Tove Trailer Tells the Tale of Moomin Creators Life

Tove Jansson was an artist but through her Moomin comics, which were published here in the 1950s in the Evening Standard, she gained international fame and prestige.  She led a pretty interesting life but there has never been a biopic, until now. The trailer for ‘Tove’ dropped and needless to say, I’m excited to see the film.

The blurb behind the trailer says:

In the midst of her artistic struggles and unconventional personal life, Tove Jansson found worldwide success from an unexpected side project: the creation of the beloved world of the Moomins. TOVE is a captivating drama about the creative energy of an iconic talent and her turbulent search for identity, desire and freedom.

Moomins 'The Invisible Child' Storytime

The Moomins are whimsical hippo-like creatures who go through many adventures, philosophise and discuss the bigger questions in life. I enjoyed the Moomin cartoon in the 90's after being scared witless of the 80's stop-motion animation and have a deep love for Tove Jansson’s creations.

One of the stories that really struck me was the short story ‘The Invisible Child’. It is the story of Ninny, an isolated and lonely girl who learns to love and be loved and appreciate the power of friendship after being neglected by her uncaring aunt. It’s a powerful story about being seen, heard and understanding equality and respect.

Tove’s story is read by her neice Sophia Jansson and is a great vehicle to discuss some questions about the themes covered.

Moominvalley Released on DVD

November 4th marks the release of the Moominvalley DVD set. I had the opportunity to watch show when it was released over Easter with my two young daughters and wife. They knew the characters from the various items strewn around the house, the children's books and our visit to Moomin World but had never seen the show so this was exciting for them.

They greatly enjoyed the show and so did I. The lush vistas of Moominvalley and the crystal clear rivers and lakes were wonderfully realised in computer animation but I do always feel that there is something lost in translation when a comic undergoes a CGI movie transformation, although the recent Charlie Brown movie did have texture and expressive lines to bring those characters and world alive. Here, it was quite difficult to bring large white hippopotami to life as they had quite a basic shape and tiny mouths at the side of their faces.

Yup, the Moomins are back and this time they’re CGI!

Yup, the Moomins are back and this time they’re CGI!

The voice acting was very strong and Taron Egerton shone as young Moomin troll. Matt Berry voiced Moomin Papa but with his distinct voice and cadence I found it hard to take his character seriously, he does pompous and self-aggrandising well but does subtlety less so. The music was sublime, all slow acoustic sounding stuff with lush vocal from Tom Odell, Mo, First Aid Kit and many more acoustic musicians that suited the mood of the show well.

The highlights for me were episode 5, The Secret of the Hattifatteners and episode 10, Ghost Story. The Secret of the Hattifatteners is quite spooky and sets up an interesting mystery and the finale really does leave you in awe and wonder, while Ghost Story is sweet and the conclusion of that is a bit of a tear-jerker, when the credits rolled I was blinking quickly as it really got to me.

Overall, at the time I felt that the show wasn't going to set the world alight but was a slow, meditative half hour of animation with interesting stories to tell that were heartfelt and gently affecting.

As time has gone by my reflections of Moominvalley are much kinder. It is a slow, meditative half hour of animation that is a tonic in this golden age of media. With the hyper-kinetic energy of other shows often being an assault on the sense, Moominvalley is a slow paced oasis of calm. It is a sweet and wonderful show that can be enjoyed by all the family.

LINK- The Moomins- Retro Soundtrack Review

LINK- Adventure in Moominland Exhibition at the Southbank Centre

LINK- The Wonder of Moomin World

LINK- Disenchantment- Complete Series 1 Review

LINK- Gravity Falls Complete Series Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Complete Series 1 Review

Official Moomins YouTube Channel Showing Classic 90s Show

I have a deep love for the Moomins as many of you may know. I've discussed the Moomins multiple times before, either when talking about the 80s stop motion animation, the exhibition at the Southbank Centre or even when reviewing the new Moominvalley series.

The Moomins are beloved characters created by the Finnish artist and storyteller, Tove Jansson. I am a huge fan of the creatures and with the recent release of the Moominvalley series, the Official Moomin YouTube page has launched with behind the scenes interviews with casts, creatives and other people involved in the production of the wonderful series.

However, the real jewel in the crown for this channel is that it is slowly releasing episodes of the wildly popular Adventures From Moominvalley animation from the 90s. It was this series, more than any previous one, that brought the Moomins worldwide fame. Check it out as at the time of writing the first 3 episodes are available to watch in high quality.

I never really watched the show in the 90s as I was going through my Edge Lord manga and anime phase… but watching it many years after the fact, it is quite lovely and gentle!

I never really watched the show in the 90s as I was going through my Edge Lord manga and anime phase… but watching it many years after the fact, it is quite lovely and gentle!

The 80's Moomins Soundtrack is Coming on Vinyl

Ah The Moomins! Characters I grew to love over time but was initially terrified of because of the creepy 80's eastern-European stopmotion animation. Well, if somehow this piece of freaky animation strikes your nostalgia bone then you might be stoked to know that the foreboding homemade electro-acoustic, new age, synth driven, proto-techno, imaginary world music is coming out in February 2017. The soundtrack, created by Graeme Miller and Steve Shill is a rarity and will attract a lot of interest so for those keen to purchase it I'd recommend a pre-order now! The playlist is:

1. The Moomins Theme
2. Travelling Theme
3. Hobgoblin's Hat
4. Leaving Moomin Valley
5. Partytime
6. Hattyfatteners Row
7. Woodland Band
8. Most Unusual
9. Midwinter Rites
10. Piano Waltz
11. Creepers
12. Woodland Band Far Away
13. Comet Shadow
14. Comet Theme
15. The Moomins Theme (End)

In the meantime in anticipation of the soundtrack release check out the first episode of the animation below.

The Moomin Shop, London

Ah, Finland.... the land of.... well actually I don't really know much about Finland except that it's education is supposed to be really cutting edge. However one thing I DO know about Finland is that it was the country of birth of Tove Jannsen, creator of the wonderful Moomins. The Moomins are a family of white, roundish fairy tale characters with large snouts that make them resemble hippopotamuses.

I first came across the Moomins in the 80s in the creepy stop-motion felt animation on ITV. The animation style was very unsettling and the music was suitably atmospheric. As I grew older I could see the animation style resembled eastern blok animation like 'Hedgehog in the Fog,' Jan Svankmajer or even the music video 'There There' by Radiohead.

The 80s animation scared me but the 90s 104 episode cartoon series changed all that, the animation style was more traditional and cutesy and I was hooked. Since 2006 the Moomin books have been available in hardback by Drawn and Quarterly, who are to be congratulated for producing beautifully put together volumes. I have purchased the first two and am working my way to get the whole collection.

Whilst walking through Covent Garden, London with my wife I came across the delightful Moomin Shop. Upon entry into the shop you are faced with a huge mural of the Moomins which sets the mood. As you go up the stairs to where the shop is located you go into the forest and meet Little My, floating on her umbrella. The shop has everything a Moomin fan could want from dish cloths, cutlery, t-shirts, china to non-alcoholic wine! My wife and I bought a lot of stuff and loved the experience. I even had a chance to meet Moomintroll!

If you are a fan of the Moomins you have to go to this amazing shop!