Right from a once-young child to a now-elderly adult, I have been an abiding fan of the Moomins – those affable and very endearing long-tailed, all-white, hippo-like creatures originated by Swedish-speaking/writing Finnish artist and writer Tove Jansson (pronounced 'TOR-vay YAHN-son') during the 1940s, who share their beautiful valley in a secluded part of rural Finland with a very diverse array of (mostly) amiable but often decidedly idiosyncratic, offbeat friends and neighbours. They have featured in nine novels plus numerous comic-strips produced by Jansson down through the decades, and have made her one of the world's most successful children's authors ever.
Fairly recently, I've watched not only the first original English-language full-length animated feature film to star the Moomins but also two on-screen biopics of their creator, who lived a life deemed by various others back then to be as unorthodox and unconventional as those of her creations. So here is a trio of reviews by me of Moomins, movies, and memories.
MOOMINS ON THE RIVIERA
A Finnish/French production directed and co-written by Xavier Picard, and released in 2014/2015 (depending upon territory) by Nordisk Film/Gebeka Films/Vertigo Films, Moomins on the Riviera is the first original English-language animated Moomins feature film (as opposed to compilation films derived from various TV series), with a total running length of 80 minutes, and is based upon a Moomin comic-strip.
Apart from the first couple of scenes, however, featuring a ship of pirates and their escapee prisoners Mymble and Little My, which have no connection or relevance to the remainder of the film, this movie as its title suggests takes place not in the familiar setting of Moominvalley but instead on the French Riviera. For this is where the Moomin family (Moominpappa, Moominmamma, and their son Moomintroll, aka Moomin) decide to take a holiday, journeying there by boat, and accompanied by Little My, freed from the pirates' clutches, as well as by the Snork Maiden (aka Snorkmaiden), Moomintroll's Moomin-like girlfriend (although very similar to Moomins in overall form, Snorks can change colour and have hair on their head, whereas Moomins are always white, and don't have head hair).
Unexpectedly for a Moomin production, therefore, this means that other than the latter two characters, none of the Moomins' familiar, much-loved friends, neighbours, and other supporting characters – such as Sniff, Stinky, the Snork, Too-Ticky, the Hemulens, the Hattifatteners, and the Groke – make more than a brief appearance in the first couple of scenes. Even Snufkin, Moomintroll's best friend, and the principal non-Moomin/Snork character in the novels, selects to stay in the valley with the others rather than join the Moomins in their sea voyage to the Riviera. This means, therefore, that the movie's principal dramatis personae is much smaller and far less diverse than aficionados of the Moomin novels will be expecting.
It also means that the weight of the movie is carried squarely on the shoulders of the Moomins themselves, which is something of a shortcoming, for the crucial reason that in the novels it is often the other characters that provide much of the plot's impetus and comedic anarchy, with the mild, philosophical Moomins tending to play the bland, conservative, uncontroversial roles (apart from when an ever-energetic Moomintroll inadvertently causes chaos or mishaps from time to time).
Consequently, without such characters of contrast this film is a little too drawn-out (dare I even say dull, at least in parts?) for my liking, a little too laid-back (but perhaps it works better in its original comic-strip format?). Much emphasis is placed upon contrived, farcical plot devices in order to keep the storyline moving along. In particular: when the Moomins arrive on the Riviera, they are soon scooped up by the premier hotel there, The Grand, and feted as near-regal guests due to a misapprehension on the hotel's part but actively fostered by Moominpapa who passes off his family not as the mere Moomins but rather as the aristocratic DeMoomins, which leads to all manner of confusion and mayhem.
Eventually, however, Moominmamma and Moomintroll depart from The Grand and live modestly back in their boat instead, because they feel uncomfortable with the heady, hedonistic lifestyle at the hotel. Adding to Moomintroll's woes is the Snork Maiden, who makes him jealous by becoming infatuated with egotistical playboy Clark Tresco and snooty but vapid movie star Audrey Glamour.
Moominpappa, meanwhile, makes friends with an eccentric but genuinely aristocratic sculptor named Marquis Mongaga, whose principal talent appears to be the creation of numerous life-sized elephant statues that can walk, but which no-one wants – not even The Grand, when Moominpappa offers one of them to the hotel to pay for their stay there.
Ultimately, albeit unintentionally, the Moomins wear out their welcome on the Riviera, especially once their humble identities and origin are revealed, alienating them with the phoney bigoted folk there. So they decide to return home to their Finnish valley where they do fit in and are truly loved by everyone there – and this is what they do. Yet another variant on the old tried and tested but also very often true Wizard of Oz homily, there's no place like home.
Moomins on the Riviera is very sweet and beautifully animated, with exquisite pastel colours and flourishes of delicate Art Nouveauesque curls and swirls throughout. Yet in the glaring absence of their usual supporting cast, its fluffy white hippo-lookalikes struggled to sustain my interest for the full 80 minutes – and I'm a devoted Moomin fan!
For me, Jansson's nine original Moomin novels and the many Moomin comic-strips (lately collected into a monumental published compendium) produced by her and subsequently her brother Lars for newspaper syndication worldwide will forever remain unsurpassed by any on-screen treatment, even though there have been many, including several different TV series. But click here and here to view a couple of official Moomins on the Riviera trailers on YouTube and see what you think.
TOVE
On 11 June 2022, my movie watch, on the UK TV channel BBC4, was Tove.
Directed by Zaida Bergroth, and released in 2020 by Helsinki Filmi, Tove is the internationally-acclaimed yet independently-produced Finnish (with English subtitles) biopic of Tove Jansson (1914-2001). She was the famous Swedish-speaking/writing Finnish author who penned one of my all-time favourite series of children's novels – the Moomin books, featuring those friendly, long-tailed, white-furred, hippo-like trolls who have wonderful adventures within and beyond their Finnish forest valley homeland.
Starring Alma Pöysti as Jansson, this movie focuses in particular upon what was deemed by some way back then to be her rather unconventional and free-spirited bisexual lifestyle, especially with female theatre producer Vivica Bandler. However, it also documents how, during the 1940s and 1950s, what would become her life-long career in writing and art slowly yet surely emerged, as she progressed gradually from being a struggling painter to becoming a highly successful comic-strip artist and author, thanks to her obsession with her Moomin sketches and manuscripts.
As a massive Moomin fan, ideally I'd have liked the movie to concentrate more upon Moomins and less on lifestyle, in order to devote additional time revealing in greater detail her inspirations for and development of these delightful, timeless characters, but there can be no doubt that her free-spirited nature was intrinsic to their creation and originality.
For almost 80 years now (the first Moomin book was published in 1945) the gentle innocence and joyful optimism of the Moomins have inspired and enchanted generations of children (and a fair few adults too), and will continue to do so for all time.
To sample the many twists and turns in Tove Jansson's very eventful and enterprising life, be sure to click here to watch an official trailer for Tove on YouTube.
MOOMINLAND TALES: THE LIFE OF TOVE JANSSON
On 28 September 2022, I watched on YouTube the fascinating and very moving 2012 BBC Scotland hour-long documentary Moominland Tales: The Life of Tove Jansson.
Produced and directed by Eleanor Yule, and featuring Janet Suzman as the voice of Jansson herself, this engrossing production readily complimented the biopic Tove that I'd watched a few months previously.
Whereas the latter focused upon what was back in Jansson's time her somewhat unorthodox social life, however, this TV documentary concentrated primarily upon her prolific output of work – from her fine art and her adult writings, to, above all else, her enchanting creation for both children and grown-ups alike of the marvellous Moomins, in both book form and comic strip. It also featured the interesting memories recalled by a wide selection of her friends, surviving family, biographers, and associates who worked with her during her life.
In particular, I was intrigued to discover how closely the lives and mannerisms of the Moomins emulated those of Jansson's own family members, the latter having inspired many of her most beloved characters from the series. Also, to my surprise I discovered that there were not eight Moomin novels, as I'd always supposed and read as a child, but nine, but with the very first one, The Moomins and the Great Flood, not having been translated into English until as recently as 2005, many decades after all the others had been. Yet why had it not been translated earlier, especially as it was the first book in the series? No explanation was given in the documentary.
I have now purchased this highly significant and beautifully illustrated but hitherto-missing member of my Moomin novel collection, and will be reading it shortly. Moreover, once having done so, I may well re-read the other eight again, in order. No such thing as too much of a Moomin muchness!
To view Moominland Tales: The Life of Tove Jansson in its entirety – and free of charge – on YouTube like I did, please click here.
Finally: To view a complete chronological listing of all of my Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film reviews and articles (each one instantly accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE, and please click HERE to view a complete fully-clickable alphabetical listing of them.
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