Finn Family Moomintroll
Encyclopedia
Finn Family Moomintroll is the third in the series of Tove Jansson
's Moomin
s books, published in 1948. It owes its title in translation to the fact that it was the first Moomin book to be published in English, and was actually marketed as the first in the series until the 1980s.
The 1961 English publication features a foreword "by Moominmamma", where she explains the nature of Moomins for fear that English children may not have heard of them; she also apologises for her "rottn" English
. Otherwise, the book was translated by Elizabeth Portch.
It has been adapted to television at least three times, in the Austrian/Polish TV series
, the Soviet cartoon Shlyapa Volshebnika
and the Japanese animated television series (episodes 1-8).
's Hat on a mountain-top, oblivious of its strange powers. An egg shell discarded into the hat becomes five clouds the children ride and play with. Next day the clouds have disappeared and nobody knows where they came from. Moomintroll hides inside the hat during a game of hide-and-seek and is temporarily transformed beyond recognition.
Once they discover the magic powers of the hat and use it for a few transformations, the family resolves to get rid of it and throw it into the river but Moomintroll and Snufkin recover it at night and hide it in the cave by the sea, where the Muskrat gets horribly scared when his dentures transform into something that is never mentioned in the novel.
The Moomin Family travel to the Island of the Hattifatteners on a found boat, and the Moominhouse is transformed into a jungle when Moominmamma absent-mindedly drops a ball of poisonous pink perennials into the Hobgoblin's Hat. At night, the jungle withers and it is used as firewood to cook the huge Mameluke that the children previously fished.
Thingumy and Bob arrive clutching a large suitcase containing the King's Ruby, which they stole from the Groke
. After a court case (presided over by the Snork) the Groke agrees to exchange the ruby for the Hobgoblin's Hat.
Thingumy and Bob steal Moominmamma's handbag to use as a bed, but return it when they realise how upset she is.
The Moomins hold a party to celebrate the finding of Moominmamma's handbag, during which the Hobgoblin arrives (with a new hat) demanding the King's Ruby, to the refusal of Thingumy and Bob.
To cheer himself up, the Hobgoblin grants everyone at the party a wish. Although not everyone gets exactly what they wished for, the Hobgoblin is delighted when Thingumy and Bob wish for a duplicate ruby to give him - the Queen's Ruby. (As it turns out, the Hobgoblin can grant the wishes of others, but not his own wishes).
, was released in 2002 by the BBC
.
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Tove Jansson
Tove Marika Jansson was a Swedish-Finnish novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. She is best known as the author of the Moomin books.- Biography :...
's Moomin
Moomin
The Moomins are the central characters in a series of books and a comic strip by Swedish-Finn illustrator and writer Tove Jansson, originally published in Swedish by Schildts in Finland. They are a family of trolls who are white and roundish, with large snouts that make them resemble hippopotamuses...
s books, published in 1948. It owes its title in translation to the fact that it was the first Moomin book to be published in English, and was actually marketed as the first in the series until the 1980s.
The 1961 English publication features a foreword "by Moominmamma", where she explains the nature of Moomins for fear that English children may not have heard of them; she also apologises for her "rottn" English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Otherwise, the book was translated by Elizabeth Portch.
It has been adapted to television at least three times, in the Austrian/Polish TV series
The Moomins (TV series)
The Moomins is a stop motion animated children's television series based on the Tove Jansson's Moomin series of books which was originally produced by Se-ma-for and Jupiter Film between the years 1977–1982, originally for Polish, Austrian and German television. The series was later on sold to...
, the Soviet cartoon Shlyapa Volshebnika
Shlyapa Volshebnika
Shlyapa Volshebnika was a series of three short films produced by Sverdlovsktelefilm in 1980, 1981 and 1983 in the USSR, based on the book Finn Family Moomintroll, which was one of the Moomin books by Finnish illustrator and writer Tove Jansson....
and the Japanese animated television series (episodes 1-8).
Plot summary
Moomintroll, Sniff and Snufkin discover the HobgoblinHobgoblin
Hobgoblin is a term typically applied in folktales to describe a friendly but troublesome creature of the Seelie Court.The most commonly known hobgoblin is the character Puck in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Puck, however, is only another name given to a much older character named Robin...
's Hat on a mountain-top, oblivious of its strange powers. An egg shell discarded into the hat becomes five clouds the children ride and play with. Next day the clouds have disappeared and nobody knows where they came from. Moomintroll hides inside the hat during a game of hide-and-seek and is temporarily transformed beyond recognition.
Once they discover the magic powers of the hat and use it for a few transformations, the family resolves to get rid of it and throw it into the river but Moomintroll and Snufkin recover it at night and hide it in the cave by the sea, where the Muskrat gets horribly scared when his dentures transform into something that is never mentioned in the novel.
The Moomin Family travel to the Island of the Hattifatteners on a found boat, and the Moominhouse is transformed into a jungle when Moominmamma absent-mindedly drops a ball of poisonous pink perennials into the Hobgoblin's Hat. At night, the jungle withers and it is used as firewood to cook the huge Mameluke that the children previously fished.
Thingumy and Bob arrive clutching a large suitcase containing the King's Ruby, which they stole from the Groke
The Groke
The Groke is a fictional character in the Moomin world created by Tove Jansson...
. After a court case (presided over by the Snork) the Groke agrees to exchange the ruby for the Hobgoblin's Hat.
Thingumy and Bob steal Moominmamma's handbag to use as a bed, but return it when they realise how upset she is.
The Moomins hold a party to celebrate the finding of Moominmamma's handbag, during which the Hobgoblin arrives (with a new hat) demanding the King's Ruby, to the refusal of Thingumy and Bob.
To cheer himself up, the Hobgoblin grants everyone at the party a wish. Although not everyone gets exactly what they wished for, the Hobgoblin is delighted when Thingumy and Bob wish for a duplicate ruby to give him - the Queen's Ruby. (As it turns out, the Hobgoblin can grant the wishes of others, but not his own wishes).
Audio Version
An audio book, complete and unabridged, read by Hugh LaurieHugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
, was released in 2002 by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
.
External links
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