I had no idea it was such a large enterprise. I'm in Australia, and read one of the books as a kid. But other than that, I don't think I ever encountered any form of them, or even really heard anyone mention them, until the recent movie adaptation.
The dark side of the Moomins
71–80 of 112 posts
Re: The dark side of the Moomins
#72Don't have time to read through the whole article. But just wanted to point out that there are also Moomin cartoons which have really politically uncorrect stories: like Moomins travelling to spain, trying to buy opium but eating some weird drugs instead and then staring for sea for a week and missing their fligth back.
To be fair, that's an uncannily accurate prediction of many visitors' experiences when visiting Ibiza
For Spaniards, Ibiza was and it's seen as a place for electronic music, posh-background hippies and psychodelics.
Re: The dark side of the Moomins
#73I think it is crucial that children get exposure to the sad reality, not in order to normalize it but because the idea of hiding it is what stops progress in the first place and confuses children more than the plain truth. Children need truth and not shielding from it. Highly recommended book around this fundamental mistake in education by a French child psychologist: A corps et a cris. Être psychanalyste avec les tout-petits (Caroline Eliacheff).
Re: The dark side of the Moomins
#74I'm not sure how tongue in cheek this was, but I assume it's serious. Either way, it's a fun and smart read. The article spots well the dark side of the moomins, but in my opinion goes too deep into it. My disagreements boil down to this: "One of the oddest aspects of the Moomin phenomenon is how these complex tales of apocalypse, breakdown and disfunction have been consistently misread as cutesy celebrations of dome…
I've been listening to Moomin audiobooks and reading some of the books to my wife in recent years, and I started to spot some of the more adult/darker subtext in it (I'm still processing the one where the Moominpappa makes the entire family move to a lighthouse, and Moominmamma is desperately trying to cope with growing depression). Still, I have an answer for the author's conundrum, that's accurate for a significant…
> It was cute, it was happy
Many episodes had darker undertones as well, especially those with the Groke[1] or hattifatteners. Tvtropes has a list[2].
> The Groke was so horrifying in fact, that in Poland it caused a nation-wide fear in almost all children, some of which were even left traumatised for years, leading to some parents forbidding their children from watching Moomins, and some using the Groke as a Bogeyman to scare their children into good behavior. Any 90s or 2000s Polish kid will know how it felt.
[1]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Groke
[2]: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/NightmareFuel/TheMoom...
Re: The dark side of the Moomins
#75I lived in Finland for a couple years. Finns, like the Moomins, are whimsical yet profound, like midsummer’s fleeting joy before the long winter. They mirror Finland’s love of nature and quiet isolation, with their cozy valley echoing the Finns forest cabins by a lake. The happy vibe hides struggles—tough winters, heavy drinking—but the Moomins’ warmth reflects the Finns’ wholesome character.
Finns (or at least, the successors to tribes that assimilated into the modern-day Finnish nation) were exposed to Christianity later than most of Europe. Pre-Christian religions generally held a higher regard for relationships with nature, that might explain what you're getting at.
Re: The dark side of the Moomins
#76I'm not sure how tongue in cheek this was, but I assume it's serious. Either way, it's a fun and smart read. The article spots well the dark side of the moomins, but in my opinion goes too deep into it. My disagreements boil down to this: "One of the oddest aspects of the Moomin phenomenon is how these complex tales of apocalypse, breakdown and disfunction have been consistently misread as cutesy celebrations of dome…
I've been listening to Moomin audiobooks and reading some of the books to my wife in recent years, and I started to spot some of the more adult/darker subtext in it (I'm still processing the one where the Moominpappa makes the entire family move to a lighthouse, and Moominmamma is desperately trying to cope with growing depression). Still, I have an answer for the author's conundrum, that's accurate for a significant…
Light hearted? Suitable for small children? Are you kidding me.
I'm in my mid-30's and still remember nightmares those stupid series gave me when I was in kindergarten. It was X-Files-tier scary ("The X Files" being other show aired by polish TV around same time), masquarading behind cute animations. How can anyone in their right mind call the episode where the Moomintroll swaps bodies with Stinky lighthearted and positive? What about the collection of monsters like Groke or Hattifnats? On some occasion I remember my parents would call me to get out from my room to watch the "wieczorynka" and I would pretend I can't hear and come out only as I hear the outro song starting, just to avoid whatever insane plot the Moomins would bring on me that time. I hate Moomins so much and wish could erase it from existence. Calling it "cute and happy" is like saying candybar with razorblade inside is delicious; technically true but not exactly an accurate description.
Re: The dark side of the Moomins
#77I'll pass along a joke I read years ago.
Mozzarella is moomin meat.
Re: The dark side of the Moomins
#78Question to Swedes: what were you child impressions of "Pettson och Findus"? I read it to children as an adult, and impressions are that it tells of the funny & sad sides of taking care of children, and I sympathize to Pettson, of course. I wonder how you saw it as children. On topic: interesting read. I'd never think these stories had so much dark side to them. I got all 9 stories in 3 books at the age of 11 and rea…
Not a swede (yet) but grew up with the books (and merch): I never identified Findus as a child as he was, obviously, a cat. It was fun comic around 3-9 but I cannot say the lesson ever really made sense to me since it was just too abstract. Just funny, like the other Nordquist books. I also liked the associated PC games, which where interesting as they where quite challenging at a certain age with lots of engineering puzzles. But at that point it is really not much about Findus anymore, just the general mood that comes from the comics. Oh, and my brother loved the pancake-cake, whose receipt we somehow got from the book.
Re: The dark side of the Moomins
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've been listening to Moomin audiobooks and reading some of the books to my wife in recent years, and I started to spot some of the more adult/darker subtext in it (I'm still processing the one where the Moominpappa makes the entire family move to a lighthouse, and Moominmamma is desperately trying to cope with growing depression). Still, I have an answer for the author's conundrum, that's accurate for a significant…
Light hearted? Suitable for small children? Are you kidding me. I'm in my mid-30's and still remember nightmares those stupid series gave me when I was in kindergarten. It was X-Files-tier scary ("The X Files" being other show aired by polish TV around same time), masquarading behind cute animations. How can anyone in their right mind call the episode where the Moomintroll swaps bodies with Stinky lighthearted and po…
i wonder what you'd think about Brothers Grimm's tales :) And in general children folk tales in many countries do contain strong violence, cruelty, torture, etc. if you'd focus on those details.
Re: The dark side of the Moomins
#80It’s not so unlike Charles Schultz.