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funnywormz · 2 years

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im bored and i feel like rating grokes (in a similar style to those old emoji rating posts) so here i go. it's gonna be a long post so im putting it under the cut

(im gonna start with the book grokes and then move onto stage and tv adaptation versions)

BOOKS

finn family moomintroll - 10/10

first proper appearance of the groke. very classic. very intimidating. she's a bit more malicious in this one than in future books and i love that for her. just a good solid groke

moominland midwinter/moominpappa at sea - ♾/10

lumping these in together because they strike me as very similar in terms of characterisation and are pretty close appearance-wise. my favourite version of the groke from anything ever. means a lot to me. a lonely and misunderstood creature longing for warmth and friendship. scary and can unintentionally cause harm but seems to mean well overall. the perfect groke, both a little terrifying but also very pitiable and loveable. the version of the groke that exists in my mind is 95% just this groke

who will comfort toffle - 11/10

honestly i don't think i could possibly rate any of tove's takes on the groke lower than 10 lmao. this one is no exception. visually she is very striking and very shaped and im a big fan of her design in this. nose at maximum size, very impressive. this is also the book where we get canon confirmation that she has a tail, despite never seeing it, which i also very much appreciate. doesn't really do much in this book except be a bit scary though. she kidnaps someone but it's unclear if it's on purpose or if she just does it accidentally, and what her motivations are for doing so. just a big beast.

ADAPTATIONS

die muminfamilie (1959) - 7/10

i like that she's fuzzy and i like her nose. im not a big fan of those eyebrows though. she is a bit fucked up and desperately needs someone to brush her hair but i love her anyway. also puppets are cool.

moomin (1969) - 1/10

this thing is groke-like in appearance but it is not a groke. i refuse to acknowledge it as a groke. its name is "licky licky" apparently and its whole thing is it licks people so hard their skin comes off????? horrifying. it gets the 1 for being a decent looking groke-ish thing but that's all i will give it. i do not like this.

shin moomin (1979) - 9.5/10

very very cute very round. my poor little scrunkly. i would score her higher but she seems to be mostly lacking that scary-ness that other grokes have which is an important part of the character for me. she is very lovely though and i like how they emphasised her friendly and harmless nature in this and leaned into the tragic side of her. i want to hug her so bad. beautiful creature.

mumindalen (1973) - -100/10

i hate this thing. she looks like an evil potato. why is she so skinny!!!!! get this beast out of my sight!!!!!

Opowiadania Muminków (1977) - 100/10

OHHHHH YEAHHHHH THIS IS WHAT IM TALKING ABT BAYBEEEE!!!!!!!!! SHE IS SO SO CREEPY!!!!! i love this design for her so much she is so beautiful and pretty and yet very scary and ominous. the way her eyes glow and change colour is the best. i love this groke

mumi-troll (1978) - 8/10

not particularly groke-like but still very excellent. i love how fluffy she is and her big bushy eyebrows. a unique take on the groke for sure

Shlyapa Volshebnika (1980) - 0/10

this is not a groke. this looks like a rich person's weird pet dog. the groke needs to be more goth than this. this looks like an old lady that would call me slurs. not a fan. sorry to those who like her.

CONT. IN A REBLOG BC I HIT THE IMAGE LIMIT LOL

#grokeposting #groke #the groke

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writers-in-moominvalley · 2 years

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💡Lightbulb Moment💡

I love how Thingumy and Bob are these two "mysterious little foreigners speaking a language nobody can understand" and they're literally just speaking in spoonerisms, like that's it, and nobody understands them. That probably made kids reading it feel so smart for figuring it out.

And the funniest part is that Mr. Hemulen is the one guy who knows their language, like, out of literally the rest of the cast in Finn Family Moomintroll, Hemul the Hemulen is the guy who understands what they're saying and speaks back to them in spoonerisms aswell.

Like you'd expect little harmonica-playing vagabond artist™ Snufkin to know because of his travels or something but nope it's the old guy who just quit being a tunnel-visioned stamp collector not too long ago because he literally completed his collection. If that isn't funny I don't know what is.

We need more Mr. Hemulen with Thingumy and Bob content, or atleast like, more of Mr. Hemulen being inexplicably talented/knowledgeable on weirdly specific things that really makes you question his backround, like fireworks making and drawing birds really good (both of which are canon).

#moomins #moominvalley #moomin #lightbulb moment #mr hemulen #thingumy and bob #snufkin

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skruttet · 3 years

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below is some nonsense about snorkmaiden and then a little about her brother at the end idk it doesn’t make much sense probably im sorry i had a clearer idea of what i wanted to say when i started out but then i just forgot it all i think xD

I've always admired Snorkmaiden for her cleverness; she's incredibly brilliant, though she's also incredibly compassionate, so often she'll follow her heart over her head which can end up with her acting or doing something "stupid" (and in all honesty she does possess a level of dumbassery, just as all Moomin characters do! She does tend to be smarter than most, though).

Similarly, she often allows others to take the credit for her own achievements because she knows it will make them feel better - and these "others" are pretty much always male, specifically Moomintroll and the Snork.

She lets the latter take the majority of the credit for catching the Mameluke in Finn Family Moomintroll, when really they never would have caught it if it weren't for her cunning and inventiveness (a trait often prescribed only to her brother yet I wholeheartedly believe she is equally as inventive, just usually on a more immediate-solutions-to-everyday-problems level), and she hands over the credit for her solutions & discoveries to Moomintroll multiple times in the comic strips, and even in Moominvalley, like when she suggests they should make their own bonfire but almost patronisingly calls him “my clever Moomintroll” when he remarks how the bonfire has helped them.

She does all this to indulge their egos and avoid wounding their pride... which to a modern feminist like myself I dislike and it makes me upset that she won’t take rightful pride in her own accomplishments and in doing so help them realise how capable she - and by extension, women - can be.

But on the other hand, she does do this out of her compassion and love for them. She’s avoiding any conflict or argument, and acting very similarly to how Moominmamma often does; offhandedly agreeing with the prideful male whilst clearly secretly knowing the truth of the matter.

Then on the... other other hand, we know that Snorkmaiden wants to make extraordinary achievements and be recognised for them; she wants to do “something tremendous, all on my own,” and is subsequently very proud when she presents the Wooden Queen to Moomintroll, even recalling it when she gazes at the King’s Ruby. So maybe she just doesn’t believe that her achievements are big or important enough?

On top of all this, Snorkmaiden appears to be a character who is very much affected by society’s views and expectations of women (particularly in the comics which play around with gender roles a lot; usually to make fun of them and point out how silly they are, though oftentimes in Lars’ case I do feel he can just play into & perpetuate them) and she does seem to value being perceived as a stereotypical young woman (weak; attractive; airheaded; etc.) over allowing people to see her brains and bravery. Whether or not this is a good thing, I can’t really say. Part of her appeal as a female character is that she is girly and attractive and graceful - as well as being smart and capable and brave, so maybe I’d just prefer her to value all aspects of herself equally?? (and of course there are many times where she uses her stereotypical qualities in clever ways in order to get what she wants).

ANYWAY I’ve lost where I was going with this now ummm I guess for Moominvalley season 3 I just want Snorkmaiden to start becoming more sure of herself. I mean, it’s tricky cause she’s already SO confident, but having that extra sense of self-worth to not let the boys outshine her achievements would be great. And it’ll be super interesting seeing what they’ll do with Snork; I wrote a post ages ago talking about how he kind of enhances your empathy for Snorkmaiden because he can be so sexist and belittles her but we’ll see if Moominvalley even includes that in his personality. It would make for a great arc for him if they do to some extent; like his sister, he too is very much affected by society’s misogynistic views of women (as well as the stereotypes of men needing to be logical and unemotional) and so he spouts some nonsense that I honestly don’t think he genuinely believes but he was just brought up hearing people say, and he also clearly doesn’t feel comfortable expressing his love for his sister so instead lashes out at her or acts annoyed when really he’s just flustered and is actually very proud of her and loves her very much. So it’d be nice to see him overcome this barrier he’s built and learn to express his emotions more clearly and gently, especially in regards to his sister.

#snorkmaiden #snork #feminism #ig idk #just dont wanna lose this one like i did the other lol

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jerichomere · 3 years

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Barbara Stanwyck, Cary Grant, Lauren Bacall, Peter Lorre

Barbara Stanwyck: What are your hobbies? To keep it brief... Books, art, american newspaper comics, linguistics, animation (subcategory~ I also like anime, obviously), theology, and general crafty things where I get to work with my hands. Sometimes I fool around and cook things.

Cary Grant: Do you have any pets? Have you ever had any? Back in the day we had a million guppies. Now I live with a charming gray cat. Animals have not been a large part of my life.

Lauren Bacall: Do you like to read? If so, what are your favorite books? Aah I love to read!! Going off the top of my head here, but some all time favorites are: *The Mysterious Benedict Society trilogy by Trenton Lee Stewart *Every Day by David Levithan *The Unwind series by Neal Shusterman *The Roar (and its sequel) by Emma Clayton (I have never met anyone else who has heard of these??) *Percy Jackson of course *Artemis Fowl is also prime literature *The Great Divorce by CS Lewis *Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson *Madeline L’Engle’s Time Quartet (A Wrinkle in Time is book 1) ..... I could go on all day; there are so many books! Picture books would need a whole separate list. After college I started poking around in nonfiction and so that’s been very interesting as well. I unashamedly will admit my favorite genre is happy fantasy and I still read juvenile fiction because it’s fun and has less romance.

Peter Lorre: How many languages do you speak? Just English. I took two whole years of Japanese but I didn’t really study, so all I’ve retained are random words and bits of grammar. I guess I also know a handful of Hawaiian words, mostly nouns, just from common use in the islands. At some point I want to learn Biblical Greek for fun, but that’s not a spoken language.

Send Me an Old Hollywood Actor

#yee thanks for asking!!#ask meee

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inclineto · 4 years

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Books, March - April 2020

Desire Lines - Elizabeth Kingston

The New Me - Halle Butler

Track of the Cat - Nevada Barr

Kingdom of Summer - Gillian Bradshaw

Anne of Avonlea - L. M. Montgomery

A Northern Light - Jennifer Donnelly

Tales from Earthsea - Ursula K. Le Guin

Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version - Philip Pullman

The Mercies - Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Plain Secrets: An Outsider Among the Amish - Joe MacKall

Finn Family Moomintroll - Tove Jansson

The Other Wind - Ursula K. Le Guin *

Secret Water - Arthur Ransome

The Heaven Tree - Edith Pargeter

The Harrowing of Gwynedd - Katherine Kurtz [do you ever worry that there are authors who enjoy writing about executions just a little too much?]

Whitehall - Liz Duffy Adams et al.

We Ride Upon Sticks - Quan Barry

King Javan’s Year - Katherine Kurtz [q: why do I keep reading these? why does everyone talk like they work for Deloitte? and here’s the thing: so Rome and Jerusalem both exist, although no one ever goes there, as do Islam and Judaism (and Latin, Arabic, and Gaelic), there are adjectives like “Celtic” and “Moorish,” there’s clearly something playing the role of Mediterranean trade routes and given that it exists - presuming Rome and Jerusalem are where we left them - I see no reason not to assume it’s the Mediterranean, but we also have fantasy not-quite-Catholicism in our fantasy British Isle-y peninsula (subcontinent?), butted up right next to the fantasy Persian Gulf, which is next door to fantasy France, which shares a border with evil fantasy Byzantium (except when it’s evil fantasy Russia), which has some fantasy Eastern Orthodoxy going on and besides all my serious concerns about the geography I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THE POPE.]

Wanted, a Gentleman - KJ Charles

The Desire for Dearborne - V.B. Kildaire

Inventing Victoria - Tonya Bolden

She Rises - Lucy Worsley * [I liked this quite a bit - below-decks Age of Sail plus a classic maid & mistress narrative, and in many ways what I’d hoped for from Confessions of the Fox - but I also need to warn for a lot of sexual violence and one section with the n-word over and over and over]

The Bastard Prince - Katherine Kurtz [a: it’s because they flip the Canon Error; Apply Fanfic? switch really decisively, even though I don’t]

Jackdaw - KJ Charles [I nearly quit on this during the first sex scene, but I’m glad I didn’t: magic! pining! the fresh sea air! learning to live with your formerly(?)-felonious flying ex(?)-boyfriend! all in all, a delight]

Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution - Peter Kalmus [when you give a Buddhist a vegetable oil-powered car...]

Magic for Liars - Sarah Gailey

Lilli de Jong - Janet Benton

Bookburners: Season One - Max Gladstone et al.

If You Lived Here You’d Be Home By Now - Christopher Ingraham

Rag and Bone - KJ Charles

Weather - Jenny Offill

A Corruptible Crown - Gillian Bradshaw

Invitation to the Dance - Tamara Allen

Land of Mist and Snow - Debra Doyle and James MacDonald [I’m not going to claim this is good, and the part where a Mayan priest with no personality besides evil is sacrificing people for the Confederacy is definitely dicey, but I will tell you that it features a 19th-century abolitionist vestal virgin stripping down on the quarterdeck to commune with the spirit of a battleship and first of all, what???, and second, I was 100% there for it]

Frankissstein - Jeanette Winterson

Mourning Raga - Ellis Peters

The Apple-Tree Throne - Premee Mohamed

The Weight of Ink - Rachel Kadish

The Downstairs Girl - Stacey Lee

We Wish You Luck - Caroline Zancan * [Some awkwardly MFA-marked passages I’d like to edit, but I finished this on a Friday night and reread it on the Saturday]

Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln’s Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities - Amy Stewart

Romancing the Inventor - Gail Carriger

Spin the Dawn - Elizabeth Lim

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue - Mackenzi Lee

Walden & On the Duty of Civil Disobedience - Henry David Thoreau

A Face Like Glass - Frances Hardinge *

#books 2020 #books practical and pleasurable

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keys-to-joy-and-me · 4 years

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A few words on the Moomin books

This isn’t supposed to be a review, I just wanted to write my thoughts somewhere.

The Moomins and the Great Flood Delightful story. Although it’s definitely pretty childish, but there’s a certain charm that really intrigued me. I like how Moominmamma kinda shines in this one, and how Moomintroll is almost like a literal kid. It feels like an adventure, but you’re not alone: you can always trust Mamma to help you out when needed. Comet in Moominvalley Slightly more adventurous than the first one. After a first chapter which I found a bit boring, the rest of the book is really nice and picks up pretty well. Snufkin is my favourite character ever, and we meet many other characters. The last parts are a bit disturbing, especially how the comet is described. I really like how it feels like an adventure, the mental images of our brave adventurers travelling on the bottom of the water-less sea on stilts is one I’ll dearly hold for a long time. Finn Family Moomintroll The one I liked the least, to be honest. I didn’t really understand what the book wanted to say, and it felt like I was reading a bunch of disconnected stories. I really liked the ending, though. The Exploits of Moominpappa The exciting life of Moominpappa. I loved Hodgkins. A pretty poetic life story, full of adventure and many new characters to meet. Not my favourite, but I liked it. Moominsummer Madness Oh man, this is where it gets real. Lots of characters, their interations are just lovely, the whole story is simple but entertaining, lots of nice quotes. All in all, I really really loved it. Moominvalley Midwinter Woah. This book was just... woah. The sheer sense of melancholy and loneliness, as if Winter was another world entirely, it was just whimsical. I loved it and its atmosphere. Also we can really see how much Moomintroll grew up during the books, being much more mature. Tales from Moominvalley The Fillyjonk who believed in disasters and The Invisible Child are now one of my favourite stories ever. I definitely wasn’t let down. Also The Hemulen who loved silence is basically me. Moominpappa at Sea Oh boi. Oooooooh boi. I knew that this book was considered the most philosophical one, but Oh Boi. It still immensely surprised me. I usually managed to read the books in one go, but with this one? I had to take a break because it was getting too much. The sheer amount of loneliness that this book oozes is astounding. All the characters are going through crises of their own, and they’re all confused. I really have a difficult time explaining it into words. This book was an experience. Also, we get to see a matured Moomintroll: it was delightful to see him taking care of Moominmamma. Moominvalley in November The ending. I do admit I was expecting a bit of a downer ending, but actually it ends in kind of a positive note. A bunch of characters with clashing personalities decide to go to the Moominhouse, because they are all aware that they were happy while living with the Moomin family. But the Moomin family isn’t there. And so they wait. This books feels exactly as autumn feels like. The loss of something but there is still some beauty in it, and there’s still the hope for something better in the future. As I said, the ending was actually kind of positive, although I surely do wonder if what Toft sees at the end is the truth or not. So, I’ve finally finished reading all the books. The myself from 2013 would be happy. My favourite book is probably Moominsummer Madness, I really loved how all the characters interacted with each other, and that book was so full of life. My favourite characters? Snufkin! Closely followed by Little My.

#moomins #moomins series #this isn't a review anyway #just some thoughts

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troominmoll · 5 years

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"i feel like being bitter and listing off all the things that the 90s show changed about the original stories" as a relative newcomer to moomin-related stuff, i'm curious... what *did* the 90s show change??

*rubs hands because I love being insufferable*

(Minor disclaimer that this is mostly done in good nature. I understand almost every show that is adapted from existing content is gonna change stuff to suit their story-telling needs. But I am annoyed that some who praise the 90s anime think the new series is bad simply for doing things differently when that show, and nearly every one prior to it, has also put their own spin on things.)

There are 24 episodes of Tanoshii Moomin Ikka (plus a movie) based on the books by Tove Jansson, and I think 11 based on the comic strips she wrote. It would take a long time to cover every single detail in every single episode, so I am mainly going to discuss those that have changes I find more significant, disappointing, personally distressing, or just plain baffling.

(A second disclaimer: I have not read any entire comic stories past the point where Tove stopped working on them. There are some episodes based on strips created exclusively by her brother Lars, The Vampire and Artists in Moominvalley being two examples. I will be skipping those, as well as Bouken Nikki episodes, as I have yet to thoroughly watch each one on account of so few being based on Tove’s work and the headaches they induce lmao. Nitpicks from fans who have read Lars’ strips in full are welcome.)

Now without further ado, let the fussing begin~

01 Spring in Moominvalley: This follows the basic storyline from the first two chapters of Finn Family, but with some notable changes. Snufkin at this point woke up from hibernation along with the rest of the family, Little My had yet to be introduced, and Snork - a child like the rest of the main cast - lived with his sister and the rest of the kids in the Moominhouse. The entire subplot of him being an inventor is merely an invention of the anime.

Moomintroll, in the book, spends a lot more time in transformed body. As he believes his friends are playing a new game when they fail to recognize him, he makes up a story about being “The King of California”. He repeatedly pretends to insult Moomin (himself), and in a touching display of devotion his own friends beat him up to defend his honour.

02 The Magic Hat: Continuing on with a scene based on the later half of chapter 2, we see Moomin rescue Snorkmaiden from the Ant Lion, and along with Snufkin, decide to trap him in the magical hat. In the original story however, Moomin and Snork trap the him. This was rather unprovoked, though Moomin cites a moment from a previous book (read all about it in The Moomins and the Great Flood!) where the Ant Lion allegedly kicked sand in Mamma’s eyes. The gang then takes the hat back inside for more “experiments”, and after making a mess, the adults decide it best to dispose of the hat in the river.

Much like in the story, the hat is soon recovered by Moomin and Snufkin, though a chapter where they hide it in a cave and and end up frightening the Muskrat (who uses it as a shelf for his dentures) is absent. It then continues to the scene where Moominhouse is briefly overgrown with plants. Aside from this happening sooner than it did in the book, and the premature appearance of the Hobgoblin, and the missing Mameluke hunt, and the part where all the children play in the jungle, I think it’s pretty true to that chapter!

03 Discovery of a Wrecked Ship: First off, I wanna say I’m mostly including this episode on my list just to make it clear that Snufkin’s random sexist comments towards Snorkmaiden and Little My are missing from the book. There is a chapter where him and Moomin go ambling up some rocks, but “the girls” are thankfully absent from this scene.

So then they discover an abandoned boat and the rest of the episode is padded with scenes where they repair it. A charming spectacle, I’m sure, but also absent from the book as the boat they find is already in pristine condition. Shame that Snufkin never got to share his idea for the ship’s name, (it was Lurking Wolf aha ha ha) but that might be for the best.

07 The Suitcase: As seen in episode 06, Thingumy and Bob arrived in Moominvalley. They bring with them stolen goods and and the mother of Grimace, who seeks to recover said goods. Snufkin, once again letting everyone down, decides that a gentle female should speak to them about the contents of their suitcase and soon Snorkmaiden is assigned to the task. Instead the book features a trial sequence, which really helps hammer in the metaphor. Everyone takes part and Sniff acts as prosecutor of behalf of the Groke, who appears and is willing to trade the treasure in exchange for the magical top hat (NOT a pretty scallop).

08 The Hobgoblin’s Magic: Moomin hears that his wondrous wooden woman has washed up on the shores of Moominvalley. But when he rushes to the beach, he finds nothing but sand and disappointment waiting for him. This sends him spiraling into a brief yet no less deep depression which is cured only when Thingumy and Bob share their contents of their secret suitcase. The novel was much more reasonable however. He was saddened by the loss of Snufkin who had skipped the valley for the first time, promising (as we all know) to return on the first day of Spring.

And then there is a fabulous summer party thrown by the family after the recovery of Moominmamma’s handbag. This part is true to the story, at the very least. But the party in the book is much more fantastical, with dancing, music (from America of all places), punch served in darling sea shells, and everyone - right down to the tiniest forest critter - is invited, and gets to make a wish when the magic man arrives.

09 An Invisible Friend / 10 The Invisible Child: I wouldn’t say that these episodes, featuring the famous character from Tales of Moominvalley, have any life-ruining changes from the original story. But since no episode is complete without a bit of drama, or a pointless cameo from Snufkin, a scene where Stinky traps Ninny with the intention of having her assist in his robberies has been written in. And Little My’s comment regarding the aunt in the English dub, where she states “I hope you told her she hurt Ninny’s feelings!” seems uncharacteristically gentle in comparison to her asking if Too-Ticky “bashed her head in”.

13 The Last Dragon on Earth: As mentioned in the entry above, some episodes will include new subplots or elements for the sake of drama and action. This episode is another example of that, but otherwise it has only minor tweaks. Snufkin states that “the cards” have told him he should leave Moominvalley early if he catches x number of such-and-such a fish, but that storyline is exclusive to this show.

14 Our Neighbor is a Touch Teacher: This episode is based on snippets of the comic strip “Moominmamma’s Maid”, but scraps the storyline containing the titular character from the strip, which is nearly all of it. Instead, it is entirely focused on the Moomin’s new neighbor, Mrs Fillyjonk, a strict and uptight mother of three.

After the Moomin’s welcome party leaves Mrs Fillyjonk fearing for her life, she forbids her children from playing with the Moomin brood. They sneak away anyway. A bunch of death defying stunts happen, courtesy of Stinky. Mrs Fillyjonk plans to leave the valley, but the kids have none of that. This is almost an original story, save for the existence of a party.

16 A Close Encounter with Aliens: Once again we have an episode based on the comics. It follows the basic plotline of the Moomins caring for a stranded Martian child. But a lot of wackiness was cut for time, including invisible Moomins pranking valley residents, a flying fire brigade, and Moomin shrinking down with Mamma, who later bites a Fillyjonk child. Time used for an inserted chase scene with Stinky (one of many across the tv series) feels could’ve been better spent on some of the fun stuff mentioned in my previous sentence.

17 A Change of Air: And yet another comic-based episode, this one taken from “Moomin and Family Life”, which happens to be my personal favourite comic so this analysis may sound bitterer than others. The episode cuts the beginning of the strip, where we see a lonely parent-less Moomin contemplate suicide before being reunited with his long lost Moominmamma and Moominpappa. The comic is a completely different entity from the books and adjustments must be made, so this decision is understandable. But the following choice? Less so.

The episode instead starts with Pappa complaining that nothing exciting ever happens, and I won’t remind him of the events from episode 16 because everyone brings that up. Stinky overhears plans of doing something to entertain him, and during the night makes a set of giant footprints leading to the sea. Whereas in the comic strip, the “giant” prints are innocently left by Snufkin who was wearing boot too big for he gotdamn feet. He nearly perishes for this grave mistake.

Strips where Moominmamma and Moominpappa hang out in a cave, Moomin sheds a few tears tears, and Snufkin offers some half hearted words of comfort provide a basis for following scenes in the episode. But antics with Moomin and friends trying to foil Aunt Jane, who angrily travelled to the Moominhouse after being pranked by Pappa, are sadly missing.

24 Hurry Up Snufkin: The part where Snufkin meets and later names the forest creature Teetywoo, is based on the short story “The Spring Tune”. There are many potential gripes one can have about such a brief scene.

A lot of the dialogue between the two characters reflects what is said in the short story, but what the episode sorely lacks are Snufkin’s feelings. Gone are his shouts and snaps, his grumpiness about being disturbed, his regret when he lashes out, his desperation to find Teetywoo again. His famous line “I’ll come when it suits me” is “cried violently”, making me wonder how it ever became an inspirational quote (oh wait I know). In favour of portraying Snufkin as cool and chill, the anime sometimes ends up making him look more like an emotionless bump on a log.

The plotline of Snufkin being late to return because he is trying to compose a new song has been cut, on account of either his lack of talent or lack of music budgeting.

25 The Lighthouse / 26 The Day the Lighthouse Lit Up: These episodes actually combine elements of two different stories: the comic strip “Moomin and the Sea”, and the similarly titled novel “Moominpappa at Sea”. Lacking most of the typical shenanigans from the strips, or bleak themes from the book, these episodes feel more like a slightly above-average family outing.

The episodes seems to lean more towards the comic, where Moominpappa takes on the job of lighthouse keeper as inspiration for his writing, and Moomin is terrorised by an equally frightened ghost. Too-Ticky unfortunately is missing from the episodes, alone with the scenes where she shares some spooky suggestions with the spectre, and where Snorkmaiden fakes her own drowning to help Moomin feel brave.

Borrowing from the books, we meet both the former lighthouse keeper and a little boy named Toft, who apparently got very lost on his way to auditions for a “Moominvalley in November” episode. The episode scraps the element from the book of Moominpappa making the entire family miserable because he has some deluded fantasy about protecting and providing for them on his own, as well as a heart wrenching subplot involving the Groke, which I will not spoil for those considering reading it. But know this: there will be tears.

28 The Floating Theatre / 29 The Lost Children / 30 Midsummer: This three-parter is based on “Moominsummer Madness”, which is kind of an interesting book. Taking place smack dab in the middle of the series, we see it move away from the more lighthearted tones of the early stories, and begin the shift towards the less fantastical and more serious themes of the later books. But it isn’t quite there yet. And being written around the time Tove still worked on the comic series, some parts of the book would not seem out of place if drawn in her strips.

The most noticeably difference between the original story and anime episodes is the change of the cast. With the number of characters and subplots happening at once in the book, it was inevitable that some unlucky sod would get scrapped from the story - three sods in fact, by the names of Mymble, Misabel, and Whomper. Sniff is inserted into the story, and references to Mr Fillyjonk, the stage manager and Emma’s late husband, are removed.

Snufkin and My’s subplot is changed and cut quite short, beginning with the element of the two not knowing each other. His assault on the park keeper seems to be done for the sake of rescuing the children more or less imprisoned in the park, but book Snufkin simply took joy in breaking the law. The episode lacks great scenes of him trying to take care of the 24 little children; doing things like making silly noises, threatening to drown himself, and exposing them to second hand smoke.

With a small handful of characters missing, the plot of the play Moominpappa writes greatly differs from the book. And say goodbye to the ending chapter, where the reunited Moomin family flees the police and gets chased all the way back to Moominvalley.

45 Moomin Builds a House: This episode is based on the comic of the same title. Although it cuts the story quite short, what is left in is relatively close to the original. Except for the insertion of Snufkin, but I am not offended because that adorable laugh made his appearance worthwhile.

59, 63, 68 Adventures of Moominpappa: And here we get to the episodes based on “The Exploits of Moominpappa”. The first few changes I’d like to point out are a little less notable. As Mrs Fillyjonk was already more established in the show, the Hemulen aunt becomes a Fillyjonk. Edward is a silent character, the Nibling child that Pappa and co look after is absent, and everyone gets real ugly colour palettes.

Next, as you may know, the original books don’t really follow a solid timeline and canon changes in between stories. So in an attempt to make more sense, the young Mymble that Moomin meets is Little My’s mother, rather than her sister. But strangely, Moominpappa’s other friends are no longer the parents of Sniff and Snufkin. Why those two were still so enraptured by listening to his story is unclear.

Comet in Moominland: Finishing off the list is a movie based on the story of the same name. Being the first in what is considered the “main” book series, there are bound to be differences in how characters are written. But there is no difference here more worth talking about than Snufkin.

As I’ve already mentioned before, he is portrayed in the anime as more relaxed. He is the older and most mature member of Moomin’s group of friends, and tends to be reserved in expressing his emotions. For the sake of presenting Snufkin as a responsible figure, he never teaches the gang his favourite game: rolling boulders down cliffs, an activity which almost results in multiple casualties. We never hear his story about disrespecting a police officer, and his subsequent prison break.

But Snufkin in the earlier books is very much a child like the rest of the main cast. He is playful and talkative, being described as bringing “gaiety” to their adventure, and is always thrilling his friends with epic tales from his travels. He is not shy about expressing himself, he is shown to have some sadness about having no parents and cries his wee heart out upon sees the dried up ocean.

Other changes may seem more innocuous by comparison, snipping a party scene and river raft ride, and including Little My. But with the lack of a noticeable personality for a key character, and some of the action scenes, much of the movie just feels like a boring hike home.

In short, yeah. As you can see I’m pretty passionate on this subject, especially when it comes to Snufkin’s characterisation. Anyone who wishes to discourse Moomins with me is welcome.

#ok most of this was meant to be written funny and it was fun for me #but you can probably tell which points i got more carried away #there were a few episodes i wouldve covered ex aunt jane but i dont enjoy them as much and couldnt make their entries funny #moomin #mine #Anonymous

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jenmedsbookreviews · 7 years

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It is my absolute pleasure to welcome super blogger Abbie Rutherford to Jen Med’s today to help spread a little more #booklove. Abbie is one of my fellow ‘travellers’ in the around the UK reading challenge and one of my favourite bloggers. Before we find out all about Abbie’s book choices, let’s find out a little more about the person behind the blog.

About Abbie

My name is Abbie and I’m a Yorkshire lass. I love Alaskan Malamutes, rock music and, of course, books.

I LOVE to read!!! Reading and books have always been a huge part of my life and it’s a passion I get from my mum. My mum used to always read to me as a child, favourite books being The Chronicles of Narnia, The Secret Garden and Finn Family Moomintroll. I still have my childhood Mr Men and Paddington Bear books (they belong to Addie though as I got my Bs and Ds mixed up when writing my name in them!). It would be a huge treat to go with my mum to our local library and pick out books. I also have a thing for notebooks, and used to love spending time in WH Smiths!

I read every day and feel bereft if I do not have a new book to read once I have finished my current one. I really love to discover new authors. I am pretty easy going when it comes to genres. As long as it is well written and either keeps me on the edge of my seat, speaks to me emotionally or makes me laugh.

Bloomin’ Brilliant Books was set up in 2016 to connect with other readers and share great books, to support authors and publishers, and to have my reviews all in one

You can follow Abbie on her blog, Twitter and Facebook

Childhood Sweetheart Favourite book from childhood

It has to be Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson. I adored these books as a child especially the part when Moomintroll fell into the Hobgoblin’s hat and his big body parts turned small and his small parts turned big. Nobody recognised him apart from his mum who knew instantly he was her son despite being unrecognisable. For some reason this always stuck with me. As a very young child I loved the Mr Men books and Paddington Bear. I have really fond memories of my mum reading to me as a child.

First love The first book you fell in love with

I have always really loved books and reading from being a young age, but I think the book that turned this love into a total passion for the written word and was responsible for me taking A level English Literature was Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. I still love it and have my much written in and underlined GCSE copy somewhere in the house.

Biggest book crush The book character you’re totally in love with

Fitting in with the above it has to be Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights. He is dark, brooding, deep and has that bad boy element that most teenage girls love. He will always be my first and only book crush, no other male character has come close!

Weirdest book crush Well… duh

That would have to be Enzo from The Art Of Racing In The Rain. Yes he is a dog so it’s not THAT kind of crush! I adore dogs and Stein captures the essence of dog brilliantly while making him a wise and wonderful character if that makes sense?

Hardest break up The book you didn’t want to end

There have been so many books that have left me feeling bereft after finishing them. I can’t pick one so I’m going to cheat. The first has to be The Hours by Michael Cunningham, it left me heartbroken and wishing I could write a book like that. The second is Sealskin by Su Bristow which is so beautiful in both prose and storyline that I really didn’t want it to end. The third would be We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. The ending totally blew me away and I was upset that I would never experience that again as a first time reader.

The one that got away The book in your TBR or wish list that you regret not having started yet.

On my God, how long have you got? Ok, very quickly I would have to say The Vanishing by Sophia Tobin, The Bird Tribunal by Agnes Ravatn and Sandlands by Rosy Thornton. I WILL be getting round to reading them in the not too distant future!

Secret love Guilty Reading pleasure

Hmm this one got me really thinking. I really like literary fiction and psychological thrillers but every now and again I like to indulge in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K Hamilton.

Love one, love them all Favourite series or genre

I absolutely loved the first two books in The Dublin Trilogy by Caimh Mcdonnell and cannot wait for the third. They are the perfect mix of crime and comedy. I also love Angela Marsons’s DI Kim Stone books and A Song Of Ice And Fire by George R R Martin.

Your latest squeeze Favourite read of the last 12 months

Jen! This is too difficult! Can I have more than one? My favourites from the last twelve months were Sealskin by Su Bristow, Himself by Jess Kidd, We’ve Come To Take You Home by Susan Gandar and The Trouble With Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon.

Blind date for a friend If you were to set a friend up with a blind date (book) which one would it be?

I actually did this a few months back. Jennifer Gilmour had set up a book swap via Facebook in which you sent one of your favourite books to someone you had never met. You kept the book you were sending them a secret. I sent The Trouble With Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon because it is absolutely brilliant.

Greatest love of all Favourite book of all time.

Tess of the D’Urbevilles by Thomas Hardy. I have a bit of a thing for Hardy 😊

…

Thanks Abbie. A real mixture of new and old calssics there. And another vote for The Moomins. I love those little fellas (and lady moomins too). Never had you down as a GOT fan though – just goes to show. I totally agree about Kim Stone books and Sealskin but you absolutely have to read The Bird Tribunal. It is exquisite and I’ve never read anything quite like it before or since.

Do you agree guys and gals? Any of Abbie’s list make it onto your #booklove recommendations?

Do join me next week when I’ll have more book love from Anne Coates and Noelle Holten.

Have a brilliant weekend everyone.

#BookLove: Abbie Rutherford of Bloomin’ Brilliant Books @Bbrilliantbooks It is my absolute pleasure to welcome super blogger Abbie Rutherford to Jen Med's today to help spread a little more #booklove.

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