A post to appreciate the older, less known, or underappreciated Moomin series. Bolded titles contain links to playlists with the complete series, unless stated otherwise.
Die Muminfamilie(1959) A German black and white puppet show. The first season was based on Finn Family Moomintroll (which was originally aired live), and the second on Moominsummer Madness. It was the first time Moomins were adapted for television. All 12 episodes are available. (Note: All episodes are available on the playlist, but the videos repeat some scenes after they completed. While the episodes have not been translated in their entirety, a subtitled version of the first episode is available to download here.)
Mumintrollet(1969) The first television series to have human actors in the roles of the characters. It was used an original story written by Tove and Lars Jansson, and was directed by Vivica Bandler. The series is best known for how the actors portraying the Moomins would remove the heads of their costumes. Some actors who had previously worked with Tove Jansson on her Moomin stage plays appeared in this show. All 13 episodes are available.
Mumin (1969) The first anime adaptation of the Moomins. It is known for being disliked by Tove Jansson for reasons including changes to character personalities and violence. However, it was well loved and helped make the Moomins popular in Japan. (Note: it does not seem possible to find every episode online, but the linked playlist has the most complete list I could find.)
Shin Mumin (1972) A sequel series to the 1969 anime. It was aimed at a younger audience, fewer episodes are based on original stories and they usually involve fantasy themes. All 52 episodes are available.
Mumindalen (1973) A second show performed by live actors, also written by Tove and Lars Jansson. It was originally aired as an advent calendar program. Includes episodes based on Moominland Midwinter, Finn Family Moomintroll, and Tales of Moominvalley. All 24 episodes are available.
Opowiadania Muminków
(1977) A Polish stop motion series often referred to as “fuzzy felt Moomins”. It is generally considered the most faithful adaptation of the original stories and was liked by Tove Jansson, who approved each script before production of the episodes. The first complete English version and most original Polish episodes can be viewed online. The films Moomin andMidsummer Madness, Comet Chase, andWinter Wonderland, which are edited compilations of original episodes,are also available. (Note: there are two versions of the English series. The first was narrated by Richard Murdoch, using heavily edited footage which split the series from 78 episodes into 100 shorter episodes. The second is a recent restoration of the original length episodes by Filmkompaniet, and includes a new soundtrack and narration. The first version is linked here.)
Mumi-troll (1978) A three part stop motion Russian animation based on Comet in Moominland, with some elements borrowed from Finn Family Moomintroll in the first part. (Note: the videos have English subtitles, but they are out of sync on the second and third parts. If you’d prefer, trythis fan dubbed version.)
Shlyapa Volshebnika (1980) A three part Russian animation based on Finn Family Moomintroll. Mainly uses cutout style animation, but also mixes in other styles including stop motion. It is most famous for its unusual character designs, such as the portrayal of Snufkin as a duck. Each part can be watched with English subtitles.
(1980) A musical adaptation of the picture book “Who Will Comfort Toffle?”, with a soundtrack performed by
Peter Lundblad and Torbjörn Eklund. It closely follows the art style in which the book was drawn.
Hur gick det sen?(1993)An adaptation of “The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My”, also following the style of the original story. Both the original Swedish version, which was narrated by Tove Jansson, and aFinnish dub are available.
From the Life of Little Trolls (2008) An Armenian short film based on The Last Dragon on Earth. It was directed and animated by award-winning artist Naira Muradyan.
Moomins on the Riviera (2014) A movie based on stories from the Moomin comic series. Supposedly caused some controversy for being unlike the 90s anime and containing themes seen as too “adult” for children’s movies. The linked version contains an English dub.
Missing from this list:
Mumindalen (1990, not to be confused with 90s anime or ‘73 live action show)
Filifjonkan som trodde på katastrofer (1978, film based on the short story) Also seeking a higher quality version of English Riviera movie And a higher quality version of Little Trolls/any more information on it
Last updated: July 17/18 – Now with fuzzy felt movie Moomin and Midsummer Madness. (thanks, dee-has-a!)
Plot Designing 