Just to be clear, the last post was a joke, and I know what I reviewed is not actually Moominvalley. It's a game from the '90s that I used to play with my brother, and I remember being a bit creeped out by it back then (even more than today). Also, we didn't have the Finnish narration for some reason, so we had to play it in Swedish.
But I do have thoughts about the new show. To put it bluntly, I don't like it.
I guess I expected too much. I'm not saying the show looks like the '90s Moomin game, the comparison I made in the last post does sort of represent my disappointment with the final result. I really was expecting something artsy and calm, but I guess that was a false hope, since the show was obviously aiming for mass appeal. I know a lot of people love the show's look and I know what doesn't work for me might work for someone else, so I won't really go into detail on that.
Many of the problems I have with the show has to do with the writing.
Second, the pacing is just too fast. The episodes feel sort of crammed and the storylines of the original source material are really narrowed down and rushed to the point where they don't leave an impact.
The character motivations also seem lost at times. For an example, in the second episode when Moomintroll is walking back to the house, Little My is spinning Muskrat in the hammock. No explanation is offered for this. Why is she doing this? One can only really summarize that she's being a jerk. Muskrat by the way isn't really introduced at all. It's a shame, because I always found his negativity a good contrast for the Moomin family's optimism. Now he's just an irrelevant rat.
I mentioned in my last post that I thought Little My seemed a little mean for bothering the moomins. Well, that's just what she does here: she's constantly looking for a chance to bother Moomintroll and seems really arrogant towards everyone. The point of Little My is not to be a jerk, but determined. In the books she bites people who threaten her and is very frank when she talks, but she doesn't pull pointless pranks for laughs. Sure, she's kind of a counterforce for the content and nice Moomin family, but here she seems overly mean.
First Moomintroll gets the golden tail and seems a little proud of it, but then Moominpappa writes the tail into the play and gives the revised script to the cast five minutes before the play starts, so Moomintroll hides the lines into the scenery, but then Little My thinks Moomintroll is being boastful and sabotages the play to teach Moomintroll a lesson, even though Moomintroll hasn't really shown signs of being arrogant and she clearly knows that it was Moominpappa who re-wrote the play in the most arrogant way and... just what the hell? All of the character motivations are lost or just not introduced properly. What a mess!
And really, Moominpappa is just so self-important and unlikable here. I mean geez, stressing out your son till he's bald and then pulling the rug from under him like that? That's grade-a jerk behaviour, and moomins aren't meant to be grade-a jerks.
I just used three paragraphs for one episode, but that episode really sums up my problem with the writing: too much, too quickly. I'm missing all the subtlety and calmness that made Moomins enjoyable.
I did however watch the documentary about the creation of the show. The production team talks about the Moomins being kind, caring and tolerant, but I'm not really getting much of that from the show.
I especially remember a scene, where Sophia Jansson watches an animatic and her first words after viewing are "So, I'm annoyed by a lot things!" It then cuts to a phone call between Jansson and the show's creator Marika Makaroff, where Jansson mentions that the character's motivations seem a bit unclear. Strangely enough, that's one of my main problems with the show!
Most of the time I do like the soundtrack, though I find some of the pop songs a little distracting and unfitting. When you have an old-timey setting, why use these modern songs with distorted guitars and such? To my mind, a lot of the Moomin charm comes from the fact that the books are so strictly a product of their time.
All in all, I feel like a lot of the charm and wisdom are gone with the modern rendition, though I have no doubts that this appeals to the younger generation. I really hope it inspires them to have a look at the source material.
Watch the documentary here, it's interesting: https://areena.yle.fi/1-4521196
Here I have reimagined myself with the new Moomin cast.
But I do have thoughts about the new show. To put it bluntly, I don't like it.
I guess I expected too much. I'm not saying the show looks like the '90s Moomin game, the comparison I made in the last post does sort of represent my disappointment with the final result. I really was expecting something artsy and calm, but I guess that was a false hope, since the show was obviously aiming for mass appeal. I know a lot of people love the show's look and I know what doesn't work for me might work for someone else, so I won't really go into detail on that.
Many of the problems I have with the show has to do with the writing.
The writing
First of all, I don't like the humour. There's too much of it and it mostly consists of slapstick and fumbling. The humour in the Moomin books is very subtle, so this just feels like a cheap way to pander to the young people.Second, the pacing is just too fast. The episodes feel sort of crammed and the storylines of the original source material are really narrowed down and rushed to the point where they don't leave an impact.
The character motivations also seem lost at times. For an example, in the second episode when Moomintroll is walking back to the house, Little My is spinning Muskrat in the hammock. No explanation is offered for this. Why is she doing this? One can only really summarize that she's being a jerk. Muskrat by the way isn't really introduced at all. It's a shame, because I always found his negativity a good contrast for the Moomin family's optimism. Now he's just an irrelevant rat.
I mentioned in my last post that I thought Little My seemed a little mean for bothering the moomins. Well, that's just what she does here: she's constantly looking for a chance to bother Moomintroll and seems really arrogant towards everyone. The point of Little My is not to be a jerk, but determined. In the books she bites people who threaten her and is very frank when she talks, but she doesn't pull pointless pranks for laughs. Sure, she's kind of a counterforce for the content and nice Moomin family, but here she seems overly mean.
Episode 5: A prime example of jerkism
I think the focus is especially lost in episode 5, where Moomintroll plays the lead role in Moominpappa's play about Moominpappa's youth. It clumsily tries to tie together the story of Moomintroll's golden tail and the theatre story, but nothing of the story is given enough time to grow or develop.
And really, Moominpappa is just so self-important and unlikable here. I mean geez, stressing out your son till he's bald and then pulling the rug from under him like that? That's grade-a jerk behaviour, and moomins aren't meant to be grade-a jerks.
I just used three paragraphs for one episode, but that episode really sums up my problem with the writing: too much, too quickly. I'm missing all the subtlety and calmness that made Moomins enjoyable.
Final thoughts
I haven't watched the rest of the episodes, so I don't know if it gets better. I really don't feel compelled to watch the rest, but I probably will, just to see how it plays out.I did however watch the documentary about the creation of the show. The production team talks about the Moomins being kind, caring and tolerant, but I'm not really getting much of that from the show.
I especially remember a scene, where Sophia Jansson watches an animatic and her first words after viewing are "So, I'm annoyed by a lot things!" It then cuts to a phone call between Jansson and the show's creator Marika Makaroff, where Jansson mentions that the character's motivations seem a bit unclear. Strangely enough, that's one of my main problems with the show!
Most of the time I do like the soundtrack, though I find some of the pop songs a little distracting and unfitting. When you have an old-timey setting, why use these modern songs with distorted guitars and such? To my mind, a lot of the Moomin charm comes from the fact that the books are so strictly a product of their time.
All in all, I feel like a lot of the charm and wisdom are gone with the modern rendition, though I have no doubts that this appeals to the younger generation. I really hope it inspires them to have a look at the source material.
Watch the documentary here, it's interesting: https://areena.yle.fi/1-4521196
Here I have reimagined myself with the new Moomin cast.
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