Tanoshî Mûmin ikka

Proper storylines with good animation and SUPERB characterisation, I was overjoyed to see this was back on the BBC. Check it out on SAT early mornings and you will not be disappointed- it is much better than the sh*t which passes for kids shows these days. It is sacrelige that Dick and Dom in da bungalow are employed by the same channel which broadcast this wonderful programme.

No phenomenon has had such a large impact on my childhood as the Moomins. I was a sucker for the awesome comics by Lars and Tove Jansson, I bought tons of little models of the cast of characters, my family even took me to Moomin Valley in Nådendal, Finland (of course, a human-sized Muminmamma trying to hug me was a bit too much for a 5-something-year old like me... brrr...). As I grew older and a brain, I read through all of the wonderfully atmospheric novels which, after all, started it all. But the single most powerful thing about the Moomins was the TV show. It had it all.

Horror! The scene where Moomin was transformed into a monster when he hid in the Wizard's hat scarred me for life. I still shudder as I see the Groke outside the Moomin valley, staring at the poor sods. I don't care if the Groke was a pitiful and sad creature who only wanted to make friends, to me she'll always be the greatest movie monster that humanity has ever created. Monsters like King Kong or Freddy Krueger are barely a 0.5 out of 10 on the Groke scale.

Comedy! Sniff and Little My, the hotheaded redhead, cracked me up.

Drama! The sorrow Moomin feels when his best friend the Snusmumrik leaves for the south during the autumn is something anyone can relate to.

Characters! The Moomin family, the Snorks, the Sniff, Little My, Snusmumriken, The Hemul, The Groke, Too-ticky, Stinky, Ninni, the Witch, etc, etc, etc, there were a myriad of multi-layered characters in these stories, none of them a stereotype or a one-note character, each with a billion times more depth than any of the "deep" Hollywood dramas.

As I grew a little older I left Moomin and started watching a more "badass" show that actually had some action in it - Pokémon (although it sucked in retrospect, it was a Saturday morning fave for me). But the Moomin series has stayed with me and it is, in some way, a part of me. As awful, dumb and naive series like Pokémon or Moomin may seem to adults, it's all us kids of the nineties have. When you were five, did you really want to watch Goodfellas or Nattvardsgästerna? No, you wanted to watch The Transformers, or Flash Gordon, depending on how old you were when they aired. Pretty lame as they may seem today, they were great when you were a kid, and classic today for anyone who grew up with series like these.

Ramble ramble... to sum up: This is a great show and I love it with all my heart. It's been a while since I saw it but I'm positive even adults will be able to enjoy it - unless you're scared of losing your status. Moomin is awesome. That's it. (r#38)

Oh! However, Whatever be the situation, I always remember the MoominValley

I remember this show when i was a kid and i loved it!

It was very creepy at times, especially the Groke *shudders* but it was so memorable that it sticks with me even till today.

Its just one of those shows that sticks with you your whole life. I really wish i could get the whole thing on DVD form somewhere, but its very hard to find. It just gives me that feeling that is so hard to describe, i miss it so much.

Anyone form the early 90s will remember this classic! 10 out of 10 form me!

Totally awesome!

First of all, I have to say that I just can't give enough credit for this cartoon. Good, now we can start.

This is a show that every kid should see, and I mean every episode of it (I did). This show is funny, exciting and above all, it's deeply meaningful. It really gives you an idea of the important things in life: love, friendship, teamwork, happiness, adventures, ...

If you're thinking you're too old for this kind of show, you're just wrong. While it's the greatest thing for a kid to watch on TV, it's also good for everyone from teenies to grown ups. And another thing is that it doesn't get boring! I have seen every episode more than 5 times but that doesn't bother me, while there are some quite boring episodes, the majority is just awesome, magical at best. You won't live a complete and good life without having seen the moomins, maybe it's just my opinion... maybe it's the absolute truth.

While it's always scary when the groke shows up, you should look at it this way: If you see the first groke episode as a kid, you'll be scared and have nightmares, but you'll get over it (not completely, but still). Now after that, nothing will seem as scary as that. Other monsters from other movies and series will seem laughable. For example, zombie movies. While quite scary, you know they're just infested humans. But the groke, you know nothing about it, it just appears rarely and then disappears into the dark woods... it's always so mystically freaky: you think "what is that? Where does it harvest it's power? What does it eat? Why is it in the moominvalley? will it show up now, when I most expect it?" I don't know why, but you always kinda sense that the groke is about to appear. Even if it doesn't appear, you have the strong feeling that it's out there somewhere. I can't really describe why it's so scary, it just possibly is the scariest thing I know. Still I really like the groke-heavy episodes and would like to see more of it.

Given that I wrote very much about the groke, it's not even a major character. It's just something that has affected me much. Almost everyone is affected by the moomins, but in oh so different ways. It has something for (again, almost) everyone.

Watch.

...then watch it again. ...and again. Then, show it to your kids someday. I highly recommend it.