The Moomins, comic book cover by Tove Jansson. From left to right, Sniff, Snufkin, Moominpappa, Moominmamma, Moomintroll (Moomin), Mymble, Groke, Snork Maiden and Hattifatteners

The Moomins are the central characters in a series of books and a comic strip by Finnish writer Tove Jansson, originally published in Swedish. They are a family of creatures who are white, round and furry in appearance, with large snouts that make them resemble trolls or capybara. The carefree and adventurous family live in their house in Moominvalley, though in the past their temporary residences have included a lighthouse and a theatre. They have many adventures along with their many friends. Moomin may stand for: The Moomins or Moomintrolls, characters in a series of books by Finnish author Tove Jansson, which she created in the 1940s Moomin is also a short form of the name of the main Moomin character, Moomintroll The Moomins (TV series), a 1970s stop motion version broadcast... A picture of the cartoom The Moomins, Mummit, This work is copyrighted. ... For other uses, see Book (disambiguation). ... This article is about the comic strip, the sequential art form as published in newspapers and on the Internet. ... Tove Marika Jansson ( ; August 9, 1914 – June 27, 2001) was a Finnish novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. ... For other uses, see Troll (disambiguation). ... Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1766) Capybara range Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris[1], known as carpincho in Spanish and capivara in Portuguese[2]) is the largest rodent still in existence in the world,[3] related to guinea pigs, agouti, coyphillas and chinchillas. ... Moominvalley (Swedish: Mumindalen) is a fictional place, where the Moomins live in the tales by Finnish author Tove Jansson. ... Eddystone Lighthouse, one of the first wavewashed lighthouses For other uses, see Lighthouse (disambiguation). ... Serge Sudeikins poster for the Bat Theatre (1922). ...

The Moomins have since been the basis for numerous television series, a film and even a theme park. An interactive playroom about the Moomins is located at Scandinavia House.^{[citation needed]} Scandinavia House - The American-Scandinavian Foundation 58 Park Ave, New York NY Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America, The American-Scandinavian Foundations cultural center, is located at 58 Park Avenue, between 37th and 38th streets in midtown Manhattan. ...

The books

Naantali, Finland, Moomin Houses in Moomin World

The books in the series, in order, are: Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1584x1520, 441 KB) Moomins haus in Muumimaailma (Moominsland) in Naantal, Finland Dom Muminków w Parku Muminków w Naantal, Finlandia Its my own picture 2002. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1584x1520, 441 KB) Moomins haus in Muumimaailma (Moominsland) in Naantal, Finland Dom Muminków w Parku Muminków w Naantal, Finlandia Its my own picture 2002. ... Naantali (Swedish Nådendal, Latin Vallis Gratiae - valley of grace), city in south-western Finland, known as the probably most important tourist centre of the country. ... Moomin World or Moomin Theme Park (especially for kids) is situated in Naantali near the city of Turku in Western Finland. ...

• Prequel. The Moomins and the Great Flood (Originally Småtrollen och den stora översvämningen) - 1945

1. Comet in Moominland some editions The Happy Moomins - (Originally Kometjakten / Kometen kommer) - 1946
2. Finn Family Moomintroll (originally Trollkarlens hatt) - 1948
3. The Exploits of Moominpappa some editions Moominpappa's Memoirs (originally Muminpappans bravader / Muminpappans memoarer) - 1950
4. Moominsummer Madness (originally Farlig midsommar) - 1954
5. Moominland Midwinter (originally Trollvinter) - 1957
6. Tales from Moominvalley (originally Det osynliga barnet) - 1962 (short stories)
7. Moominpappa at Sea (originally Pappan och havet) - 1965
8. Moominvalley in November (originally Sent i november) - 1970 (in which the Moomin family is absent)

The first book, known in English as The Moomins and the Great Flood (original Swedish title Småtrollen och den stora översvämningen) was finally published in English in 2005 (though only in Finland). The Moomins and the Great Flood (in the original Swedish it is The Little Trolls and the Great Flood) is a book written by Finnish author Tove Jansson in 1945. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... Comet In Moominland (Swedish title Kometjakten / Mumintrollet pÃ¥ kometjakt / Kometen kommer) is the first in the series of Tove Janssons Moomins books, published in 1946. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Finn Family Moomintroll (Swedish title Trollkarlens hatt) is the second in the series of Tove Janssons Moomins books, published in 1948. ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Exploits of Moominpappa, also known as Moominpappas Memoirs, is the third book in the Moomin series by Tove Jansson. ... Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Moominsummer Madness (Swedish title Farlig Midsommar) is the fourth in the series of Tove Janssons Moomins books, published in 1954. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Moominland Midwinter (Swedish title Trollvinter) is the fifth in the series of Tove Janssons Moomins books, published in 1957. ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... Tales from Moominvalley is the sixth book in the Moomin series by Finnish author, Tove Jansson. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Moominpappa at Sea is the seventh book in the Moomin books by Finnish author Tove Jansson. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... Moominvalley in November is the eighth and final book in the Moomin series by Finnish author Tove Jansson. ... Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

There are also four Moomin picture books by Tove Jansson:

• The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My (Hur gick det sen) - 1952
• Who will Comfort Toffle? (Vem ska trösta knyttet) - 1960)
• The Dangerous Journey (Den farliga resan) - 1977)
• An Unwanted Guest (Skurken i Muminhuset) - 1980) (never translated into English.)

The books and comic strips have been translated from their original Swedish and English into many languages. Bold textThe Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My was the first Moomin picture book by Finnish author Tove Jansson. ... Year 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Dangerous Journey was a childrens picture book in the Moomin series by Tove Jansson. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ...

The comic strip

The Moomins, from Japanese–Finnish television-animation. From left to right, Sniff, Moominmamma, Moominpappa, Moomintroll (Moomin) and Little My

The Moomins also appeared in the form of comic strips; their first appearance was in the popular London newspaper The Evening News in 1954. Tove Jansson drew and wrote all the strips until 1959 when she lost inspiration, saying that she no longer had time for painting or writing. After this her brother Lars Jansson, who could duplicate the style of drawings and texts accurately, took over the job until 1975 when the last strip was released. The strips were made in English and then translated to other languages. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This article is about the comic strip, the sequential art form as published in newspapers and on the Internet. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Front page of the first issue of the Evening News from July 26 1881. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Tove Marika Jansson ( ; August 9, 1914 – June 27, 2001) was a Finnish novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Lars Jansson (September 8, 1926 - July 31, 2000) was the younger brother of Tove Jansson. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

Drawn and Quarterly, a Canadian graphic novel publisher, is releasing a new reprint series of The Evening News strips, beginning in October 2006. The first two volumes of Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip are currently available, with three more volumes planned to follow. Drawn and Quarterly is a Canadian comic book publishing company, headed by publisher Chris Oliveros, and based in Montréal, Québec. ... Trade paperback of Will Eisners A Contract with God (1978), often mistakenly cited as the first graphic novel. ...

In the 1990s, a comic book version of the Moomin was produced in Scandinavia after the animated series were shown on television. Neither Tove nor Lars Jansson had any involvement in this.

Television series and films

The story of the Moomins was made into television series on many occasions by various groups, the most recent of which have been Japanese–Finnish collaboration works which have also produced a feature-length movie. However, there are also two Soviet series (puppet animation Mumi-troll (Moomintroll) and cutout animation Shlyapa Volshebnika (Magician's hat)) of three films each and Polish puppet animation TV series, Opowiadania Muminków (Moomin Stories). This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Mumi-troll (literally Moomintroll) was a series of three films made in the U.S.S.R in 1978, based on the book Comet in Moominland, which was a part of the Moomin series by Finn Tove Jansson. ... Scene from Yuriy Norshteyns upcoming feature film, The Overcoat Cutout animation is a unique technique for producing animations using flat characters, props and backgrounds cut from materials such as paper, card, stiff fabric or even photographs. ... Shlyapa Volshebnika was a series of three films produced from 1980 to 1983 in the U.S.S.R. based on the book Finn Family Moomintroll, which was one of the Moomin books by Finn Tove Jansson. ... A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ... The title sequence The Moomins is a 1980s stop motion animation TV series based on the Moomin books, about magical creatures from the forests of Finland. ...

In all, 9 television series and one film have been made:

• Die Muminfamilie ("The Moomin Family", Germany, 1959-1961)
• Mumintrollet ("Moomintroll", Sweden, 1969)
• Muumin ("Moomin", Japan, 1969-1970)
• Muumin ("New Moomin", Japan, 1972, a sequel of "Muumin")
• Mumi-troll ("Moomintroll", USSR, 1978)
• Opowiadania Muminków (Moomin Stories, Poland, 1977-1982, English title: The Moomins)
• Shlyapa Volshebnika ("Magician's Hat", USSR, 1980-1983)
• Tove Jansson no Mūmin, Tanoshii Mūmin Ikka ("Tove Jannson's Moomin, Delightful Moomin Family", Japan, 1990-1991, English title: Moomin)
• Tanoshii Moomin Ikka: Bōken Nikki (TV series) ("Delightful Moomin Family: Adventure Diary", Japan, 1991-1992)
• Tanoshii Moomin Ikka: Muumindani no Suisei (movie) ("Delightful Moomin Family: Comet in Moominland", Japan, 1992)

Image from the series Die Muminfamilie, literally The Moomin family was a West German television series, made by Augsburger Puppenkiste and released from 1959 to 1961 that was based on the Moomin books by Tove Jansson. ... Mumintrollet was a Swedish television series released in 1969, based on the Moomin books by Tove Jansson. ... ), literally meaning Tove Janssons Enjoyable Moomin Family is a 65-episode Japanese anime series by Mushi Production and Tokyo Movie Shinsha which aired between 1969-1970. ... New Moomin (Japanese: 新 ムーミン (Shin Muumin), English: Moomin) is a 52 episodes anime series by Masami Iwasaki first aired in 1972. ... Mumi-troll (literally Moomintroll) was a series of three films made in the U.S.S.R in 1978, based on the book Comet in Moominland, which was a part of the Moomin series by Finn Tove Jansson. ... The title sequence The Moomins is a 1980s stop motion animation TV series based on the Moomin books, about magical creatures from the forests of Finland. ... Shlyapa Volshebnika was a series of three films produced from 1980 to 1983 in the U.S.S.R. based on the book Finn Family Moomintroll, which was one of the Moomin books by Finn Tove Jansson. ... Moomin, known in Japanese as Tanoshii Muumin Ikka (Japanese: 楽しいムーミン一家) is an anime series by Telescreen aired between 1990-1991. ...

Moomin characters

See Characters in the Moomin series A large number of characters are found in the Moomin series by Tove Jansson. ...

The life partner of Tove Jansson was the graphic artist Tuulikki Pietilä, whose personality inspired the character Too-Ticky in Moominland Midwinter. Moomintroll and Little My can be seen as psychological self-portraits of the artist. The Moomins, generally speaking, relate strongly to Jansson's own family - they were bohemian, lived close to nature and were very tolerant towards diversity. Moominpappa and Moominmamma are often seen as straight portraits of Jansson's parents Viktor Jansson and Signe Hammarsten-Jansson. Some of Jansson's characters are on the verge of melancholy, such as the always formal Hemulens, or the strange Hattifatteners who travel in concerted, ominous groups. The novelist Alison Lurie has described the Groke, a black, hill-shaped creation with glowing eyes, as a walking manifestation of Nordic gloominess - everyone she touches dies, and the ground freezes everywhere she sits. Tuulikki Pietilä (born February 18, 1917 in Seattle, Washington, USA) is a Finnish graphic artist and professor. ... Self Portrait is a 1970 double album by Bob Dylan. ... For other uses, see Bohemian (disambiguation). ... Recently diversity has been used in a political context to justify recruiting international students or employees. ... Melancholia (Greek μελαγχολια) was described as a distinct disease as early as the fifth and fourth centuries BC in the Hippocratic writings. ... The Hattifatteners (the original Swedish name Hattifnattar and the Finnish name Hattivatit) are creatures in the Moomin books by Tove Jansson. ... Alison Lurie (born September 3, 1926) is an American novelist and academic. ... The Groke from the Japanese–European television-animation Tanoshii Moomin Ikka (Delightful Moomin Family). ... Political map of the Nordic countries and associated territories. ...

The Moomin stories have a very humane message. The books have caprices and utterances which ponder life and ways of the world. Snufkin comments on freedom: "One can never be entirely free, if one admires someone else too much." Little My expresses possession: "Possession means worries and luggage bags one has to drag along." Look up caprice in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Freedom. ...

Moomin music

The Moomin novels often describe the musical activities of the Moomins, particularly those of Snufkin, his harmonica with "trills" and "twiddles." However, the reader could never hear any of these "songs" before the Moomins went live on theater stage in Stockholm. Director Vivica Bandler told Jansson in 1959: "Listen, here the people want songs". ^[1]

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: Moomintroll’s Song (Mumintrollets visa, Muumipeikon laulu), Little My’s Song (Lilla Mys visa, Pikku Myyn laulu), Mrs. Fillyjonk’s Song (Fru Filifjonks sång, Rouva Vilijonkan laulu), Theater Rat Emma’s Words of Wisdom (Teaterråttan Emmas visdomsord, Teatterirotta Emman laulu), Misabel’s Lament (Misans klagolåt, Miisan valituslaulu) and Final Song (Slutsång, Loppulaulu).

More songs were published in the 1960s and 70s when Jansson and later also her brother Lars Jansson produced a series of Moomin dramas for Swedish Television. The simple, yet effective melodies 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.

Interpretations of the Moomin stories have been made for the screen in Poland, Great Britain and Japan. They each contain their original theme music and scoring, but with no lyrics by Tove Jansson. These lyrics often contain simple slogans, and the music is written in a children's pop music style. This contrasts sharply with the original Moomin novels and Jansson's pictorial, descriptive, witty lyrical rhyming, as well as Erna Tauro's Scandinavian-style songs (visor), with occasional influences from Kurt Weill. Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900 – April 3, 1950), born in Dessau, Germany and died in New York City, was a German and in his later years, a German-American composer active from the 1920s until his death. ...

The original songs by Jansson and Tauro remained scattered after their initial release. The first recording of the complete collection was made in 2002 by composer and arranger Mika Pohjola on the Moomin Voices/Muminröster CD, as a tribute to the late Tove Jansson. Tauro died in 1993 and some of Jansson's last lyrics were instead composed by Pohjola. Pohjola was also the arranger of all songs for a vocal ensemble and chamber orchestra. The same recording was released in 2005 in a Finnish version, Muumilauluja. The Finnish lyrics were translated by Kirsi Kunnas and Vexi Salmi. ^[2] Mika Pohjola (December 1, 1971 Helsinki, Finland –) is a Finnish-born jazz pianist and composer, who resides in New York City. ... Kirsi Kunnas (born December 14, 1924 in Helsinki) is a Finnish poet, childrens literature author and translator into Finnish. ...

In 2006 twenty new Moomin songs were published by Rubato Music & Bonnier Amigo Music Finland. The cd album is called "The Comet in Moominland" New Moomin Musicand all songs are based on the characters and adventures of that particular book. Musically the songs are easily adoptable, non-computerized/plastic kids music but "childish" pop music with great appeal also to older friends of Moomins. The songs were written by writer/producers Timo Poijärvi and Ari Vainio and performed by well known Finnish pop stars like Samuli Edelmann, Sani, Tommi Läntinen, Susanna Haavisto and Jore Marjaranta etc. The same 20 compositions were published as multimedia CD postcards by Allmark and Paletti Oy. The samples of the new Moomin music can be heard New Moomin Music here. Samuli Casimir Edelmann (b. ... There are places in the world that have the name Sani: Sani Beach - a hotel in Sani. ... Susanna Haavisto (b. ...

The Moomin Boom

Finnair MD-11 decorated with Moomin characters serving the Japanese route

The Moomin Boom (muumibuumi in Finnish) started in the 1990s, when Dennis Livson and Lars Jansson produced a 104-part animation series in Japan named Tales From Moominvalley, which was followed by a full length movie Comet in Moominland. Moomin books had always been steady bestsellers in Finland, but the animation started a new Moomin madness both in Finland and abroad, especially in Japan. A large merchandising industry was built around the Moomin characters, covering everything from coffee cups and t-shirts to plastic models. New Moomin comic books and comic strips were published. Moomins were used to advertise Finland abroad: the Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport was decorated with Moomin images and Finnair painted big Moomin figures to its Japan-line airplanes. The peak of the Moomin Boom was the opening of the Moomin World theme park in Naantali, Finland, which has become one of Finland's international tourist destinations. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x767, 343 KB) Yhteenveto Finnair McDonnell Douglas MD-11 (OH-LGB) with Moomin colours. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x767, 343 KB) Yhteenveto Finnair McDonnell Douglas MD-11 (OH-LGB) with Moomin colours. ... Finnair is Finlands largest airline and the flag carrier. ... Varig MD-11 The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is a Widebody Trijet powered by three engines. ... Younger brother of Tove Jansson. ... The Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in Vantaa, Finland is the main airport of the Helsinki metropolitan region. ... Finnair is Finlands largest airline and the flag carrier. ... Moomin World or Moomin Theme Park (especially for kids) is situated in Naantali near the city of Turku in Western Finland. ... Naantali (Swedish Nådendal, Latin Vallis Gratiae - valley of grace), city in south-western Finland, known as the probably most important tourist centre of the country. ...

The Moomin Boom has been criticized for commercializing the Moomins. Friends of Tove Jansson and many old Moomin enthusiasts have stressed that the animations banalize the original and philosophical Moomin world to harmless family entertainment. An antithesis for the 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. For other uses, see Disneyland (disambiguation). ... Moomin Valley (Moomin museum) is situated in the city of Tampere, Finland. ... Tampere ( , IPA: ; Swedish: Tammerfors ) is a city in southern Finland located between two lakes, Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi. ...

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. Wanting to keep the control over Moomins, the family has turned down offers from the Walt Disney Company. Alternate meanings: Disney (disambiguation) The Walt Disney Company (also known as Disney Enterprises, Inc. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Moomin

• Moomin Characters, Finland Official Website
• Moomin Characters, Japan Official Website
• Moomin Cartoon shown in Taiwan Formosa Television(FTV)
• [1] Moomin wiki in Finnish
• Japanese Moomin Webring
• TheMoomins.com / DieMoomins.com English/Germany Moomin Fansite
• The Fuzzy Felt Moomins Tribute to the Stop motion animation
• Moominworld in Naantali, Finland
• Moomin Voices The original Moomin Music
• Moomin Museum in Tampere, Finland
• The Moomins Photo, facts and links
• The Moomins and the Great Flood - Online translation of the first Moomin book, Småtrollen och den stora översvämningen.
• The Moomin Trove - Comprehensive lists of Tove Jansson's Moomin books
• Research Paper by the Finnish Institutions on Tove Jansson and the Moomin phenomenal
• Zépé's Virtuelles Muminforschungszentrum - "Moomin Research Center": exhaustive body of Moomin information, including an exhaustive list of characters (with translated names in several languages), synopsis of all Moomin books and Moomin comics (in German).
• Сайт, посвящённый творчеству Туве Янссон - The biggest Russian Moomin/Tove Jansson site contains a lot of resources: a long biographical section, extensive extracts from the Russian Moomin editions, some illustrations and several reviews and articles.(in Russian).

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Formosa TV (Traditional Chinese: ) is a television station based in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. ...

References