 Not to be confused with the awful animated series of the same name released in the 90s, the Moomins was a show based upon the novels by Tove Jansson. The programme featured the use of fuzzy-felt like characters moving across painted paper sets, with lights used to backdrop. Originally a joint German/Polish production created in 1977, it was brought up by CiTV and trimmed from 78, 30 minute long episodes, down to 10 minute episodes of which there were 100.
The series was narrated by Richard Murdoch (who performed all the voices and voice-overs), and even translated into English, did not fail to capture the Scandinavian melancholy which Jansson managed to convey so well in her original books.
The main hero of the series was Moomintroll, a white, hippo-like creature who lived with his Moomin-mama and Moomin-papa in Moominhouse. Living with them were Sniff (a mouse-like thing), the Snork Maiden (similar to a Moomin, but could change colour depending on her mood), and the ever-travelling vagabond Snufkin, who is incidentally Moomintroll’s best friend.
The cast are involved in various adventures in which they learn about the world they live in, and the other people and beings who live there. Sadly not everyone in Moominvalley leads a happy life – the Groke for example is a shunned creature; she embodies winter, and wherever she walks, ice is left in her wake, and everyone fears and hates her, although this is mainly due to them not understanding who she is and what she really wants (to be warm!).
Although harder to come by than its Japanese cousin, the original Moomins is a far less pretentious, and more heart-warming show, which greatly demonstrated the look and feel that Jansson was aiming for in her novels.
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