The Moomins

Year 2010 marks the 65th anniversary of the Finnish fairy tale 'The Moomins.' The Finnish children's play "Moominpappa and the sea" will premiere in the Shanghai Grand Theatre.

The play is based on a series of children's books written by Tove Jansson (1914-2001), a famous Finnish author and painter. The main characters in the play, the Moomins, vaguely resemble hippopotamuses, are now world-famous cartoon characters.

The Moomin books are the most widely translated works of Finnish children's literature. So far, the Moomin books have been translated into more than 40 languages.

The author, Tove Jansson, grew up in an artistic family in Helsinki. Her father was a sculptor, and her mother a graphic designer and illustrator. Jansson learned to paint from her mother at an early age.

She started to write her Moomin books in 1939. Her first Moomin book, "The Moomins and the Great Flood," written during World War II, was published in 1945. Jansson said later that the war depressed her, and she wanted to write something naive and innocent. The next Moomin books, Comet in Moominland (1946) and Finn Family Moomintroll (1948), made her famous.

As a Swedish-speaking Finnish, Jansson wrote all her Moomin books in Swedish. Her Moomin works include nine illuminated storybooks, three picture books and comic strips. Because of her Moomin tales, she was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1966, the highest international recognition given biennially to authors and illustrators of children's literature.

The earliest Moomin story is about an adventure of Moomintroll and Moominmamma in search of Moominpappa. On the trip, they encounter numerous funny and interesting things. Moominmamma is courteous, frank, broad-minded and noted for his witty repartee. Moominpappa always wears a black hat. As a philosopher, he is excited only when exploring the unknown world. Moomintroll is an innocent and kind-hearted boy, whose hobby is collecting stones and shells. One of their neighbors Snufkin is a roaming poet who wears an old coat and pointed hat. And a girl called Little My lives with the family.

The Moomins live in the Moominvalley where residents are in harmony with nature. The stories of these residents represent the author's fantasies about human world. The moomins' life, living in forest, boating in lake, picking up berries and mushrooms, is a portrayal of the traditional Finnish daily life.

Critics have interpreted Moomin characters as being inspired by real-life people, especially the author's close family members. Moominpappa and Moominmamma are often seen as the portraits of her parents and Moomintroll is modeled from her two brothers, while Little My has been seen as a psychological self-portrait of Jansson herself.

The Moomin characters have become well-known cultural images. In 1987, a Moomin museum was established in the City Library of Tampere in southern Finland. In 1993, the theme park Moomin World was built on the southwest coast of Finland, on a small island facing Naantali. Every summer, the Moomin World is covered with flowers and green grass. It is not only a fairy paradise for children, but also a tourist attraction for tourists from home and abroad.

The Moomin tales have been adapted into television series, films and plays. An animation series named Tales of Moominvalley was made and played in Japan in 1990s. In China, the Moomins are also getting famous. The Moomin picture books have been published in China. In the 'Europe Day' procession on May 9 in Shanghai Expo, the Moomin characters from Finland were extremely popular with visitors.

They have had thousands of pictures taken with the characters, and would shout excitedly "Look, Moomin!" at their very sight.

On May 27, the Finland Day of the Shanghai Expo, visitors will have a chance to enjoy the children's play 'Moominpappa and the Sea' in the open-air theater inside the expo park.

Courtesy: Xinhua