Moomin Character Analysis

I had not heard of the Moomins before my stay in Finland, but after arriving, I quickly realized that they were everywhere. There were plushes, and home items, and pretty much anything you could imagine with Moomin on it. I have the privilege of living with some Finnish girls, and I asked her once, “What are these things? Why are they everywhere?” She showed me this enormous collection she had of Moomin merchandise, though most of what she had were collectable glasses and plates. She told me that many people in Finland read Moomin books as children and also watch the television show.
I was discussing them with another friend I met here, and he had a copy of Comet in Moominland in English that he lent to me. Comet in Moominland takes place …show more content…
In interviews she explicitly mentions some of the people who she bases her characters on. For example, her significant other, Tuulikki Pietilä, inspired the character Too-Ticky in the story Moominland Midwinter. Meanwhile many people think Moomintroll and possibly also Little My are reflections of Jansson herself. This is reinforced by the Moomin family reflecting her own family, leaving her with the role of Moomintroll. In addition to the normal character relations to real people, the Moomin family itself seems to be based on Jansson’s family in that they live with few permanent ties anywhere and also close to nature. Additionally they’re unusually tolerant towards different ways of living. Most of the characters also have philosophical bents, giving a platform for the people they’re based on as well as giving Jansson a chance to make sardonic satire about the ideas themselves. She told me a little bit about the books, but she had not read very many of them. While Finnish, the Moomin books were written in Swedish. The Moomin characters were brought in books, comics, multiple television series, several movies, and some live theater. Moomins have spanned a variety of media. Nine Moomin books have been published, starting with The Moomins and the Great Flood where the Moomins almost drown, and ending with Moominvalley in …show more content…
One of these was a Japanese anime film. Moomin also gained ground in pop culture in Japan, so much so that they ended up making some Moomin things of their own, occasionally without permission. Moomins have also expanded into the real world in the form of museums and entertainment centers. A theme park called Moomin World near Naantali, Finland exists featuring the Moomins. It’s targeted mainly at children. The Moomin house is the biggest feature it has, featuring all five stories. People dressed as Moomin characters are also there for people to meet. In the Tampere Art Museum there’s a Moominvalley. It’s devoted to Tove Jansson and has about two thousand works including many unique Moomin illustrations by Jansson herself. The museum itself is based on the Moomin books. Like Moomin World, the biggest feature is perhaps the full five story model of the Moominhouse which Jansson helped build. Another Moomin excursion into reality is the Moomin Valley, a Moomin-themed park like Moomin World, except in