Moomin (1969 TV series)

Moomin
Image from the TV series displaying the main characters
ムーミン (Mūmin)
Genre	Fantasy
Anime television series
Directed by	Masaaki Osumi (Eps 1-26) Noboru Ishiguro, Satoshi Dezaki, Ryosuke Takahashi, Rintaro (Eps 27–65)
Written by	Tadaaki Yamazaki et. al.
Music by	Composer/songwriter: Seiichirō Uno Singer: Toshiko Fujita (opening/closing song "Nē! Mūmin" (Hi, Moomin!))
Studio	Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Eps 1-26) Mushi Productions (Eps 27–65)
Original network	Fuji TV
English network	BBC
Original run	October 5, 1969 – December 27, 1970
Episodes	65

Composer/songwriter: Seiichirō Uno

Moomin (ムーミン, Mūmin^?) is a Japanese anime television series which was broadcast on Fuji Television between 1969 and 1970. The series is loosely based on the Moomin books by the Finnish author Tove Jansson. A sequel series entitled Shin Muumin (New Moomin) was later released in 1972. However, Jansson never approved of these series due to dramatic changes in areas such as plot, atmosphere, and character personality.

The series was never translated into any languages or released outside Japan. It is also notably different from the later anime television series Moomin, released in the early 1990s, which was translated into many languages and released in dozens of countries. The later series relies more on the original of the Moomin books (along with many of its comic strips), and was accepted as a part of the franchise.

Its first half is referred to as "Tokyo Movie version", the latter the "Mushi Pro version". Hisashi Inoue, a distinguished novelist and dramatist, participated as a screenwriter in the former. Tokyo Movie Shinsha undertook the production at first and drew Moomintroll's eyes like of Japanese children, who became an ordinary boy who occasionally fought or acted sly. To that, along with things such as Snufkin driving a car, Tove Jansson, the original author, angrily said: "My Moomin is no driver, fighter or moneymaker", an opinion shared by Hayao Miyazaki, who participated as an animator.