Norwegian-based indie game company Hyper Games. The game's soundtrack features music from Iceland, Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós, taken from their 2002 album ( ) (album), ''( )''. The game was released for Steam (service), Steam and Nintendo Switch in 2024. It has been announced that a new Moomin-themed video game by Hyper Games, ''Moomintroll: Winter's Warmth'', will be released in 2026.

Theme parks and displays

Moomin World

Moomin World (''Muumimaailma'' in Finnish, ''Muminvärlden'' in Swedish) is the Moomin Theme Park especially for children. Moomin World is located on the island of Kailo beside the old town of

, near the city of Turku in Western Finland. The blueberry-coloured Moomin House is the main attraction; tourists are allowed to freely visit all five stories. It is also possible to see the Hemulen's yellow house, Moominmama's kitchen, the Fire Station, Snufkin's Camp, Moominpappa's boat, etc. Visitors may also meet Moomin characters there. Moomin World opens for the Summer season.

Moomin Ice Cave

On December 26, 2020, the underground Moomin Ice Cave theme park was opened 30 meters underneath the Spa Hotel Vesileppis in Leppävirta ( south of Kuopio). The Moomin Ice Cave includes Moomin-themed ice sculptures, downhill skiing and other activities for families with children.

Tampere Art Museum

The Moominvalley of the Tampere Art Museum is a museum devoted to the original works of Tove Jansson. It contains around 2,000 works. The museum is based on the Moomin books and has many original Moomin illustrations by Tove Jansson. The gem of the collection is a blue five-storey model of the Moominhouse, which had Tove Jansson as one of its builders. As a birthday present, the 20-year-old museum received a soundscape work based on the works of Tove Jansson, called Musicscapes from Moominvalley.

Interactive playroom

An interactive playroom about the Moomins was located at Scandinavia House, New York City, from November 11, 2006, till March 31, 2007.

Akebono Children's Forest Park

, also called "Moomin Valley", is a Moomin themed park for children in Hannō, Saitama in Japan that opened in July, 1997. Tove Jansson had already in the 1970s given her personal permission to the city of Hannō to build a small Moomin-themed playground there.

Metsä

First announced in 2013, a new Moomin theme park, Metsä (theme park), Metsä, was opened in March 2019 at Lake Miyazawa, Hannō. There are two zones: the free Metsä Village area, comprising lakefront restaurants and shops set among natural activities, and the Moominvalley Park section offering attractions like Moominhouse and an art museum. The theme park has become very popular, with more than one million visitors during the first three months in 2019.

Moomin shops

As of January 2019, there are 20 Moomin Shops around the world, offering an extensive range of Moomin-themed goods. Finland, home of the Moomins, has three stores. There are two stores in the UK, one in the US, six in Japan. China and Hong Kong each have one store. There are three in South Korea and three in Thailand. One store exists in Kraków, Poland.

Moomin Cafes

As of January 2018, there are 15 themed Moomin Cafes around the world – Finland, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea and Taiwan – allowing diners to immerse themselves in the Moomin world. Diners can enjoy Moomin-inspired meals sitting at tables with larger-than-life plush versions of Moomin characters.

Success in popular culture

The Moomin Boom ( in Finnish) started in the 1990s, when Dennis Livson and Lars Jansson produced a 104-part animation series in Japan named ''Tales from Moominvalley (TV series), Tales from Moominvalley'', which was followed by a full-length movie ''Comet in Moominland''. Moomin books had always been steady bestsellers in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, but the animation started a new Moomin madness both in Finland and abroad, especially in Japan, where they are the official mascots of the Daiei chain of shopping centers. A large merchandising industry was built around the Moomin characters, covering everything from coffee cups and T-shirts to plastic models. Even the former Finnish President Tarja Halonen has been known to wear a Moomin watch. New Moomin comic books and comic strips were published. Moomins were used to advertise Finland abroad: the Helsinki Airport, Helsinki–Vantaa International Airport was decorated with Moomin images and Finnair decorated 2 of its McDonnell Douglas MD-11, MD-11s on routes to Japan with Moomin designs in 2006. In 2023, Finnair also decorated two of its Airbus A350, Airbus A350-900s with two of Moomin characters, Moomintroll and Snork Maiden to celebrate its 100th anniversary. The peak of the Moomin Boom was the opening of the Moomin World theme park in

, Finland in 1993, which has become one of Finland's international tourist destinations. The Moomin Boom has been criticized for commercializing the Moomins. Friends of Tove Jansson and many old Moomin enthusiasts have stressed that the newer animations banalize the original and philosophical Moomin world to harmless family entertainment. An antithesis for the Disneyland Park (Anaheim), Disneyland-like Moomin World theme park is the Moomin Museum of Tampere, which exhibits the original illustrations and hand-made Moomin models by Tove Jansson. The Jansson family has kept the rights of Moomins and controlled the Moomin Boom. The artistic control is now in the hands of Lars Jansson's daughter, Sophia Jansson-Zambra. Wanting to keep the control over Moomins, the family has turned down offers from The Walt Disney Company. , the Moomin brand is estimated to have a yearly retail value of €700 million per year. File:Finnair McDonnell Douglas MD-11 (OH-LGB) at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.jpg, left, Finnair MD-11 decorated with Moomin characters serving the Japanese route File:Rosehage kopp.jpg, Moominmamma in the Moomin mugs, Moomin-themed mug File:The Moomins Garden in Holon.jpg, Moomins Garden in Holon, Israel File:Moomin Shop, Covent Garden, Westminster - geograph.org.uk - 4428255.jpg, The Moomin Shop in Covent Garden, Westminster, UK File:Moomen in snew, Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival (3238528500).jpg, Moomin snow sculpture in Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Finland, Children's literature Moomins, 1947 comics debuts Book franchises Children's books adapted into comics Children's books adapted into films Children's books adapted into television shows Children's fiction books Comics characters introduced in 1947 Culture of Finland Fantasy books by series Fantasy novel series Fictional trolls Finnish books Finnish children's literature Finnish comic strips Finnish comics Finnish literature Series of children's books Swedish-language literature Tove Jansson