Moomin (1969 TV Series)

Aired: 1969 - 1970

A TV anime produced by Tokyo Movie (now TMS Entertainment, episodes 1-26) and Mushi Production (episodes 27-65). Based on Tove Jansson's Moomin novel series and the Moomin Comics co-written by Tove and Lars Jansson. Broadcast in 65 episodes on Fuji TV every Sunday at 19:30 from October 5, 1969 to December 27, 1970 in the Calpis Manga Theater slot - the predecessor of the World Masterpiece Theater. Centered on the small troll Moomin (voiced by Kyoko Kishida), the series follows the pastoral daily life and adventures of the Moomin family and their friends, including Moominpappa (voiced by Hitoshi Takagi), Moominmamma (voiced by Akiko Takamura), Snufkin (voiced by Hiroyuki Nishimoto), and Little My (voiced by Ayako Hori), in their Moomin Valley home. While the Japanese adaptation introduced bold original settings, Tove Jansson objected to the tonal departures and is known to have sent a letter of complaint after the seventh episode. Toyota Motor adopted Moomin as a traffic-safety campaign mascot from 1969, helping the series achieve broad cultural recognition at the time. (C)Moomin Characters