The Moomins
The Moomins originated from a number of books written
and illustrated by Tove Jansson. These books were written
between 1960 and 1980.
She had previously seen the work of the 'Groteska' puppet
theatre (Poland) and liked the semi flat puppets made on
multi-plane cameras. Semafor Studio made this realisation
come true for television and the classic 'Fuzzy Felt'
Moomins were made.
Film Polska was the trading partner for Semafor, who was
the only film producer in Poland to act
abroad. Eventually the
programme
became a
co-
production
with ZDF (Germany), ORF (Austria) and Jupiter
Film (Austria).
For the production, they decided to keep the scripts
as close to the original books as possible. Tove
Jansson and her brother were actively involved with
the production and reviewed the scripts as it went
along. The series was first shown in 1981.
A total of 78 episodes were created between 1977 and 1982 with each episode lasting for 8 to 9
minutes, which are unedited (Polish & German). The music for the Polish version was composed
by Andrzej Rokicki and was narrated by Stanislaw Kwasniak. The German version was composed
by Eugen Illin (some of Andrzej's music was left in) and was narrated by Hans Clarin.
For German speaking TV Stations, 3 episodes were cut together to make 26 episodes (German).
This resulted in the stories being shortened.
Two years later (1983), the English version was released, which was produced by Filmfair for
Central Television. The music was replaced and was instead composed by Graeme
Miller and Steve Shill. It was narrated by Richard Murdoch.
This time the episodes were recut and 100 episodes
were created, with each episode lasting for 4 to 5
minutes. But the downside of this is that the stories
were shortened even further. To give you an idea, the
English Version (474 minutes), the German Uncut
Version (696 minutes).
Luckily the uncut German episodes are included on the
latest release of The Moomins, which is in German with
English Subtitles (called Die Mumins).
Story
The Moomins live in a tranquil place called Moominvalley. They live in a tall house in the middle of
the countryside and not too far away is the sea where they have a bathing hut on the end of a
short pier. It is a magical place.
When winter comes they hibernate in their house, by tucking themselves up in bed and sleeping
through it. They even sleep through Christmas.
Once they were woken up one Christmas and they didn't know what was happening, so they
followed the lead of others and decorated their fir tree outside their house. It looked nice, but they
decided it was better to be asleep again.
After winter had passed, Snufkin, Moomintroll and Sniff climbed to the top of
the Lonely Mountain to show that they were the first ones to
climb it on the first day of spring, but when they got
there, they found that someone has already got
there and that a hat was sitting there.
They took the hat back with them and showed it to
Moominmamma and Moomin Papa. Here they found
out that it was a magic hat, which had once belonged
to the Hobgoblin. Anything that went into the hat was
changed into something else. Moominpappa decided
that the hat could be too dangerous, so ordered that
they put it in the river to sail away.
And so their adventures began...
Moomintroll
He is a young Moomin that loves to have fun with his friend Snufkin. He
is afraid of the dark, so likes to have the candles lit at night.
Once he was playing hide and seek with the others and so hid in the
Hobgoblin's hat. When he eventually emerged from it, he had changed
into a strange looking thing. When the others didn't recognise him, he
thought they were pretending, so he said that he was the King of
California.
Once he found out they weren't joking, he was very upset. Luckily Moominmamma was able to
break the spell.
Moomintroll gets very upset when Snufkin goes on his travels. He even used his wish from the
Hobgoblin to send a feast of food to Snufkin wherever he was.
Even though he was told by Too Ticky not to, he opened the cupboard in the Bathing Hut and out
popped one of his ancestors, a troll. He couldn't believe that he was related to this little person.
He decided it was good manners to show him around there home, where the troll decided to
settled down and live in the stove.
He is quite choosy who he shares his strawberry jam with and wasn't too happy when Little My
kept giving it away to others in the Winter. But during the Winter Moomintroll became a hero when
he rescued Little My from the frozen sea which was beginning to melt.
Snufkin
He is Moomintroll's best friend. He loves nothing more than sitting on a
rock and playing and composing his wonderful music on his flute.
He never gives thought to worldly treasure and loves to wander around
in the forest at night, on his own and enjoying his own company.
But Snufkin is a restless soul and cannot stay still in one place for long.
So every so often he goes out into the wilderness to travel and explore.
He likes saying things like "Come on Man", very street cred (grins). Most of the time he sleeps in
his tent in the great outdoors.
Sniff
He is a very large mouse who has a nasty habit of sniffing all the time
(hence his name). Sniff is also well known for sleeping a week longer
than anyone else after winter (unless Moomintroll and Snufkin gets there
first).
He can't swim, but he found an old lifebelt that would help him learn.
The Hemulen
Initially he was a very unhappy person, as he had nothing to do, so
Snufkin suggested that he should study nature. He was so happy with
this suggestion and he threw himself into it wholeheartedly. So now he
loves to collect plants.
Once Moominpappa took him and the others to a secluded island where
he found lots of rare flowers, but also he bumped into a barometer that
was fixed to a pole. Here he was surrounded by Hattifatteners who
wanted him to leave it alone.
He became scared, so stole their barometer, but later in the evening they stole it back and gave
him an electric shock for his troubles (serves him right).
He was very kind when he used his Hobgoblin wish to change The Snorkmaiden's eyes back to
normal.
He made it his duty that he should wake the Moomins at Christmas otherwise they would miss it
again (which is what normally happens).
He was born bald.
The Snorkmaiden
She is always trying to make herself look beautiful for Moomintroll. But
she was really upset when she had found out that the Hattifatteners has
accidentally scorched off her hair.
So she began by wearing headscarves, which she liked and she really was becoming a fashion victim.
She even used her wish from the Hobgoblin to have new eyes to make herself look pretty for Moomintroll. As soon as the
wish was granted and she saw that her eyes were totally blue, she hated them and began to cry (she was warned!!).
Moominpappa
He is the head of the Moomin family. He likes to write his memoirs of his adventures. He like the comfortable stay at home
life for most of the time, but every once in a while he gets bored and so goes and seeks adventure again, just as he did
when he was younger. He is a very good sailor of boats.
He is the defender of the family.
Moominmamma
She is very level headed and tries to keep a lookout for the younger ones. There is one thing that she cannot do without,
which is her handbag. Once Moominmamma lost her handbag and was very upset.
The whole valley helped to look for it, which was eventually returned by Thingumy and Bob. They had such a great party
afterwards.
Moominmamma keeps the house ticking over and she keeps cleaning the house from top to bottom. She is very good at
making cherry and redcurrant jam
The Hattifatteners
They are strange banana shaped creatures with long hair, who live on a deserted island and can't see or hear, but can feel.
Hattifatteners hang around in a large group and mutter strange sounds.
They can be intimidating and surround you, so the best way to escape is move something to make a vibration, which will
scare them away.
They have a barometer that sits on a pole on their island. This is their secret totem and no one else had ever been to this
place, that was until the Hemulen stumbled across the place and stole the barometer.
Hattifatteners do have a defence against unwelcome guests, which is that they can give electric shocks.
Thingumy and Bob
They are two small creatures that speak in a language that is very close to English, but a number of words are muddled up.
They are very shy, so try not to startle them.
When they arrived in Moominvalley, they carried a suitcase with them. It was their prized possession. Eventually they
showed the others what was in it. It was a fantastic Ruby that you just couldn't stop looking at and admiring.
They had stolen this from the Groke.
The Groke
This is a horrible and nasty creature. Anything that is in her path is frozen solid. She wasn't happy when Thingumy and Bob
stole her suitcase with the big red ruby in it, as she thought it was worth a lot.
She kept trying to get it back, but the Moomins decided that they needed a court (with judge) to decide who should have it.
After going to and fro, the Moomins offered to trade the Hobgoblins hat for the suitcase. The Groke agreed and with a
horrible laugh went into the distance.
The Hobgoblin
He is a wizard that travels around with his black panther (who he sits on when it flies in the sky). His magic hat was found by
the other Moomins, but he seems to have many of these.
But one of his possession was stolen from himself, a big red ruby. He had spent years trying to find it and has even travelled
the universe in search of it.
Eventually he found it in Moominvalley where a party for the whole valley was in progress. He found the ruby in the
possession of Thingumy and Bob, and he wanted it back. They had bought it from Groke and didn't want him to have it.
So he joined in with the party and had so much fun that he granted each person a single wish. Thingumy and Bob wished for another big red ruby, so
that the Hobgoblin could have one too.
Little My
She is a strange (and ugly) little girl, but she is also very selfish and rude. I'm surprised that the other Moomins don't mind
her being around?
She hibernates in the winter, in a box of wool, in a cave, with her sister the Mymble. But she was woken up in winter and
found that she had a taste for skiing.
Be very careful not to have a secret around Little My, as she will try everything to find out what it is and also tell everyone
else that you have a secret.
Too Ticky
He is a sailor that lodges in the Moomins bathing hut in winter. Too Ticky doesn't live in the hut on his own, and is instead
joined by the invisible mice, who look after him and by keeping the fire stoked (they can even fly). He also likes to play his
Barrel Organ.
Once he told Moomintroll to never open the cupboard of the bathing hut in winter. But Moomintroll could not resist and
opened it and out popped one of his ancestors, a troll.
He has a ritual to turn his hat inside out. When Winter starts he turns it inside out to the black side and when Winter ends he
turns it inside out to the red side.
Too Ticky can be cold hearted, which was evident when he didn't try to rescue Moomintroll from the frozen sea. Moomintroll was very upset with him.
The Healthy Hemulen
As his name suggests, this is one really health Hemulen. When he arrived in Moominvalley, in winter, he ordered the other
forest folk to build him a igloo. They kindly obliged, but found out afterwards that he is a fanatic concerning being healthy,
such as jumping in ice cold water, and he wanted them to join him.
Obviously the others didn't want to keep that healthy, and after a while the Hemulen became sad as it looked like no one
liked him. Even the dog called Sorry-oo didn't want to stay with him.
But Sorr-yoo had wanted to join his brothers, the wolves, and when they arrived he knew he'd made a terrible mistake as
they were wild and vicious. Luckily the Healthy Hemulen heard his cries and went to rescue him.
Sorry-oo was so grateful that he decided to become his companion and also the forest folk decided that they did like him after all.
The Fillyjonk
She was quite a nervous creature, who one day said that a catastrophe was coming. For once in her life she was right, a
tornado swept though the countryside and straight through her home.
She never really liked her home, so she was happy that she could rebuild it again. Also she found that she was not nervous
anymore, as she thought that this was the most terrible thing that could ever happen to her. Her best friend is Gaftse.
The Moomins T-Shirts
Flashback
Episodes
Series 1 (1983)
1. Hobgoblin's Hat
2. Magic Clouds
3. King of California
4. Ant Lion
5. The Voyage
6. Attack of the Hattifatteners
7. The Barometer
8. Island Treasures
9. Return to Moominvalley
10. Canaries & Raspberry Juice
11. The Indoor Jungle
12. Thingumy and Bob
13. The Trial of the Groke
14. Snuffkins Leaving
15. The Ruby
16. The Great Search
17. The Party
18. Hobgoblin Arrives at the Party
19. Special Wishes
20. Invisible Child
21. The Cure
22. Christmas
23. Winter
24. Little My Goes Skating
25. Moomintroll and Little My
26. The Lady of the Cold
27. The Winter Bonfire
28. Return of the Sun
29. Ancestor
30. Healthy Hemulen
31. Sorry-oo
32. Sorry-oo and the Wolves
33. The Great Thaw
34. The Fillyjonk
35. Catastrophe
36. Moomintroll & the Dragon
37. Moomintrolls Pet
38. Memoirs
39. The Orphan
40. Hodgkins & the Sailor
41. Edward the Booble
42. Moomintroll to the Rescue
43. The Storm
44. The King
45. Island Ghost
46. Flying Boat
47. The Muddlers Marriage
48. Love Story
49. The Volcano
50. The Island
51. The Haunted Theatre
52. Misabels Hairdo
53. Emma the Theatre Rat
54. A Night in the Trees
55. Astonished Awakening
56. The Parkkeepers Surprise
57. The Fillyjonk
58. Creepy Magic
59. The Naughty Woodies
60. Snuffkins Invitation
61. In Jail
62. Tea with the Hemulen's Niece
63. Dress Rehearsal
64. The Performance
65. The Confrontation
66. The Discoveries
67. The Muscrats Prediction
68. The Journey
69. The Underground Waterfall
70. The Giant Eagle
71. The Observatory
72. The Rockfall
73. Moomintroll to the Rescue
74. The Village Shop
75. The Dance
76. The Dead Sea
77. Locust Attack
78. The Tornado
79. The Comet
80. The Gadfly
81. The Cure
82. The Cocktail Party
83. Cedric
84. Mr. Brisk
85. The Jungle
86. The Tigers
87. The Hunters
88. The Funfair
89. The Hemulen Aunt
90. The Orphan
91. The Vampire
92. The Vampire Escapes
93. The Friendly Vampire
94. The Nice Bat
95. Mamma's Island
96. Mamma's Painting
97. The Terrible Island Storm
98. The Disappearing Moomins
99. The Little Martian
100. The Martian Goes Home
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