Moomin (1969 TV series)

is a Japanese anime television series produced by Zuiyo Enterprise and animated by Tokyo Movie until episode 26 and by Mushi Production after episode 27. The series is loosely based on the Moomin books by the Finnish author Tove Jansson and was broadcast on Fuji Television from 1969 to 1970. A sequel series entitled Shin Muumin () was later released in 1972.

Jansson never approved of the series or its successor, due to their dramatic changes with the plots, overall atmosphere, and character personalities. Because of this, the series was never translated into any languages or released outside Japan except Taiwan and some others like United Kingdom. Also, the series has never been released in principle since 1990 including in Japan, when a new anime television series Moomin was released with the full involvement of Jansson herself.

The anime series is also the second entry in what is now known as World Masterpiece Theater (Calpis Comic Theater at the time). Zuiyo Enterprise, would split in 1975 into Nippon Animation Company, Ltd. (which employed some of the Zuiyo's production staff and continued with the World Masterpiece Theater franchise) and Zuiyo Company, Ltd.

Summary 

The anime series is notably different from the later anime television series Moomin, released in the early 1990s, which was translated into many languages,released in dozens of countries, and relies more on the original Moomin books and comic strips.

While the series itself was well-liked by the Japanese public as an adventurous and comedic series for boys, it was dramatically different in areas like the adaptation and overall atmosphere.  For example, Moomintroll was portrayed more as an ordinary boy; while still friendly like in the books, he is somewhat ill-tempered, occasionally fighting or behaving slyly. This, along with elements such as Snork being a driver, common use of firearms, one scene in an early episode featuring characters getting drunk together at a bar, infuriated Jansson.

After Tokyo Movie's contract was cancelled, With Mushi Production taking over, the designs were changed accordingly and the series had many more faithful episodes, which included the source's stories and points of mystery, horror, comedy and tragedy. Despite this, Jansson's consent was still not obtained and the program was ended after well over 60 episodes.

Since 1990, Moomin Characters, Ltd, which manages the Moomin copyrights, has not released this series to the public in principle.

Episode 1 of this series is featured on the Moomin Characters, Ltd, official website. But this video was displayed using a link, and the original URL is illegally uploaded to YouTube without the permission of Tokyo Movie and related parties.

Production 
In the 1960s, sports dramas and slapstick comedies were the mainstream of Japanese TV animation at that time. Therefore, Calpis Co., Ltd., the sponsor of the animated program in Fuji TV, wanted to offer a family-oriented animation that was distinctly different from those fields. At that time, "Moomin," which had just been imported from abroad as children's literature, caught their attention. And so the project was launched.

A short time later, the proposal was sent to Tove Jansson. Jansson's response was positive, so Shigeto Takahashi, a producer at Zuiyo Enterprise who was in charge of the project, decided to meet directly with Jansson to proceed with negotiations. Jansson suggested the following conditions for the production of the animation.

No money, no machines, and no television.

Development and pre-production 
Tokyo Movie, now TMS Entertainment, was chosen to produce the animation.

The director was chosen to be Masaaki Osumi, who has the unique background of having come from a puppet theater company. Osumi, who knows Moomin well, initially thought the content was too static to be suitable for animation, but accepted the position.

The company hired Yasuo Otsuka as the animation director. He was considered to be one of Japan's foremost animators, and he was an important mentor to Hayao Miyazaki. He thought the cuteness of movement and the roundness of his drawings as important, and never used straight lines to draw characters such as the Moomins.

The initial meetings were confusing. Takahashi, who respected Jansson's opinions and aimed for a plot that was faithful to the original work, was at odds with the advertising agency, which aimed for a plot that did not respect Jansson's original work on the grounds that "the style as it is will not be popular in Japan". When Osumi attended a meeting invited by the advertising agency, he felt that the meeting was amazingly stupy, because comments such as "Let's run a bullet train in the Moomin Valley". He thought about quitting the job, but, he was fascinated by the animation shown by Mr. Otsuka just before leaving company, and he broke off that thought. Osumi later said of the participants in this meeting, "Perhaps, but they had not even read the original work and were only thinking about the character business.". Later, the bullet train idea was rejected due to opposition from Osumi and others.

In making the animation, Osumi decided to base it on Moomin comic strips rather than the Jansson novels. The strips had a freer plot than the novels, and he thought that "the style of the comic would work as an animation. Therefore, Osumi claims that he did not create a plot that was different than the comic strip.

In the casting process, Kyōko Kishida, who was regarded as a great actor with a strong acting background, was chosen to play Moomin. This was due to the fact that she once contributed a story about reading a Moomin novel in an essay she had written for a newspaper. Subsequently, the casting of other main characters was done according to Kisida's abilities, and stage actors and other actors with greater theatrical skills than the popular voice actors of the time were employed.

Hisashi Inoue, a distinguished novelist and dramatist, participated as a screenwriter.

At first, there were some complaints from the advertising agency that the story was too self-control. However, once the animation was actually broadcast, the response was more favorable than expected, and especially since the sponsor, Calpis, liked it very much, and the strong complaints receded, as if pushed by them. 

Thus was created "Moomin," a children's animation mixing fantasy by Jansson and Japanese culture.

Change of production company 
When the broadcast began, Tokyo Movie and Zuiyo Enterprise asked Jansson to watch episode 7. This was to get her endorsement. But, she gave the episode a low rating and submitted a letter to the staff with a series of complaints and requests. Tokyo Movie ended production after episode 26 and exited the project because of this letter from Jansson.

But this reason was ostensible. The Moomin project was initially intended to be a low-budget production, but the animators and staff on site insisted on producing high-quality work, and as a result, the budget was far exceeded, and negotiations with the advertising agency for an increase in the budget were not agreed upon. Also, Due to its popularity with viewers, the number of broadcasts was suddenly increased from the planned number, but Tokyo movie could not cope with this. For this reason, Tokyo movie's upper management wanted to withdraw from the project and used Jansson's claims as an excuse to Zuiyo Enterprise, the sponsors, and the Fuji TV, who were willing to continue the program.

With the departure of Tokyo Movie from the project, Osumi and other key staff and animators were also dropped from the production. The animators on site were summoned by the president and informed of the sudden termination. They were disappointed, but also relieved. Yutaka Fujioka, who was in charge of the site and wanted the project to continue, was on a business trip that day and was angry when he heard the news of the termination the next day. However, the CEO had already made that decision, and it was too late. They were soon transferred to the Lupin the 3rd Part I: The Classic Adventures project.

Mushi Production became the animation production company from episode 27.

Episode 27 was greatly innovated and changed in response to Jansson's request, with the character design being adapted to drawings by Jansson and the plot of the story being changed as well. Unfortunately, however, after the program ended, the TV station was inundated with many complaints. The children wrote such comments as, "The characters' faces suddenly changed and became scary," and "Why did the atmosphere of the story change and it became boring? ". Also, The sponsor, Calpis, which had been satisfied with the Tokyo movie, expressed its dissatisfaction.

This evaluation led to a meeting with Jansson, and as a result, a few elements, such as character design, were returned to a status similar to Tokyomovie, provided that it would be broadcast only in Japan.

The program was ended after well over 60 episodes.

Reception

Critical response 
Tove Jansson had difficulty viewing all of its animations due to historical issues. So, having watched only the episode 7, which had just been completed at the time, she explained the following.

Jansson also included the following other requests in her letter.

 Automobiles should not be used.
 I think the interior of the house where Moomin lives should also be changed. The rooms are too large and too empty. So, at first glance, it looks like an office.
 Moominmamma always carries a handbag.
Moominpappa usually carries a walking stick.
Non-non wears a ring on her left ankle. She also does not wear a ribbon on her head. Her hair should not be too thick.
One thing to note in particular is that the Moomin family does not have mouths. I understand that in the case of animation, a mouth is necessary, but please think about and use as small a mouth as possible to indicate who is speaking now.

However, Jansson did not dismiss all of the work, praising the colors used in the background as "The effects of colors such as water and sky are well done. Also, She stated in 1971, "At first, they told that I was angry that the Japanese Moomins were different, and in a way this is true. I have not yet had a good look at them in Japan, As far as the films sent to me, the Japanese Moomins are aggressive. besides, the Japanese Moomins have problems with cars and money, but my Moomin Valley has no such problems. but, I began to think it would be nice to have a Moomin with a Japanese flavor.".

In 2008, Masaaki Osumi said to one of Jansson's reviews by stating.

Producer Shigeto Takahashi gave the series a low rating, saying he was disappointed that it could not faithfully reproduce the original worldview by Tove Jansson, but praised Kisida and the rest of the cast for their excellent performances. Incidentally, Kisida's performance in this series was so well received that she continued to play the Moomins in the Japanese dubbed version of the stop-motion Moomin TV series produced in Poland in 1977.

Cast and characters
The description will focus on elements that differ from Jansson's original narrative.

Main characters

In the Tokyo Movie season, the body is gray and the ears are round and fat, giving the animal a hippopotamus-like appearance; in the Mushi Production season, the body is light blue, the ears are slightly pointed, and the body is slimmer, closer to Jansson's design.
Although his age is not revealed in the work, he was defined as a boy of about 10 years old in documents of the time, making him a life-size character like a child, the main target audience of this animation.
Basically, she has a gentle personality that can get along with anyone. He is not good at lying or deceiving people. The season of Tokyo Movie emphasized the laid-back nature.

His body is gray, almost black. He always wears a silk hat and often blows a pipe or carries a walking stick.
Compared to original, he is a kind father who rarely goes on wandering trips and lives in good company with Moomin and Moominmamma.
When asked which writers he admired, he once mentioned Jansson's name.
He also narrates the next episode's preview, which ends with the mysterious words "". Note that Hitoshi Takagi, who provided the voice, was best known for providing the voice Totoro in "My Neighbor Totoro".

Her body color is the same as Moominpappa's, and like original, she wears a striped apron composed of red and white stripes.
She values her handbag so much that if she loses it, she gets so upset she can't do her chores.
She is not as generous in everything as in the original story, but she is a kind, good wife and wise mother who supports her family.
She had won a beauty contest held in the Moomin Valley, which is how she met Moominpappa.

In the original, it is called "Snork Maiden".
Her body is green. She has pink hair and wears a golden anklet on her left leg, and in the Tokyo Movie season she wears a yellow ribbon.
She lives with her brother Snoke, who, like Snoke, first appeared in Episode 6.
Moomin's friend. She is usually withdrawn, but has a firm character that says what is important.
She respects her brother Snoke, but is often taken aback by his selfishness. Snoke himself is devoted to his sister and considers her very important.
The name was derived from the director Osumi's wife's nickname, "". During the production of the pilot film, some people said that children who saw the program would have a hard time calling her casually if she did not have a name, so the name was hastily chosen. But, Jansson said the name "reminds me of the word 'NO' and has a negative ring to it.". Jansson did not like the name.

His body is green, almost gray. He always wears a golden wig, because he used the illustration of Snoke wearing a wig in "Finn Family Moomintroll" as a reference for his character design.
He first appeared in Episode 6. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Learning in another town, he returned to his hometown in the Moomin Valley.
At first, he bragged to those around him about his educational background and the prestigious Snork family, and looked down on inhabitants of the Moomin Valley. He also tried to bring cars, money, trains, and other conveniences (which elements that Jansson did not want in the Moomin Valley) to the Moomin Valley because they were "uncultured" and "unscientific", but he failed at every attempt, and often appeared as a rival or villain to the Moomins. Later, this personality gradually faded into the background, but the prideful aspects remained and were emphasized.
From the middle, he became a funny and lovable comedy relief who, while retaining his troublemaker side, spoke more politely than necessary and tried to act classy, but also showed a screwed-up and goofy side.
Despite this personality, he is well educated and holds 3 degrees from Academy. His hobbies include painting, playing the violin, and scientific experiments. When he is in a good mood, he sometimes improvises a song and hums it.
He is considered the character with the most differences between the original and this animation. This is largely due to the ad-libbing of Hirokawa, who provided the voice, and he became a prominent character, appearing more often than in the original work. Hirokawa later said, "When I played Snoke, it was a time when I wanted to show what I had. As I tried to expand his personality by changing the endings of words, etc., this was gradually reflected in the script. Later, as I received more requests to perform in this style in other films, I was able to make this my signature. Played Snoke was a turning point in my career.".

At first, the characterization was not set in stone. At one time he appeared as a friend of the Moomins, and at another time he was leading a demonstration to remove Snufkin, who was suspected of arson, from the Moomin Valley.
Eventually, halfway through the series, he settled on a good-natured but timid character, a friend of Moomin's.

She is the Mymble's daughter's younger sister.
While retaining the cheeky side of the original, the aggressive or cynical aspect is gone, replaced by the image of the headstrong, mischievous girl seen in Japanese anime of the time.
The color of the clothes is yellow. At first, she looked similar to the original, but gradually changed, becoming a girl of about 10 years old with a slightly higher isometric height.
Later in the episode, a slight Tsundere personality was added, and there were times when she seemed to be in love with Moomin.

Little Mye's older sister.
She has green hair and pure white skin. Her clothes are a white dress.
Although not as sensitive as the original, she is sensitive to fashion and makeup, and looks in the mirror several times a day.
She once said to Snoke, "If only he didn't have a difficult personality, he would be perfect.", a remark that hinted at love.
she is very protective of Little My. When she went missing, she was so shocked that he fell asleep.
She has a bad drinking habit and can't stop laughing when she gets drunk.

A traveler who came to the Moomin Valley in episode 4. Since then, he has been living in a tent by the river in the Moomin Valley. During the winter, they travel to the south.
He is a key figure in the Moomin Valley.
In the beginning, he was more like Moomin's older brother with a bit of mischievousness, but in the middle of the show, his character became quieter and more mature, in line with Nishimoto's voice. Also, the smoking portrayal in the original was debated as to whether he was an adult or a child, which defined him as an adult in this series.
He has a unique philosophy. He loves solitude and freedom, and is a mute person. However, Moomin is fascinated by him, and he sometimes casually teaches Moomin "Philosophy for Living" with his short words.
There are also cultured depictions, such as a telling of a passage from Paul Verlaine's poem "Chanson d'automne".
Unlike Jansson's original, his favorite instrument is the guitar, not the harmonica. This is often cited as one of the features and popularity of this animation. He often plays an original song called "".
 Holding a guitar was the idea of director Osumi. He thought a guitar would suit Snufkin better than a harmonica, given Snufkin's image as "Lonely Man Who Came Down the Mountain," and the change was intentional.
He is considered the character with the most female fans in the anime.

Supporting characters

An old man living alone on the outskirts of the Moomin Valley.
His body is purple, tall, and she wears a skirt-like dress.
He knows a lot about plants, animals and old stories and his hobby is stamp collecting. Since the second half of the episode, he has been living and studying birds and plants.
In the original story, he is an eccentric old man who is only interested in his own research and hobbies, but in this animation, he is transformed into a kind old man who knows things and seems to have a certain status as an elder, participating in important meetings in the Moomin Valley.

He is the longest resident of the Moomin Valley. He is a philosopher and is always thinking about the waste in the world.
He lives in a hammock in a tree on the edge of the Moomin Valley, and has many philosophy books in the cave of his villa.
He is a bigot, and his favorite saying is "Nonsense, it's useless! ". He often gets into arguments with the inhabitants of the Moomin Valley because of his habit of repeating this phrase without paying attention to the atmosphere around him.

He is the only policeman in the police station in the Moomin Valley. Whenever an incident occurs in the Moomin Valley, he rushes to the scene.
An original character in this anime, he is based on the appearance of an officer who was the police chief's subordinate in the original comic book.

They live in Lonely Mountain and the forest and are always hungry.
In the original comics, he is a villain who commits theft and fraud, but in this anime, he is treated as something strange living in the forest.

Episodes

Home media 
In 1989, The series saw VHS and Laser Disc releases in Japan. This is the only home media.

LD
Vol.1-7 (episode 1-26)

VHS
"The volume of love" (episode 37, 49)
"The volume of dream" (episode 34, 64)

References

External links

1969 anime television series debuts
1970 Japanese television series endings
Fuji TV original programming
Moomin television series
Television shows based on children's books
TMS Entertainment
World Masterpiece Theater series