Tove Jansson
Yesterday we talked about how stop-motion animation is having an unexpected revival, thanks to filmmakers like The Fantastic Mr. Fox's Wes Anderson and Coraline's Henry Selick. If you're a fan of stop-motion -- still waxing nostalgic for those Rankin-Bass Christmas specials, maybe? -- then here's another one to look forward to.
The Moomins, those adorable Scandinavian hippo-trolls who've been around since the '40s, are finally getting their own movie. Slashfilm draws our attention to Moomin and Midsummer Madness, a full-length feature film created by combining footage from the 1977 stop-motion Moomins TV series. The official trailer is here, and while the movie is clearly dubbed (the original is in Swedish), the characters are so fuzzy and adorable that we're willing to overlook it.
But wait, that's not all! A second Moomin movie, Moomin and the Comet Chase, is in the works. The second film is more ambitious: it will be shown in 3D, and animated in CG to copy the look of the stop-motion show. Even better: Bjork, the Icelandic songstress who does childlike wonder better than any singer, will be contributing a song to the soundtrack.
If you're not familiar with the Moomins, check out the character page on the official Moomin site. We dare you not to say "awww."
Will you see the Moomin movie with your kids? Chime in below!
