The Moomins ( TV Series 1979 - 1982 )



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The Moomins is a stop motion animated children's television series based on the Tove Jansson's Moomin series of books which was originally produced by Se-ma-for and Jupiter Film between the years 19771982, originally for Polish, Austrian and German television. The series was later on sold to other countries including the UK. The British version was adapted by Anne Wood at FilmFair and first broadcast in the UK in 1983 on CITV and was repeated until 1989, and was narrated by British actor Richard Murdoch.

This series was often referred to as the fuzzy felt Moomins, due to the appearance of the characters. It was the third series to be made based on the Moomin books, with two more made since then. Nonetheless, it is one of the two best known Moomin series, along with Moomin (1990). This version has at times 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 by far 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 reportedly 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 Finnish and sent to Tove and Lars Jansson, who, if they felt that anything needed to be changed, would correct the script, expand or rewrite its parts; afterwards, the scripts were sent back and only then would production of the particular episode begin.

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The opening titles featured a bouncy theme tune consisting of flutes and synthesizers and a popular still of Moomintroll holding a hat.





Episode Guide



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Series 1 - January to March 1983

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1 Hobgoblin's Hat

2 Magic Clouds
3 King of California
4 The Ant Lion
5 Canaries & Raspberry Juice
6 The Indoor Jungle
7 Thingumy and Bob
8 The Trial of the Groke
9 Snufkin's Leaving
10 The Ruby
11 The Great Search
12 The Party
13 Hobgoblin Arrives At the Party
14 The Voyage
15 Attack of the Hattifatteners
16 The Barometer
17 Island Treasures
18 Return to Moominvalley
19 Special Wishes
20 Invisible Child
21 The Cure
22 Christmas
23 Winter
24 Little My Goes Skating
25 Moomintroll and Little My
26 The Lady of the Cold
27 The Winter Bonfire
28 Return of the Sun
29 Ancestor
30 Healthy Hemulen
31 Sorry-oo
32 Sorry-oo and the Wolves
33 The Great Thaw
34 The Fillyjonk
35 Catastrophe
36 Moomintroll & the Dragon
37 Moomintroll's Pet
38 Memoirs
39 The Orphan
40 Hodgkins & the Sailor
41 Edward the Booble
42 Moomintroll to the Rescue
43 The Storm
44 The King
45 Island Ghost
46 Flying Boat
47 The Muddler's Marriage
48 Love Story
49 The Volcano
50 The Island

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