Moominvalley (, , also known as just Moomin) is a Finnish-British animated family drama television series. An adaptation of the Moomin books and comics by Finnish writer-illustrator Tove Jansson and her brother Lars Jansson, it is created using new techniques in 3D CGI.
Finnish production company Gutsy Animations ran a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo from 8 March to 21 April 2017. The campaign was organised in order to raise funds towards visual development of the series. Animation company Anima Vitae was appointed as the lead animation company for the first two seasons of the series. The series is Finland's most expensive television show with a €20 million budget.
In 2019, the series' first episode was the most watched program on Finnish national broadcaster Yle's streaming service Yle Areena. The series became the most watched show ever on Yle Areena and the most watched television series of 2019 in the whole of Finland. The series has 16 million streams on Yle Areena.
Synopsis The protagonist of the series is Moomintroll, who is curious, kind, sensitive, and idealistic. He is a typical hero in a coming-of-age story: he tries to tackle the puzzle of growing up to his true, individualistic self while remaining a beloved part of the family. He lives with his caring Moominmamma and nostalgic Moominpappa. Moomintroll is joined in his adventures by his best friend the free-spirited wanderer Snufkin, the chaotic Little My, daydreamer Snorkmaiden, cowardly Sniff, and many other friends.
Cast and characters
CharacterEnglish actorFinnish actorFinland Swedish actorJapanese actorNorthern-Sami actorInari Sami ActorSkolt Sami actor Moomintroll Taron Egerton (S1–2)Jack Rowan (S3–4)Joonas NordmanJunta TerashimaÁilu ValleMikkâl MorottajaTeemu Titola Moominmamma Rosamund PikeSatu SilvoMaria SidKikuko InoueSiri Broch JohansenAnna MorottajaTiina Sanila-Aikio Moominpappa Matt BerryVille HaapasaloYasunori MatsumotoMikkel GaupAimo AikioTauno Ljetoff Snufkin Edvin EndreOlavi UusivirtaIssey TakahashiNiko ValkeapääTomi KoivunenTuomas Kiprianoff Little My Bel PowleyKiti Kokkonen (S1–3) Aksa Korttila (S4)Ikue OtaniIrene LänsmanAuri AholaNeeta Jääskö Snorkmaiden Akiya HenryAlina TomnikovEdith HolmströmMinami TsudaLinda TammelaHeli HuovinenHeidi Gauriloff Sniff Warwick DavisKoji OchiaiAslak PalttoMarko TervaniemiPavlo Heikkinen Muskrat Will SelfHeikki HarmaMax Bremer (S1, S2 eps 1–5, 13) Sixten Lundberg (S2 eps 6–9) Nobuaki Kanemitsu Pentti Pieski Yrjö MustaErkki Lumisalmi Hemulens (male) Joe WilkinsonPekka Strang Tetsuharu Ōta Tuomas HuuskoJouko Moshnikoff Hemulens (female) Susie Brann Cecilia Paul Yoko Matsuoka Inger-Mari Aikio N/A Fillyjonk Kate Winslet (S1–2) Teresa Gallagher (S3–4)Kristiina HalttuNina HukkinenShiho HisajimaAnna Näkkäläjärvi-LänsmanSuvi KingTiina Sanila-Aikio MymbleJennifer SaundersLotta LindroosHellen WillbergYuriko IshiganeAnnukka Hirvasvuopio-LaitiMarke LaaksonenHeini Wesslin Too-tickyKatie Leung (S1–2) Teresa Gallagher (S3–4)Elina KnihtiläNina PalmgrenMomoko YamafujiAnne OlliN/A Emma The Stage Rat Alison Steadman Arja SaijonmaaYuko KobayashiSuvi WestMisabelRebecca RootMiiko ToiviainenKaj Korkea-AhoKozue HarashimaAslak Paltto Ninny Mayumi KawaiYasmine YamajakoJenna HukkinenYui FukuoIŋgá Ravna-Pieski Teety-Woo Matt LucasLauri KetonenOlli LiljeströmKunihiro KawamotoPekka AikioThe GhostRichard AyoadeAli JahangiriAndré WickströmKyousei TsukuiMr BriskJulian BarrattRiku NieminenKristofer GummerusYukito SomaN/AJuha Feodoroff The Hobgoblin Adewale Akinnuoye-AgbajeJorma UotinenNicke LignellHidenari UgakiN/AVeikko AikioN/A Thingumy Jon MonieAnna PuuIida KuningasKōsuke EchigoyaNiina Aikio-SiltalaBobSusie BrannPaula VesalaMitsuhiro InoseSari SarreThe FishermanRhys DarbyKari KetonenOskar PöystiHiroyuki ShibamotoN/AMarkus JuutinenSeahorse 1Miriam-Teak LeeSaara AaltoEmma KlingenbergMariko MunakataAnna LumikiviSeahorse 2Shalom Brune-FranklinAnna-Maija TuokkoJennie StorbackaSayaka NaritaSonja HovslagareToffle Iina KuustonenNina PalmgrenSachiko HonmaMariann Bernhardt The Groke Susie BrannSnorkChance PerdomoDeogracias MasomiTom RejstörmStinkyMike WilmotSanteri KinnunenElmer BäckAunt JaneEllen ThomasKaisla LöyttyjärviJonna JärnefeltJoxter Artist
Music Original music score
The original music score for the series is composed by Finnish musicians, classical violinist Pekka Kuusisto and percussionist Samuli Kosminen, with Jarmo Saari joining them in season 2. The music supervisor for the series is Virpi Immonen. Kuusisto's father, Ilkka Kuusisto, had previously composed an opera for the Moomins with Tove Jansson in 1974.
Official soundtrack Season 1 The Moominvalley TV series also includes episodic songs which are produced in collaboration with Columbia Records and Sony Music Entertainment. The official soundtrack for the series was released on 19 April 2019. It includes 16 original recordings from a line-up of artists including Tom Odell, First Aid Kit, Alma, dodie, Delilah Montagu, Declan McKenna, MØ, SOAK and many more.
A limited edition 12" picture disc on clear vinyl was made available in four colourways, each featuring a different Moomin character. It was also released on 19 April 2019.
Season 2 The second season includes nine original songs from artists such as Cavetown, girl in red, Jesse Markin and jens. The official soundtrack album, created in collaboration with Sony Music Finland, was released on 10 April 2020 globally on the major streaming platforms (Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, Google Play and Tidal).
Episodes Series overview
Pilot (2014)
Season 1 (2019)
Season 2 (2019–2020) The first two episodes of season two were screened at Finnkino cinemas in Finland on 2 February 2020, exactly a month before these episodes premiered on Yle TV2 and Yle Areena on 2 March 2020.
Season 3 (2022)
Season 4 (2024) Gutsy Animations announced in early 2023 that anchor broadcasters Sky (UK) and Yle (Finland) have recommissioned the Moominvalley series for a fourth season. For Season 4 the Viaplay Group has partnered as co-producer and will air all four seasons on its streaming platform in multiple territories including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Poland, and the Netherlands. Season 4 had 12 22-minute episodes, along with a 45-minute series finale.
International broadcast Moominvalley has been sold to more than 60 countries. Moominvalley first aired on Yle TV2 in Finland on 25 February 2019, and a day after in Swedish on Yle Teema & Fem. It began airing in the United Kingdom on Sky One, Sky Kids and NOW TV on 19 April 2019. The first eight episodes aired overnight between 2:00 and 6:00 am, and were then repeated in pairs between 5:30 and 6:30 pm over the Easter weekend from 19 to 22 April. Episodes 9–11 followed on the afternoon of 27 April, and 12–13 on 28 April. The first five episodes of season 2 aired over the weekend before Christmas 2019, with the remainder broadcast over the following Easter weekend, 10–13 April 2020. Japan's national broadcaster NHK premiered Moominvalley on its BS4K channel on 4 April 2019. The series has also been sold to China. On 9 August 2019 it launched on WildBrain's YouTube channel. In November 2020 it was announced that Moominvalley had been recommissioned for a third season by anchor broadcasters Yle in Finland and Sky in the UK. The first eight episodes aired on Sky Showcase in pairs from Good Friday 2022 (15 April) until Easter Monday (18 April), with the remainder scheduled, also in pairs until the final episode, for subsequent Sundays.
On 1 May 2019 PGS Entertainment acquired the distribution rights to Moominvalley. On 5 October 2023, it was announced that Zodiak Kids & Family Distribution had acquired the distribution rights to Moominvalley.
In the United Kingdom, the series also airs on BBC Alba and S4C as part of their CBBC Alba and Stwnsh blocks, where it is dubbed in Scottish Gaelic and Welsh respectively.
Reception Ratings The series has been extremely successful in its reviews and ratings worldwide. The first episode of Moominvalley was viewed by 600,000 viewers when it premiered on Finland's Yle TV2 in February 2019. It also became the most watched television series episode of all time on Yle's streaming service, Yle Areena, bringing the total viewership of the first episode in Finland to over two million. Moominvalley was the most watched TV series and the fourth most watched TV programme in Finland in 2019, across all channels.
Awards YearAwardCategoryResult2019Shanghai TV Festival Magnolia AwardsBest Animation & Best Storytelling2019TBI Content Innovation AwardsBest animated kids programme2019Golden VenlaBest Children and Youth Programme2020British Animation AwardsBest Children's Series2020BANFF Rockie AwardsChildren and Youth: Animation20209th International Emmy Kids AwardsKids: Animation2020Cyber Sousa -Xiamen International Animation FestivalBest Animated Series2020JIFFAnimation Short2020Golden VenlaBest Children and Youth Programme2021AnnecyTV Films in Competition2022British Animation AwardsBest voice performance (Bel Powley)2022New York International Children's Film FestivalAudience Episodic Award2022RTS West of England AwardsBest Sound2022TBI Content Innovation AwardsBest Children's Programme2022Golden VenlaBest Children and Youth Programme202350th Annie AwardsBest Animated Television Production for Children2023Shanghai TV Festival Magnolia AwardsBest Animation2023Golden PandaBest Animated Image202351st International Emmy AwardsKids: Animation202553rd International Emmy AwardsKids: Animation
In 2019 Moominvalley was awarded the Best Animated Kid's Programme at TBI's Content Innovation Awards. The series also won a Golden Venla award in 2019 for Best Children's Program, and won Best Children's Series at the 2020 British Animation Awards. Moominvalley was nominated for Best Animation and Best Storytelling at the 2019 Shanghai Television Festival. In 2020 Moominvalley was a New York International Children's Film Festival nominee and was additionally nominated in the "Children and Youth: Animation" category of the Banff Rockie Awards. Moominvalley was shortlisted for the Broadcast Digital Awards in 2020 and selected for Encounters' Film Festival's competition programme in the same year. It was nominated for an International Emmy Kids Award. In 2020 Moominvalley was nominated for Best Children's Program in Golden Venla Awards for the second year in a row.
References
External links
Moominvalley on Moomin.com Moominvalley on Gutsy Animations