Moomin

Summary

The anime series is notably different from the later anime television series Moomin, released in the early 1990s, which was translated into many languages, released in dozens of countries, and relies more on the original Moomin books and comic strips.

While the series itself was well-liked by the Japanese public as an adventurous and comedic series for boys, it was dramatically different in areas like the adaptation and overall atmosphere. For example, Moomintroll was portrayed more as an ordinary boy; while still friendly like in the books, he is somewhat ill-tempered, occasionally fighting or behaving slyly. This, along with elements such as Snork being a driver, common use of firearms, one scene in an early episode featuring characters getting drunk together at a bar, infuriated Jansson.

After Tokyo Movie's contract was cancelled, with Mushi Production taking over, the designs were changed accordingly and the series had episodes more faithful to the source material, which included the source's stories and points of mystery, horror, comedy and tragedy. Despite this, Jansson's consent was still not obtained and the program was ended after more than 60 episodes.

Since 1990, Moomin Characters, Ltd, which manages the Moomin copyrights, has not released this series to the public in principle.

Production

In the 1960s, sports dramas and slapstick comedies were the mainstream of Japanese TV animation at that time. Therefore, Calpis Co., Ltd., the sponsor of the animated program in Fuji TV, wanted to offer a family-oriented animation that was distinctly different from those fields. At that time, "Moomin", which had just been imported from abroad as children's literature, caught their attention. And so the project was launched.

A short time later, the proposal was sent to Tove Jansson. Jansson's response was positive, so Shigeto Takahashi, a producer at Zuiyo Enterprise who was in charge of the project, decided to meet directly with Jansson to proceed with negotiations. Jansson suggested the following conditions for the production of the animation: no money, no machines, and no television to be featured in the series.

Development and pre-production

Tokyo Movie, now TMS Entertainment, was chosen to produce the animation.

Masaaki Osumi, who came from a puppet theater company, was chosen to be the director. Osumi, who was familiar with Moomin, initially thought the content was too static to be suitable for animation, but accepted the position.

The company hired Yasuo Otsuka as the animation director. He was considered to be one of Japan's foremost animators, and was an important mentor to Hayao Miyazaki. He considered the cuteness of movement and the roundness of his drawings to be important, and never used straight lines to draw characters such as the Moomins.

The initial meetings were confusing. Takahashi, who respected Jansson's opinions and aimed for a plot that was faithful to the original work, was at odds with the advertising agency, which aimed for a plot that did not respect Jansson's original work on the grounds that "the style as it is will not be popular in Japan." Osumi was invited by the advertising agency to a planning meeting, where he was surprised and frustrated by their inability to understand the spirit of the source material due to comments which included the suggestion of running a bullet train in the Moomin Valley. Osumi was dissatisfied and desired to quit, but was fascinated by the animation shown by Otsuka just before leaving the company, and reconsidered. Osumi later said of the participants in this meeting, "Perhaps, but they had not even read the original work and were only thinking about the character business." Later, the bullet train idea was rejected due to opposition from Osumi and others.

In making the animation, Osumi decided to base it on Moomin comic strips rather than the Jansson novels. The strips had a freer plot than the novels, and he thought that "the style of the comic would work as an animation". Therefore, Osumi claims that he did not create a plot that was different than the comic strip.

In the casting process, Kyōko Kishida was chosen to play Moomin because she once contributed a story about reading a Moomin novel in an essay she had written for a newspaper. Subsequently, the casting of other main characters was done according to Kisida's abilities, and stage actors and other actors with greater theatrical skills than the popular voice actors of the time were employed.

Change of production company

When the broadcast began, Tokyo Movie and Zuiyo Enterprise asked Jansson to watch episode 7. This was to get her endorsement, however, she gave the episode a low rating and submitted a letter to the staff with a series of complaints and requests. Tokyo Movie ended production after episode 26 and exited the project, citing this letter from Jansson. But this reason was ostensible. The Moomin project was initially intended to be a low-budget production, but the animators and staff on site insisted on producing high-quality work, and as a result, the budget was far exceeded, and negotiations with the advertising agency for an increase in the budget were not agreed upon. Also, Due to its popularity with viewers, the number of broadcasts was suddenly increased from the planned number, but Tokyo Movie could not cope with this. For this reason, Tokyo Movie's upper management wanted to withdraw from the project and used Jansson's claims as an excuse to Zuiyo Enterprise, the sponsors, and the Fuji TV, who were willing to continue the program.

With the departure of Tokyo Movie from the project, Osumi and other key staff and animators were also dropped from the production. The animators on site were summoned by the president and informed of the sudden termination. They were disappointed, but also relieved. Yutaka Fujioka, who was in charge of the site and wanted the project to continue, was on a business trip that day and was angry when he heard the news of the termination the next day. However, the CEO had already made that decision, and it was too late. They were soon transferred to the Lupin the 3rd Part I: The Classic Adventures project.

Mushi Production became the animation production company from episode 27.

Episode 27 was greatly innovated and changed in response to Jansson's request, with the character design being adapted to drawings by Jansson and the plot of the story being changed as well. Unfortunately, however, after the program ended, the TV station was inundated with many complaints. The children wrote such comments as, "The characters' faces suddenly changed and became scary," and "Why did the atmosphere of the story change and it became boring?" The sponsor, Calpis, which had been satisfied with Tokyo Movie, expressed its dissatisfaction.

This evaluation led to a meeting with Jansson, and as a result, a few elements, such as character design, were returned to a status similar to Tokyo Movie, provided that it would be broadcast only in Japan.

Reception

Critical response

Tove Jansson had difficulty viewing all of the episodes due to historical issues. So, having watched only the episode 7, which had just been completed at the time, she explained the following.

First of all, the starting point is wrong. That is, the Moomin Valley and the Moomin way of thinking are all expressed differently.

The Moomin family members do not live in today's modern society. They live in a society that is benign and kind. Of course, incidents do occur. The Moomin family likes incidents. However, they never argue. It is unthinkable for Moominpappa to slap his son on the buttocks, and no one in this world slaps anyone on the buttocks. If they do get angry, for example, they will only hit each other's heads with umbrellas and never use force of arms.

Overall, the feeling of the Moomin Valley has been lost. It seems to me that the only way to save this mistake is for everyone involved in this work to read the Moomin books well, to become integrated into the Moomin world, and to feel and understand that feeling.

Jansson also included the following other requests in her letter.

Automobiles should not be used.

I think the interior of the house where Moomin lives should also be changed. The rooms are too large and too empty. So, at first glance, it looks like an office.

Moominmamma always carries a handbag.

Moominpappa usually carries a walking stick.

Non-non [Snorkmaiden] wears a ring on her left ankle. She also does not wear a ribbon on her head. Her hair should not be too thick.

One thing to note in particular is that the Moomin family does not have mouths. I understand that in the case of animation, a mouth is necessary, but please think about and use as small a mouth as possible to indicate who is speaking now.

Cast and characters

The description will focus on elements that differ from Jansson's original narrative.

Main characters

Moomin (ムーミン)

Voiced by: Kyōko Kishida

In the original work, he is named "Moomintroll".

In the Tokyo Movie season, his body is gray and ears are round and fat, giving him a hippopotamus-like appearance. In the Mushi Production season, he is closer to Jansson's design with a slimmer light blue body and slightly pointed ears. Although his age is not revealed in the work, he was defined as a boy who is about 10 years old in documents of the time thus resembling the main target audience of the animated series.

In general, he has a gentle personality and can get along with anyone. He is not good at lying or deceiving people. The Tokyo Movie season emphasizes his laid-back nature.

Moominpappa (ムーミンパパ)

Voiced by: Hitoshi Takagi

His body is gray, almost black. He always wears a silk hat and often blows a pipe or carries a walking stick.

In comparison with the original work, he is a kinder father who rarely goes on wandering trips and lives in good company with Moomin and Moominmamma.

He also narrates the next episode's preview, which ends with the mysterious words "Oom-Pah-Pah (ウンパッパ, un pappa)".

Moominmamma (ムーミンママ)

Voiced by: Akiko Takamura

Her body color is the same as Moominpappa's, and as in the original work, she wears a red and white striped apron.

She values her handbag so much that if she loses it, she gets so upset that she can't do her chores. She is not as generous as in the original story, but she is a kind, good wife and wise mother who supports her family.

Supporting characters

Hemulen (ヘムレンさん)

Voiced by: Masashi Amenomori

An old man living alone on the outskirts of the Moomin Valley.

His body is gray and tall, and he wears a blue skirt-like dress.

He knows a lot about plants, animals, old stories, and collects stamps as a hobby. In the second half of the series, he studies birds and plants.

In the original story, he is an eccentric old man who is only interested in his own research and hobbies. In the animation, he is transformed into a kind old man who seems to have a certain status as an elder, participating in important meetings in the Moomin Valley.

The Muskrat (じゃこうねずみ)

Voiced by: Joji Yanami

He is the longest resident of the Moomin Valley. He is a philosopher and is always thinking about waste in the world.

He lives in a hammock in a tree on the edge of the Moomin Valley and has many philosophy books. He often says "Nonsense, it's useless!" and gets into arguments with the inhabitants of the Moomin Valley because of his habit of repeating this phrase without paying attention to the atmosphere around him.

Hemul (ヘムル署長)

Voiced by: Kōichi Kitamura

He is the only policeman in the police station in the Moomin Valley. Whenever an incident occurs in the Moomin Valley, he rushes to the scene.

An original character in the anime, he is based on the appearance of an officer who was the police chief's subordinate in the original comic.

Home media

In 1989, the series saw VHS and Laser Disc releases in Japan. This is the only home media release.

LD

Vol.1-7 (episode 1-26)

VHS

"The volume of love" (episode 37, 49)

"The volume of dream" (episode 34, 64)