Moomins
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About
The Moomins are the main characters of a series of children's books written by Tove Jannson. Making their first appearance in 1945, the characters would become notably popular in European and Japanese markets, along with being the center of a media franchise spanning television shows, movies, a comic strip, merchandise, and amusement parks that continues to this day.
Premise
Most of the stories are centered around the adventures of the Moomins, a family of white trolls with large hippopotamus-like snouts that consists of Moominmamma, Moominpappa, and Moomintroll (also known as Moomin in English translations), and their adventures in the fictional idyllic Moominvalley. Other characters are also present, such as Little My, a tomboyish girl who lives with the Moomins, Sniff, a timid and cowardly creature who plans out a number of get-rich quick schemes along with having an interest in valuables, and the lonesome philosophical wanderer Snufkin who is also Moomin's best friend.
History
The Moomins were created by Finnish author and artist Tove Jannson, who released the first Moomin book The Moomins and the Great Flood (original title: Småtrollen och den stora översvämningen) in 1945 in Swedish. It would later be followed up by Comet in Moominland in 1946, Finn Family Moomintroll in 1948, The Exploits of Moominpappa in 1950, Moominsummer Madness in 1954, Moominland Midwinter in 1957, the 1962 short story compilation Tales from Moominvalley, and Moominpappa at Sea in 1965, before ending with Moominvalley in November in 1970 which focused on other characters rather than the Moomins. The latter two were noted for its more somber tones, November was especially of note as it was written after the death of Tove's mother. No further books were written for the series as Tove would later state that "couldn't go back and find that happy Moominvalley again."
Five picture books were also written by Jannson, starting with 1952's The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My before ending with the songbook Songs from Moominvalley. A Moomin newspaper comic strip would also run, written by Tove and her brother Lars, starting in 1947 and ending in 1975.
The series would also be adapted into a number of television series and films, starting with the 1959 West German marionette television series Die Muminfamilie. Other adaptations include the 1990 Japanese-Dutch anime series Tanoshii Mūmin Ikka (trans. Delightful Moomin Family also known simply as Moomin in English), and more recently, the 2014 film Moomins on the Riviera, inspired by the comic strip, and the 2019 CGI-animated series Moominvalley.
Reception
The books were very positively received, with an average 4-star rating from the series' installments on the book rating site Goodreads. The Japanese-Dutch anime series Moomin series has also grown popular on sites like Tumblr.
Lisa Allardice, writing for The Guardian, described
The Moomin characters have also been used in a wide variety of merchandise, including mugs and a number of clothing brand collaborations including Uniqlo, Makia, and Skono
Two amusement parks also exist, one in Finland, and more recently one in Japan.
Online Relevance
On Facebook, the official page has gained over 335,000 likes since the page's creation in 2011. On Twitter, its official verified account has garnered over 63,000 followers since 2012. A dedicated subreddit to the franchise was created by Redditor /u/moomin_mania which has accumulated over 4,000 subscribers.
