The beloved classic stories of the Moominvalley are making a comeback for Finnish home viewing in a re-digitised and re-recorded version. The remastering of the Finnish language version of the Finnish-Japanese- Dutch hit series, based on Tove and Lars Jansson’s books and comics and produced by Dennis Livson, has been made with due respect for the style of the original series. The first 26 remastered episodes of the series first aired in 1991, will be released in February in the new C More streaming service.

New Finnish language translation and high-quality recording

The Moomins is the most well-known, most watched and biggest animation series ever made based on Finnish literature. The 104-part series was drawn in 1990-92 by a Japanese production team totalling 600 people, and has been dubbed in numerous languages and broadcast in at least 124 countries. The remastering of the Finnish language version began at the end of autumn and the renewed episodes will be finalised in February. The picture quality of the hand-drawn series has been brought to HD standards and the stories’ new Finnish language translation and high-quality recording has been updated to reflect the modern Finnish dialect.

”The contrast to the old version is staggering. The contours in the old images viewed on today’s high definition TVs are a mess of pixels, but now all the noise and blurriness has been fixed image by image. The Moomins’ gentle and insightful Finnish has also been updated to better suit today’s language, while respecting the original classic. You still won’t hear any slang from the Moomins, but the new voice actors naturally bring new personality to the characters,” says Tim Livson, responsible for producing the remastered version of the series originally produced by his father.

”We are extremely happy that the updated animation series is now once more available for viewing in Finland. As fitting for a modernised version, the series is airing through a new channel, as now fans are able to view all episodes on C More’s streaming service anytime, anywhere.”

Broadcasting rights for MTV

MTV has acquired the broadcasting rights for the renewed Moomin series in Finland. The broadcaster is bringing the beloved series in its entirety to its new C More streaming service launching in February. Episodes will also be aired weekly on the C More Juniori pay TV channel from March onwards, as well as on the MTV3 channel and the MTV Katsomo service.

”Finnish people love domestic content and it’s hard to imagine more meaningful content than the Moomins. They are part of the Finnish cultural heritage and it’s an honour to bring them back better than ever for everyone to watch. At its launch, it was one of the most massive animation productions of its time, and its reception highly enthusiastic not only in television but as physical recordings. In the spirit of the times, the carefully restored Moomin series is designed for today’s channels and consumer habits, and are being brought to a streaming service where fans can watch when they feel like it,” says MTV CEO Jarkko Nordlund with delight. He adds ”I believe the renewed series will fulfill their educational goals with future generations too.”

Sophia Jansson delighted with the modernised version

The Creative Director of Moomin Characters, Tove Jansson’s niece, Sophia Jansson is clad with the re-digitised and re-recorded version: “After being renewed to face today’s HD standards it’s great that the series can now be shown on TV again.”

“Those who have watched the Moomins on TV in the 90s can now show the Moomin animation series for their own children.” Jansson adds.