| Runtime: | 10 minutes (Poland) / 5 minutes (UK) |
| Producer: | Se-ma-for[1] |
| Music: | Andrzej Rokicki |
| Country: | Polish People's Republic, Austria, West Germany |
| Network: | ITV[2] [3] (UK) |
| Num Episodes: | 78 (Poland) / 100 (UK) |
The Moomins is a stop motion animated children's television series based on the Tove Jansson's Moomin series of books which was produced by Se-ma-for and Jupiter Film between 1977 and 1982 for Polish, Austrian and German television.[4] The original broadcast in Poland premiered on November 19, 1978.[5] The series was later sold to other countries including the UK. The British version was adapted by Anne Wood at FilmFair for ITV Central and broadcast in the UK. Series 1 was first shown on Monday 24 January 1983 at 4:15 pm and series 2 on Monday 7 January 1985 at 4.15pm on Children's ITV, and series 2 was repeated in 1986. The series was last repeated in its entirety in 1988. It was narrated by British actor Richard Murdoch.[6]
This series was the third series to be made based on the Moomin books.[7] Two more were subsequently made. It is one of the two best-known Moomin series (along with the Japanese-made anime version Moomin (1990)). The 1977–1982 stop-motion version has been criticised for being scary in places and rather dark in tone for the young audience at which it was aimed. It is, in contrast to the 1990s series, widely believed to be the most faithful TV adaptation of Tove Jansson's stories, and much closer to her vision. Tove herself had a great deal of involvement during the series' production and was very happy with it (as revealed in an interview with Anne Wood in Simon Sheridan's 2007 book The A to Z of Classic Children's Television). The scripts for each episode were translated from Polish into Swedish and sent to Tove and Lars Jansson, who, if they felt that anything needed to be changed, corrected the script, expanding or rewriting it; afterwards, the scripts were sent back and only then did production of the particular episode begin.
In 2010, an HD version of the series was released. It was later followed by a new US-produced English dub in 2017.
The series had an orchestral score, composed by Andrzej Rokicki, with a whimsical opening theme, resembling the melody of a songbird. The German and Austrian dub retained most of the score, and added themes written by Eugen Illin, who also composed a different opening theme. For the shortened and re-edited UK release, a new score was composed by Graeme Miller and Steve Shill. Its opening titles featured a bouncy theme tune consisting of flutes and synthesizers, played against a popular still of Moomintroll holding a hat.
The original Polish series consisted of 78 ten-minute episodes, narrated initially by Stanisław Wyszyński, and subsequently by Stanisław Kwaśniak. The German and Austrian dub retained the full length of the original series, with the narration provided by Hans Clarin. The UK adaptation was shortened and re-edited into 100 five-minute episodes, narrated by Richard Murdoch.
Series 1 of the UK release consisted of 50 episodes, and was first broadcast Mondays to Fridays at 4:15 pm, 24 January to 6 April 1983 on Children's ITV. Series 2 consisting of another 50 episodes first aired Monday to Fridays at 4:15 pm, 7 January to 15 March 1985 on Children's ITV.
| UK Broadcast Date | Title | Novel Inspiration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24.01.1983 | Hobgoblin's Hat | Finn Family Moomintroll | |
| 25.01.1983 | Magic Clouds | Finn Family Moomintroll | |
| 26.01.1983 | King of California | Finn Family Moomintroll | |
| 27.01.1983 | The Ant Lion | Finn Family Moomintroll | |
| 28.01.1983 | Canaries & Raspberry Juice | Finn Family Moomintroll | |
| 31.01.1983 | The Indoor Jungle | Finn Family Moomintroll | |
| 01.02.1983 | Thingumy and Bob | Finn Family Moomintroll | |
| 02.02.1983 | The Trial of the Groke | Finn Family Moomintroll | |
| 03.02.1983 | Snufkin's Leaving | Finn Family Moomintroll | |
| 04.02.1983 | The Ruby | Finn Family Moomintroll | |
| 07.02.1983 | The Great Search | Finn Family Moomintroll | |
| 08.02.1983 | The Party | Finn Family Moomintroll | |
| 09.02.1983 | Hobgoblin Arrives At the Party | Finn Family Moomintroll | |
| 10.02.1983 | Special Wishes | Finn Family Moomintroll | |
| 11.02.1983 | The Voyage | Finn Family Moomintroll | |
| 14.02.1983 | Attack of the Hattifatteners | Finn Family Moomintroll | |
| 15.02.1983 | The Barometer | Finn Family Moomintroll | |
| 16.02.1983 | Island Treasures | Finn Family Moomintroll | |
| 17.02.1983 | Return to Moominvalley | Finn Family Moomintroll | |
| 18.02.1983 | Invisible Child | Tales from Moominvalley | |
| 21.02.1983 | The Cure | Tales from Moominvalley | |
| 22.02.1983 | Christmas | Tales from Moominvalley | |
| 23.02.1983 | Winter | Moominland Midwinter | |
| 24.02.1983 | Little My Goes Skating | Moominland Midwinter | |
| 25.02.1983 | Moomintroll and Little My | Moominland Midwinter | |
| 28.02.1983 | The Lady of the Cold | Moominland Midwinter | |
| 01.03.1983 | Ancestor | Moominland Midwinter | |
| 02.03.1983 | Healthy Hemulen | Moominland Midwinter | |
| 03.03.1983 | Sorry-oo | Moominland Midwinter | |
| 04.03.1983 | Sorry-oo and the Wolves | Moominland Midwinter | |
| 07.03.1983 | The Winter Bonfire | Moominland Midwinter | |
| 08.03.1983 | Return of the Sun | Moominland Midwinter | |
| 09.03.1983 | The Great Thaw | Moominland Midwinter | |
| 10.03.1983 | The Fillyjonk | Tales from Moominvalley | |
| 11.03.1983 | Catastrophe | Tales from Moominvalley | |
| 14.03.1983 | Moomintroll & the Dragon | Tales from Moominvalley | |
| 16.03.1983 | Moomintroll's Pet | Tales from Moominvalley | |
| 17.03.1983 | Memoirs | Memoir's of Moominpappa | |
| 18.03.1983 | The Orphan | Memoir's of Moominpappa | |
| 21.03.1983 | Hodgkins & the Sailor | Memoir's of Moominpappa | |
| 22.03.1983 | Edward the Booble | Memoir's of Moominpappa | |
| 23.03.1983 | Moomintroll to the Rescue | Memoir's of Moominpappa | |
| 24.03.1983 | The Storm | Memoir's of Moominpappa | |
| 25.03.1983 | The King | Memoir's of Moominpappa | |
| 28.03.1983 | Island Ghost | Memoir's of Moominpappa | |
| 29.03.1983 | Flying Boat | Memoir's of Moominpappa | |
| 30.03.1983 | The Muddler's Marriage | Memoir's of Moominpappa | |
| 31.03.1983 | Love Story | Memoir's of Moominpappa | |
| 05.04.1983 | The Volcano | Moominsummer Madness | |
| 06.04.1983 | The Island | Moominsummer Madness |
| UK Broadcast Date | Title | Novel Inspiration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 07.01.1985 | The Haunted Theatre | Moominsummer Madness | |
| 08.01.1985 | Misabel's Hairdo | Moominsummer Madness | |
| 09.01.1985 | Emma the Theatre Rat | Moominsummer Madness | |
| 10.01.1985 | A Night in the Trees | Moominsummer Madness | |
| 11.01.1985 | Astonished Awakening | Moominsummer Madness | |
| 14.01.1985 | The Parkkeeper's Surprise | Moominsummer Madness | |
| 15.01.1985 | The Fillyjonk | Moominsummer Madness | |
| 16.01.1985 | Creepy Magic | Moominsummer Madness | |
| 17.01.1985 | The Naughty Woodies | Moominsummer Madness | |
| 18.01.1985 | Snufkin's Invitation | Moominsummer Madness | |
| 21.01.1985 | In Jail | Moominsummer Madness | |
| 22.01.1985 | Tea with the Hemulen's Niece | Moominsummer Madness | |
| 23.01.1985 | Dress Rehearsal | Moominsummer Madness | |
| 24.01.1985 | The Performance | Moominsummer Madness | |
| 25.01.1985 | The Confrontation | Moominsummer Madness | |
| 28.01.1985 | The Gadfly | Moomin & the Golden Tail, Moomin comic strips | |
| 29.01.1985 | The Cure | Moomin & the Golden Tail, Moomin comic strips | |
| 30.01.1985 | The Cocktail Party | Moomin & the Golden Tail, Moomin comic strips | |
| 31.01.1985 | Cedric | Tales from Moominvalley | |
| 01.02.1985 | Mr. Brisk | Moomins Winter Follies, Moomin comic strips | |
| 04.02.1985 | The Jungle | Moominvalley turns Jungle, Moomin comic strips | |
| 05.02.1985 | The Tigers | Moominvalley turns Jungle, Moomin comic strips | |
| 06.02.1985 | The Hunters | Moominvalley turns Jungle, Moomin comic strips | |
| 07.02.1985 | The Funfair | Tales from Moominvalley | |
| 08.02.1985 | The Hemulen Aunt | Tales from Moominvalley | |
| 11.02.1985 | The Orphan | '?' | |
| 12.02.1985 | The Vampire | Moomin & the Vampire, Moomin comic strips | |
| 13.02.1985 | The Vampire Escapes | Moomin & the Vampire, Moomin comic strips | |
| 14.02.1985 | The Friendly Vampire | Moomin & the Vampire, Moomin comic strips | |
| 15.02.1985 | The Nice Bat | Moomin & the Vampire, Moomin comic strips | |
| 18.02.1985 | Mamma's Island | Moominpappa at Sea | |
| 19.02.1985 | Mamma's Painting | Moominpappa at Sea | |
| 20.02.1985 | The Terrible Island Storm | Moominpappa at Sea | |
| 21.02.1985 | The Disappearing Moomins | Moomin & the Martians, Moomin comic strips | |
| 22.02.1985 | The Little Martian | Moomin & the Martians, Moomin comic strips | |
| 25.02.1985 | The Martian Goes Home | Moomin & the Martians, Moomin comic strips | |
| 26.02.1985 | The Discoveries | Comet in Moominland | |
| 27.02.1985 | The Muskrat's Prediction | Comet in Moominland | |
| 28.02.1985 | The Journey | Comet in Moominland | |
| 01.03.1985 | The Underground Waterfall | Comet in Moominland | |
| 04.03.1985 | The Giant Eagle | Comet in Moominland | |
| 05.03.1985 | The Observatory | Comet in Moominland | |
| 06.03.1985 | The Rockfall | Comet in Moominland | |
| 07.03.1985 | Moomintroll to the Rescue | Comet in Moominland | |
| 08.03.1985 | The Village Shop | Comet in Moominland | |
| 11.03.1985 | The Dance | Comet in Moominland | |
| 12.03.1985 | The Dead Sea | Comet in Moominland | |
| 13.03.1985 | Locust Attack | Comet in Moominland | |
| 14.03.1985 | The Tornado | Comet in Moominland | |
| 15.03.1985 | The Comet | Comet in Moominland |
The order above is the correct broadcast order, for when the episodes were first shown on UK television in 1983 (taken from the original script list). The episode order in the recent DVD boxset was changed, so that the English episodes were intended to match the German broadcast order (but they were in fact different). In the UK, the series ended with the Comet in Moominland story. Series 1 was shown in 1983 and series 2 in 1985. Series 2 was repeated in 1986. The series was also repeated in its entirety in 1988. (Confirmed by the sleeve notes from Finders Keepers Moomin soundtrack release 2016).
In 2008 the series was listed at number 25 in a list of top 50 children's TV by The Times.[8] Excerpts from the series have been shown at film festivals in the UK[9] and Japan.
A Region 2 DVD boxset was released in 2004,[10] in both English and German editions (both versions manufactured in Austria).
Single DVD releases are also available, which contain English and German episodes. The German episodes have English subtitles and the English episodes have German subtitles.
The complete series in its original Polish version, which was longer than the UK re-edit and had a different musical score, was released in Poland in 2009, as a 5-DVD Region 2 box set.