The Moomins (, ) is a stop motion animated children's television series. It is based on the Moomin series of books by Finnish writer Tove Jansson. It was produced by Polish company Se-ma-for and Austrian company Jupiter Film between 1977 and 1982 for Polish, Austrian and German television. It was first broadcast on TVP1 beginning on 19 November 1978.
The series was later sold to other countries including the UK. The British version was adapted by Anne Wood at FilmFair for ITV Central and broadcast in the UK. Series 1 was first shown on Monday 24 January 1983 at 4:15 pm and series 2 on Monday 7 January 1985 at 4.15pm on Children's ITV, and series 2 was repeated in 1986. The series was last repeated in its entirety in 1988. The series was also U.S. aired on Broadcast syndication in October 1983 to June 1987 and later shown on PBS in August 1985 to December 1994. It was narrated by British actor Richard Murdoch.
This series was the fourth series to be made based on the Moomin books. Two more were subsequently made. It is one of the two best-known Moomin series (along with the 1990 animated version Moomin). The 1977–1982 stop-motion version has been criticised for being scary in places and rather dark in tone for the young audience at which it was aimed. It is, in contrast to the 1990s series, widely believed to be the most faithful TV adaptation of Tove Jansson's stories, and much closer to her vision. Tove herself had a great deal of involvement during the series' production and was very happy with it (as revealed in an interview with Anne Wood in Simon Sheridan's 2007 book The A to Z of Classic Children's Television). The scripts for each episode were translated from Polish into Swedish and sent to Tove and Lars Jansson, who, if they felt that anything needed to be changed, corrected the script, expanding or rewriting it; afterwards, the scripts were sent back and only then did production of the particular episode begin.
In 2010, an HD version of the series was released. It was later followed by a new US-produced English dub in 2017.
Music The series had an orchestral score, composed by Andrzej Rokicki, with a whimsical opening theme, resembling the melody of a songbird. The German and Austrian dub retained most of the score, and added themes written by Eugen Illin, who also composed a different opening theme. For the shortened and re-edited UK release, a new score was composed by Graeme Miller and Steve Shill. Its opening titles featured a bouncy theme tune consisting of flutes and synthesizers, played against a popular still of Moomintroll holding a hat.
Episode list The original Polish series consisted of 78 ten-minute episodes, narrated initially by Stanisław Wyszyński, and subsequently by Stanisław Kwaśniak. The German and Austrian dub retained the full length of the original series, with the narration provided by Hans Clarin. The UK adaptation was shortened and re-edited into 100 five-minute episodes, narrated by Richard Murdoch.
Series 1 of the UK release consisted of 50 episodes, and was first broadcast Mondays to Fridays at 4:15 pm, 24 January to 6 April 1983 on Children's ITV. Series 2 consisting of another 50 episodes first aired Monday to Fridays at 4:15 pm, 7 January to 15 March 1985 on Children's ITV.
Series one UK broadcast dateTitleNovel inspiration24.01.1983Hobgoblin's HatFinn Family Moomintroll25.01.1983Magic CloudsFinn Family Moomintroll26.01.1983King of CaliforniaFinn Family Moomintroll27.01.1983The Ant LionFinn Family Moomintroll28.01.1983Canaries & Raspberry JuiceFinn Family Moomintroll31.01.1983The Indoor JungleFinn Family Moomintroll01.02.1983Thingumy and BobFinn Family Moomintroll02.02.1983The Trial of the GrokeFinn Family Moomintroll03.02.1983Snufkin's LeavingFinn Family Moomintroll04.02.1983The RubyFinn Family Moomintroll07.02.1983The Great SearchFinn Family Moomintroll08.02.1983The PartyFinn Family Moomintroll09.02.1983Hobgoblin Arrives At the PartyFinn Family Moomintroll10.02.1983Special WishesFinn Family Moomintroll11.02.1983The VoyageFinn Family Moomintroll14.02.1983Attack of the HattifattenersFinn Family Moomintroll15.02.1983The BarometerFinn Family Moomintroll16.02.1983Island TreasuresFinn Family Moomintroll17.02.1983Return to MoominvalleyFinn Family Moomintroll18.02.1983Invisible ChildTales from Moominvalley21.02.1983The CureTales from Moominvalley22.02.1983ChristmasTales from Moominvalley23.02.1983WinterMoominland Midwinter24.02.1983Little My Goes SkatingMoominland Midwinter25.02.1983Moomintroll and Little MyMoominland Midwinter28.02.1983The Lady of the ColdMoominland Midwinter01.03.1983AncestorMoominland Midwinter02.03.1983Healthy HemulenMoominland Midwinter03.03.1983Sorry-ooMoominland Midwinter04.03.1983Sorry-oo and the WolvesMoominland Midwinter07.03.1983The Winter BonfireMoominland Midwinter08.03.1983Return of the SunMoominland Midwinter09.03.1983The Great ThawMoominland Midwinter10.03.1983The FillyjonkTales from Moominvalley11.03.1983CatastropheTales from Moominvalley14.03.1983Moomintroll & the DragonTales from Moominvalley16.03.1983Moomintroll's PetTales from Moominvalley17.03.1983MemoirsMemoirs of Moominpappa18.03.1983The OrphanMemoirs of Moominpappa21.03.1983Hodgkins & the SailorMemoirs of Moominpappa22.03.1983Edward the BoobleMemoirs of Moominpappa23.03.1983Moomintroll to the RescueMemoirs of Moominpappa24.03.1983The StormMemoirs of Moominpappa25.03.1983The KingMemoirs of Moominpappa28.03.1983Island GhostMemoirs of Moominpappa29.03.1983Flying BoatMemoirs of Moominpappa30.03.1983The Muddler's MarriageMemoirs of Moominpappa31.03.1983Love StoryMemoirs of Moominpappa05.04.1983The VolcanoMoominsummer Madness06.04.1983The IslandMoominsummer Madness
Series two UK broadcast dateTitleNovel inspiration07.01.1985The Haunted TheatreMoominsummer Madness08.01.1985Misabel's HairdoMoominsummer Madness09.01.1985Emma the Theatre RatMoominsummer Madness10.01.1985A Night in the TreesMoominsummer Madness11.01.1985Astonished AwakeningMoominsummer Madness14.01.1985The Parkkeeper's SurpriseMoominsummer Madness15.01.1985The FillyjonkMoominsummer Madness16.01.1985Creepy MagicMoominsummer Madness17.01.1985The Naughty WoodiesMoominsummer Madness18.01.1985Snufkin's InvitationMoominsummer Madness21.01.1985In JailMoominsummer Madness22.01.1985Tea with the Hemulen's NieceMoominsummer Madness23.01.1985Dress RehearsalMoominsummer Madness24.01.1985The PerformanceMoominsummer Madness25.01.1985The ConfrontationMoominsummer Madness28.01.1985The GadflyMoomin & the Golden Tail, Moomin comic strips29.01.1985The CureMoomin & the Golden Tail, Moomin comic strips30.01.1985The Cocktail PartyMoomin & the Golden Tail, Moomin comic strips31.01.1985CedricTales from Moominvalley01.02.1985Mr. BriskMoomins Winter Follies, Moomin comic strips04.02.1985The JungleMoominvalley turns Jungle, Moomin comic strips05.02.1985The TigersMoominvalley turns Jungle, Moomin comic strips06.02.1985The HuntersMoominvalley turns Jungle, Moomin comic strips07.02.1985The FunfairMoomin and the Brigands, Moomin comic strips08.02.1985The Hemulen AuntMoomin and Aunt Jane, Moomin comic strips11.02.1985The OrphanMoomin Winter, Moomin comic strips12.02.1985The VampireMoomin & the Vampire, Moomin comic strips13.02.1985The Vampire EscapesMoomin & the Vampire, Moomin comic strips14.02.1985The Friendly VampireMoomin & the Vampire, Moomin comic strips15.02.1985The Nice BatMoomin & the Vampire, Moomin comic strips18.02.1985Mamma's IslandMoominpappa at Sea19.02.1985Mamma's PaintingMoominpappa at Sea20.02.1985The Terrible Island StormMoominpappa at Sea21.02.1985The Disappearing MoominsMoomin & the Martians, Moomin comic strips22.02.1985The Little MartianMoomin & the Martians, Moomin comic strips25.02.1985The Martian Goes HomeMoomin & the Martians, Moomin comic strips26.02.1985The DiscoveriesComet in Moominland27.02.1985The Muskrat's PredictionComet in Moominland28.02.1985The JourneyComet in Moominland01.03.1985The Underground WaterfallComet in Moominland04.03.1985The Giant EagleComet in Moominland05.03.1985The ObservatoryComet in Moominland06.03.1985The RockfallComet in Moominland07.03.1985Moomintroll to the RescueComet in Moominland08.03.1985The Village ShopComet in Moominland11.03.1985The DanceComet in Moominland12.03.1985The Dead SeaComet in Moominland13.03.1985Locust AttackComet in Moominland14.03.1985The TornadoComet in Moominland15.03.1985The CometComet in Moominland
The order above is the correct broadcast order, for when the episodes were first shown on UK television in 1983 (taken from the original script list). The episode order in the recent DVD boxset was changed, so that the English episodes were intended to match the German broadcast order (but they were in fact different). In the UK, the series ended with the Comet in Moominland story. Series 1 was shown in 1983 and series 2 in 1985. Series 2 was repeated in 1986. The series was also repeated in its entirety in 1988. (Confirmed by the sleeve notes from Finders Keepers Moomin soundtrack release 2016).
Impact and critical reaction In 2008 the series was listed at number 25 in a list of top 50 children's TV by The Times. Excerpts from the series have been shown at film festivals in the UK and Japan.
Home release A Region 2 DVD boxset was released in 2004, in both English and German editions (both versions manufactured in Austria).
Single DVD releases are also available, which contain English and German episodes. The German episodes have English subtitles and the English episodes have German subtitles.
The complete series in its original Polish version, which was longer than the UK re-edit and had a different musical score, was released in Poland in 2009, as a 5-DVD Region 2 box set.
Films Moomin and Midsummer Madness was released in 2008, based on a compilation of Episodes 51–65. Moomins and the Comet Chase was released in 2010, based on a compilation of Episodes 88–100. Moomins and the Winter Wonderland was released in 2017, based on a compilation of Episodes 23–33. The Exploits of Moominpappa - Adventures of a Young Moomin was released in 2021, based on a compilation of Episodes 28–36.
References Simon Sheridan The A to Z of Classic Children's Television (Reynolds & Hearn books, 2004, reprinted 2007) . Contains a long chapter on the making of the TV series, a rare photo of Tove Jansson and an interview with UK series producer Anne Wood.
Notes
External links Fuzzy Felts: The DVD History of The Moomins (1978–1982) TV Series
The Moomins TV Series Distribution