Moomin (1969 TV series)

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Moomin
Image from the TV series displaying the main characters
ムーミン (Mūmin)
Genre	Fantasy Comedy
Anime television series
Directed by	Fuji TV
English network	BBC
Original run	October 5, 1969 – December 27, 1970
Episodes	65

Moomin (ムーミン, Mūmin) is a Japanese

Jansson never approved of the series or its successor, due to their dramatic changes with the plots, overall atmosphere, and character personalities.^[2][3] Because of this, the series was never translated into any languages or released outside Japan except Taiwan and some others like United Kingdom.^[4] Also, the series has never been released in principle since 1990 including in Japan, when a new anime television series Moomin was released with the full involvement of Jansson herself.

The anime series is also the second entry in what is now known as World Masterpiece Theater (Calpis Comic Theater at the time). Zuiyo Enterprise, would split in 1975 into Nippon Animation Company, Ltd. (which employed some of the Zuiyo's production staff and continued with the World Masterpiece Theater franchise) and Zuiyo Company, Ltd.

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,

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.^[5] Jansson suggested the following conditions for the production of the animation.^[5]

• No money, no machines, and no television.

Development and pre-production

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

The director was chosen to be Masaaki Osumi, who has the unique background of having come from a puppet theater company. Osumi, who knows Moomin well, initially thought the content was too static to be suitable for animation, but accepted the position.^[4]

The company hired Yasuo Otsuka as the animation director. He was considered to be one of Japan's foremost animators, and he was an important mentor to Hayao Miyazaki. He thought the cuteness of movement and the roundness of his drawings as important, and never used straight lines to draw characters such as the Moomins.^[4]

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."^[5] 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 such as "Let's run a bullet train in the Moomin Valley."^[4] Osumi was dissatisfied and desired to quit, but was fascinated by the animation shown by Mr. Otsuka just before leaving company, and reconsidered.^[4] 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.^[4]

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.^[4]

In the casting process, Kyōko Kishida, who was regarded as a great actor with a strong acting background, was chosen to play Moomin. This was due to the fact that she once contributed a story about reading a Moomin novel in an essay she had written for a newspaper.^[4] 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.^[4]

Hisashi Inoue, a distinguished novelist and dramatist, participated as a screenwriter.^[5]

At first, there were some complaints from the advertising agency that the story was too self-control.^[4] However, once the animation was actually broadcast, the response was more favorable than expected, and especially since the sponsor, Calpis, liked it very much, and the strong complaints receded, as if pushed by them.^[4]

Thus was created "Moomin," a children's animation mixing fantasy by Jansson and Japanese culture.

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. But, she gave the episode a low rating and submitted a letter to the staff with a series of complaints and requests.^[7][5] Tokyo Movie ended production after episode 26 and exited the project because of 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.^[5][6]

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

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.[7] 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? ". Also, 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.

The program was ended after well over 60 episodes.

Reception

Critical response

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

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.

— Tove Jansson, ^[7]

Jansson also included the following other requests in her letter.^[7]

• 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 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.

However, Jansson did not dismiss all of the work, praising the colors used in the background as "The effects of colors such as water and sky are well done. Also, She stated in 1971, "At first, they told that I was angry that the Japanese Moomins were different, and in a way this is true. I have not yet had a good look at them in Japan, As far as the films sent to me, the Japanese Moomins are aggressive. besides, the Japanese Moomins have problems with cars and money, but my Moomin Valley has no such problems. but, I began to think it would be nice to have a Moomin with a Japanese flavor.".^[8]

In 2008, Masaaki Osumi said to one of Jansson's reviews by stating.

My biggest regret is that I should have had a knee-to-knee talk with Tove Jansson, although there is nothing I can do about it now. If I had talked to her properly, we would have understood each other.

As you can see from the actual work, it is based on the "no money, no car, no fight" philosophy of the original Moomin story. Certainly cars make an appearance, but they get flat tires as soon as they come out. Other times, various civilizations are tried to be brought into the Moomin Valley, but all fail. That is a consistent theme. We used a rudimentary approach to drama: the car is there as a visual, but the reason for it is to denigrate the car society.

I had faith that Mr. Jansson would understand the theme.

— Masaaki Osumi, ^[4]

Producer Shigeto Takahashi gave the series a low rating, saying he was disappointed that it could not faithfully reproduce the original worldview by Tove Jansson, but praised Kisida and the rest of the cast for their excellent performances. Incidentally, Kisida's performance in this series was so well received that she continued to play the Moomins in the Japanese dubbed version of the stop-motion Moomin TV series produced in Poland in 1977.

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 Tokyo Movie season, the body is gray and the ears are round and fat, giving the animal a hippopotamus-like appearance; in the Mushi Production season, the body is light blue, the ears are slightly pointed, and the body is slimmer, closer to Jansson's design.

Although his age is not revealed in the work, he was defined as a boy of about 10 years old in documents of the time, making him a life-size character like a child, the main target audience of this animation.

Basically, he has a gentle personality that can get along with anyone. He is not good at lying or deceiving people. The season of Tokyo Movie emphasized the 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.

Compared to original, he is a kind father who rarely goes on wandering trips and lives in good company with Moomin and Moominmamma.

When asked which writers he admired, he once mentioned Jansson's name.

He also narrates the next episode's preview, which ends with the mysterious words "Oom-Pah-Pah (ウンパッパ, un pappa)". Note that Hitoshi Takagi, who provided the voice, was best known for providing the voice Totoro in "My Neighbor Totoro".

Moominmamma (ムーミンママ)

Voiced by: Akiko Takamura

Her body color is the same as Moominpappa's, and like original, she wears a striped apron composed of red and white stripes.

She values her handbag so much that if she loses it, she gets so upset she can't do her chores.

She is not as generous in everything as in the original story, but she is a kind, good wife and wise mother who supports her family.

She had won a beauty contest held in the Moomin Valley, which is how she met Moominpappa.

Non-Non (ノンノン)

Voiced by: Reiko Mutō

In the original, it is called "Snork Maiden".

Her body is green. She has pink hair and wears a golden anklet on her left leg, and in the Tokyo Movie season she wears a yellow ribbon.

She lives with her brother Snoke, who, like Snoke, first appeared in Episode 6.

Moomin's friend. She is usually withdrawn, but has a firm character that says what is important.

She respects her brother Snoke, but is often taken aback by his selfishness. Snoke himself is devoted to his sister and considers her very important.

The name was derived from the director Osumi's wife's nickname, "Non-chan (ノンちゃん)". During the production of the pilot film, some people said that children who saw the program would have a hard time calling her casually if she did not have a name, so the name was hastily chosen. But, Jansson said the name "reminds me of the word 'NO' and has a negative ring to it.". Jansson did not like the name.^[9]

Snoke (スノーク)

Voiced by: Taichirō Hirokawa

His body is green, almost gray. He always wears a golden wig, because he used the illustration of Snoke wearing a wig in "Finn Family Moomintroll" as a reference for his character design.

He first appeared in Episode 6. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Learning in another town, he returned to his hometown in the Moomin Valley.

At first, he bragged to those around him about his educational background and the prestigious Snork family, and looked down on inhabitants of the Moomin Valley. He also tried to bring cars, money, trains, and other conveniences (which elements that Jansson did not want in the Moomin Valley) to the Moomin Valley because they were "uncultured" and "unscientific", but he failed at every attempt, and often appeared as a rival or villain to the Moomins. Later, this personality gradually faded into the background, but the prideful aspects remained and were emphasized.

From the middle, he became a funny and lovable

comedy relief

who, while retaining his troublemaker side, spoke more politely than necessary and tried to act classy, but also showed a screwed-up and goofy side.

Despite this personality, he is well educated and holds 3 degrees from Academy. His hobbies include painting, playing the violin, and scientific experiments. When he is in a good mood, he sometimes improvises a song and hums it.

He is considered the character with the most differences between the original and this animation. This is largely due to the ad-libbing of Hirokawa, who provided the voice, and he became a prominent character, appearing more often than in the original work.^[4] Hirokawa later said, "When I played Snoke, it was a time when I wanted to show what I had. As I tried to expand his personality by changing the endings of words, etc., this was gradually reflected in the script. Later, as I received more requests to perform in this style in other films, I was able to make this my signature. Played Snoke was a turning point in my career.".^[10]

Sniff (スニフ)

Voiced by: Kōsei Tomita

At first, the characterization was not set in stone. At one time he appeared as a friend of the Moomins, and at another time he was leading a demonstration to remove Snufkin, who was suspected of arson, from the Moomin Valley.

Eventually, halfway through the series, he settled on a good-natured but timid character, a friend of Moomin's.

Little My (ミイ)

Voiced by: Junko Hori

She is the Mymble's daughter's younger sister.

While retaining the cheeky side of the original, the aggressive or cynical aspect is gone, replaced by the image of the headstrong, mischievous girl seen in Japanese anime of the time.

The color of the clothes is yellow. At first, she looked similar to the original, but gradually changed, becoming a girl of about 10 years old with a slightly higher isometric height.

Later in the episode, a slight Tsundere personality was added, and there were times when she seemed to be in love with Moomin.

Mymble's Daughter (ミムラ姉さん)

Voiced by: Miyoko Shoji

Little Mye's older sister.

She has green hair and pure white skin. Her clothes are a white dress.

Although not as sensitive as the original, she is sensitive to fashion and makeup, and looks in the mirror several times a day.

She once said to Snoke, "If only he didn't have a difficult personality, he would be perfect.", a remark that hinted at love.

she is very protective of Little My. When she went missing, she was so shocked that he fell asleep.

She has a bad drinking habit and can't stop laughing when she gets drunk.

Snufkin (スナフキン)

Voiced by: Hiroyuki Nishimoto

A traveler who came to the Moomin Valley in episode 4. Since then, he has been living in a tent by the river in the Moomin Valley. During the winter, they travel to the south.

He is a key figure in the Moomin Valley.

In the beginning, he was more like Moomin's older brother with a bit of mischievousness, but in the middle of the show, his character became quieter and more mature, in line with Nishimoto's voice. Also, the smoking portrayal in the original was debated as to whether he was an adult or a child, which defined him as an adult in this series.

He has a unique philosophy. He loves solitude and freedom, and is a mute person. However, Moomin is fascinated by him, and he sometimes casually teaches Moomin "Philosophy for Living" with his short words.

There are also cultured depictions, such as a telling of a passage from Paul Verlaine's poem "Chanson d'automne".

Unlike Jansson's original, his favorite instrument is the guitar, not the harmonica. This is often cited as one of the features and popularity of this animation. He often plays an original song called "Songs of Lonely Mountain (おさびし山のうた)". This song was written by Hisashi Inoue, composed and arranged by Seiichiro Uno.

Holding a guitar was the idea of director Osumi. He thought a guitar would suit Snufkin better than a harmonica, given Snufkin's image as "Lonely Man Who Came Down the Mountain," and the change was intentional.

He is considered the character with the most female fans in the anime.

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 purple, tall, and she wears a skirt-like dress.

He knows a lot about plants, animals and old stories and his hobby is stamp collecting. Since the second half of the episode, he has been living and studying birds and plants.

In the original story, he is an eccentric old man who is only interested in his own research and hobbies, but in this animation, he is transformed into a kind old man who knows things and 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 the waste in the world.

He lives in a hammock in a tree on the edge of the Moomin Valley, and has many philosophy books in the cave of his villa.

He is a bigot, and his favorite saying is "Nonsense, it's useless! ". He often 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 this anime, he is based on the appearance of an officer who was the police chief's subordinate in the original comic book.

Stinky (スティンキー)

Voiced by: Chikao Ohtsuka

They live in Lonely Mountain and the forest and are always hungry.

In the original comics, he is a villain who commits theft and fraud, but in this anime, he is treated as something strange living in the forest.

Episodes

Home media

In 1989, The series saw

LD

Vol.1-7 (episode 1-26)

VHS

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

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

References