The Moomins (TV series)

File:Moomins1983.jpg

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. They were created by artist and author Tove Jansson in as series of books, picture books and comic strips. The series was first devised in 1979 when the books were adapted for TV by Film Polski, Jupiter Film and Semafor, for Polish, Austrian and German audiences. They were later offered to other countries including the UK. The British version was adapted by Film Fair and first broadcast in the UK in 1983 on CITV and ran until 1986, in which it was narrated by Richard Murdoch (creditted as "Stinker" Murdoch in this series). The opening titles, featuring a bouncy theme tune consisting of flutes and synthesizers and a popular still of Moomintroll holding a hat, remain one of the most memorable opening titles of any childrens series of this era.

This series was often referred to as the 'fuzzy felt Moomin' series, due to the appearance of the characters. It was the third series to be made based on the Moomin books, with two more made since then. Nonetheless, it is one of the two most well known Moomin series, along with Moomin (1990). Although this version has at times 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 by far the most faithful TV adaptation of Tove Jansson's stories, and much closer to her vision. She herself had a great deal of involvement during the series' production and was reportedly very happy with it.

DVD Release

A Region 2 DVD boxset was released in 2005,[1] in both English and German editions (both versions manufactured in Austria).

External links

• Moomin Character Ltd
• The Fuzzy Felt Moomins
• Internet Movie Database