Moomins in the playground.

[D20ragon]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/Moomin_kuva.JPG

I grew up reading and listening to the Moomin stories, and they have remained a firm favorite of mine.
Who else loves these books, and why?
Who do you most relate to?

I'd have to say Snufkin, Sniff, Moominpappa or Moomintroll.

[Lateral]

Ah! Man, I haven't thought about these books in years, but I still remember reading Comet in Moominland and Finn Family Moomintroll as a kid with my mother. So great.

[SlyGuyMcFly]

The Moomins were a huge part of my childhood! My dad read the books to me before I could read, and I read and re-read them so very many times growing up. My favourite? Probably Comet in Moominland with Moominsummer Madness and Moominvalley Midwinter as close runner-ups.

I always thought Snufkin was soooo cooool when I was a kid, but I really grew to like Little My over time.

[D20ragon]

Oh! Little my! I totally forgot about her...
I'm gonna have to get an avatar of her once the forums are fixed.
Bupbupbupbupbup! You Can't do that! I called it! Dibs!:smalltongue:

[tensai_oni]

Ah, the Moomins. A large part of my childhood, both the TV show and the books - which are quite different from each other, as I was surprised to discover. The original books (while aimed at children) can tackle some quite dark or even morbid themes, the TV show was significantly lighter and softer.

But both were good. Ah the memories.

[ArlEammon]

{{scrubbed}}

[D20ragon]

Har-de-har-har.:smallannoyed:
:smalltongue:

[banthesun]

Yay, Moomin thread! These books were a big part of my childhood, particularly The Exploits of Moominpapa and Comet in Moominland. The egg hunt in exploits and the higgledy piggledy song from comet definitely stick in my mind. Snuffkin, Little My, and Hodgekins are some of my favorite characters. I won't say I like the Hemulens, but I've found myself growing sympathetic to them over time. They're dull and stuffy because they're dedicated to what they do. It's interesting how few characters in these books aren't sympathetic in some way.


Oh! Little my! I totally forgot about her...
I'm gonna have to get an avatar of her once the forums are fixed.
Bupbupbupbupbup! You Can't do that! I called it! Dibs!:smalltongue:

I saw someone on another forum with an avatar of little My pouting and saying something like 'they will never know the bitter tears I have shed'. It was pretty great, and I'll definitely be saving a copy if I see it again.

[D20ragon]

http://31.media.tumblr.com/e6a3cc391893ea110a3fd7b0379d8942/tumblr_mkj6k3fYFG1qfnh4zo1_400.jpg



http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/5a/d1/c0/5ad1c096bf73068388594c5c34b14320.jpg
http://im.ft-static.com/content/images/b2f06fe4-a69e-11df-8d1e-00144feabdc0.gif

:smallbiggrin: :biggrin:

[Benthesquid]

I only know the Moomins from the time Cracked featured that cartoon about the Groke. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8RqiV_l-2s)

Are all the stories thinly veiled parables about the inevitability of Father Winter claiming your life, or just that one?

[Ravens_cry]

I have watched a good bit of the anime as an adult. I rather liked it, though it was never part of my childhood.

[banthesun]

[IMG]
:smallbiggrin: :biggrin:
Thank you very much, they're all great.

I only know the Moomins from the time Cracked featured that cartoon about the Groke. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8RqiV_l-2s)

Are all the stories thinly veiled parables about the inevitability of Father Winter claiming your life, or just that one?

At least in that story the Groke's there to retrieve its suitcase, rather than just eating everyone. Moomin stories are always whimsical affairs, but some are also pretty frightening, or at least melancholic. Comet in Moominland is about Moomintroll and his friends going to the Lonely Mountain Observatory to find out if a comet is coming to destroy the earth and whether there's anything they can do about it. The answers being yes and no respectively. Then they head home to tell everyone. It's generally a sweet book, but it can be pretty haunting in parts, and there's some bits that are straight up terrifying, like when they cross a dried up ocean and see all the sunken ships full of sea monsters.

[Frozen_Feet]

Are all the stories thinly veiled parables about the inevitability of Father Winter claiming your life, or just that one?

No.

Also, the personification of Winter is female in Moominland. Also, she's not Groke, though the Groke is a woman too. The Groke is more like the personification of loneliness.

[Trixie]

Sad thing about Moomins is that's nearly impossible to discuss the books casually as every language had drastically different names for everything and you need to do a small scale paper research every time you want to talk about anything :smallfrown:

Have some Buka art from Polish cartoon.


http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/046/5/1/groke_by_grokey_groke-d5v1oyt.jpg

[Delusion]

I grew with the moomins as well, both the cartoon and the books. Every time I was sick my mom would read those books for me and I still watch the cartoon reruns occasionally. And I STILL have nightmares about the groke >.>

Groke is actually my favourite character, though I used to hide behind the chair whenever she showed up in the cartoon.

[Dusk Eclipse]

There where books? :smalleek: I just remember the cartoons and I never liked them, to be honest they gave me the creeps when I was younger.

[D20ragon]

Certainly! And you need to read them! They are excellent.

[Aolbain]

Oh, I pretty much grew up on the cartoon. I've been meaning to pick up the books but can't really imagine the Moomins without the Finnish accent.

[Trixie]

"Cartoon"? :smallconfused:

Eh, not like anyone remembers the classic older one these days, I guess...

Unless I am too cynic and it's the shiny anime-like one no one saw >_<

[Aolbain]

"Cartoon"? :smallconfused:

Eh, not like anyone remembers the classic older one these days, I guess...

Unless I am too cynic and it's the shiny anime-like one no one saw >_<

Yeah, unfortunately I'm one of those jackasses who liked the Japanese one :smalltongue:

But in my defense it was pretty much inevitable, they ran it all the time on Swedish television in the early 00s.

[Tengu_temp]

The first Moomins cartoon was made in Poland, and extremely obscure outside of it. People can be forgiven for not knowing about it.

Not knowing that the Japanese cartoon is based on a series of Finnish books, on the other hand...

[Eldariel]

Oh man, I grew up on the books. I'd had them read to me multiple times before I even became literate; I quite enjoyed them, in their own peculiar way. Of course our family also recorded the Japanese animation when it aired and while it had its deficiencies, I found it quite enjoyable. Of course, I was a child at the time so I wasn't quite as critical as today but I still found the strange inconsistencies and somewhat lacking understanding of the core ideas behind the books a bit strange in the animation. At the same time I was quite able to enjoy it though any appearance of the Groke forced me to hide in the staircase.

[Trixie]

The first Moomins cartoon was made in Poland, and extremely obscure outside of it. People can be forgiven for not knowing about it.

The same obscure one that was shown all over Europe, won multiple awards, was pretty much only Polish TV series to get DVD release in half of the EU, and most importantly, was consulted by and got praise from Tove Jansson herself? :smallconfused:

...oookay.

[FinnLassie]

Well, being Finnish all the Moomin books, comics & the Japanese animated tv show were basically shoved into my brain since I was born and I'm not complaining. They have played a significant part in my life, and I admire Tove Jansson not just as the author of one of the best children's literature ever, but as an artist and a human being.

I love how as I've grown older, the Moomin series has opened up a lot of different doors and perspectives to the stories, and so many jokes are either not funny at all or a hundred times funnier. For example in the comic when Moominpappa tries to order "tea". :smalltongue:

Currently trying to get a hold of all the Moomin comics Tove and later her brother Lars created. :smallbiggrin:

... I really don't know the English names of the books. Maybe I should look it up...

[Werekat]

Ha, I loved those books when I was a kid. :) Still haven't seen the cartoons, though. But here's a little gem of a music video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whLRR2s0Noc) from the Russian-speaking multifandom. I think it captures the atmosphere rather well.

[banthesun]

Okay, I just saw this (http://en.rocketnews24.com/2014/04/19/with-the-stuffed-characters-of-the-moomin-cafe-youll-never-dine-alone/) and I had to share it. I want to go there so much!

[veti]

The first Moomins cartoon was made in Poland, and extremely obscure outside of it. People can be forgiven for not knowing about it.

Not knowing that the Japanese cartoon is based on a series of Finnish books, on the other hand...

According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moomin#TV_series_and_films), the first Moomin TV series was made in (West) Germany, and the first Japanese cartoon was next. The Polish production came almost a decade later.

I grew up on the books, with 'Midwinter Moomintroll' being by far my favourite. The feeling of loneliness when everyone else is asleep, the growing sense of independence... and finally, the all-consuming kindness that leads Moomintroll to spend the entire jam reserve on feeding everyone who takes refuge in the house, and Moominmamma's reaction... it all brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.

[Trixie]

According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moomin#TV_series_and_films), the first Moomin TV series was made in (West) Germany, and the first Japanese cartoon was next. The Polish production came almost a decade later.

They were so loosely based on Moomins I am really not sure you can even call them that. Say, this opinion from Tove on second one (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moomin_%281969_TV_series%29): Tove Jansson, the original author, got angry, saying "my Moomin is No car, No fight, and No money" (yes, this series had fist fights, cars and airplanes). Polish one was first 'real' adaptation, so to say.