The Moomins (TV series) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Moomins
Written by	Maria Kossakowska Lucjan Dębiński
Music by	Andrzej Rokicki
Country of origin	Polish People's Republic, Austria, West Germany
No. of episodes	100
Production
Producer(s)	Se-ma-for
Distributor	Global Genesis Group
Release
Original network	ITV
Original release	1977 (1977) – 1982 (1982)

The Moomins (Polish: Opowiadania Muminków, German: Die Mumins) is a fun stop-motion animated TV show. It is based on the popular Tove Jansson's Moomin books. This series was made by Se-ma-for and Jupiter Film from 1977 to 1982. It was first shown in Poland, Austria, and Germany. Later, it came to other countries like the UK.

In the UK, Anne Wood helped adapt the show. It was first shown on Children's ITV in 1983. The show was narrated by British actor Richard Murdoch. This was the third TV series made about the Moomins. Many people think it's one of the best Moomin shows. It's known for being very true to Tove Jansson's original stories. Tove Jansson herself was very involved in making the series. She was happy with how it turned out.

The show's opening had a catchy theme song. It used flutes and synthesizers. This music was made by Graeme Miller and Steve Shill. In 2010, a clearer HD version of the series came out. A new English voice-over was made for the US in 2017.

What is Stop-Motion?

Stop-motion is a cool way to make animation. It involves taking a photo of an object, then moving it a tiny bit. After that, another photo is taken. This process is repeated many times. When all the photos are played quickly, the object looks like it's moving on its own! This is how the Moomins and their world were brought to life.

How the Show Was Made

The creators worked closely with Tove Jansson. Scripts were translated from Polish into Swedish. Tove and her brother Lars Jansson would check them. They would make changes if needed. Only after their approval did the episode production begin. This made sure the show stayed true to the books.

Episode Adventures

The UK version of The Moomins had 100 episodes. Each episode was about five minutes long.

The first 50 episodes were shown in 1983. They aired from Monday to Friday at 4:15 pm. The next 50 episodes came out in 1985. They also aired Monday to Friday at 4:15 pm. The show was repeated a few times, with the last full repeat in 1988.

Series One Episodes

Series Two Episodes

The list above shows the correct order for when the episodes were first shown in the UK. This order came from the original script list. Some DVD sets changed the order to match German broadcasts, but they were still different. In the UK, the series finished with the "Comet in Moominland" story.

How People Liked the Show

In 2008, The Moomins was listed as number 25 in a list of the top 50 children's TV shows by The Times. Parts of the series have also been shown at film festivals in the UK and Japan.

Moomin Films

Several films have been made using episodes from this TV series:

• Moomin and Midsummer Madness came out in 2008. It was made from Episodes 51-65.
• Moomins and the Comet Chase was released in 2010. It used Episodes 88-100.
• Moomins and the Winter Wonderland came out in 2017. This film was made from Episodes 23-33.