The Moomin story at 80: From wartime escape to global brand
In Helsinki, a man visiting from Poland recently came across a Moomin shop and lit up with joy. Rushing inside, Maciej Kisiel — whose first name is even pronounced “magic” — began naming each character in Polish while piling mugs, books, potholders, even a Moominmamma-themed kettle into his basket. It was the kind of reaction you might expect from a child, not a grown man. But the Moomins have that effect. They cross borders and generations, living on in memory long after the stories are first read.
Eighty years ago, Finnish artist Tove Jansson began sketching this family of curious, hippo-like creatures as a war-time escape. Her goal was not to become a media mogul, she wanted to be a painter. But the Moomins gradually took over, and now represent one of Finland’s most successful cultural and commercial exports, with more than 800 licensees worldwide and an estimated annual retail value of €700 million. Kira Schroeder, who works as Head of Content for the family-owned brand, believes the storytelling at the center of it all has never let go of its artistic and literary heart.
“Tove Jansson had a very keen eye for the human condition — what it is to live in this world — but then she placed those observations into a very particular fantastical universe,” says Schroeder. “The result is a charming mix of hope, joy and adventure. But at the same time, Tove was never afraid of darkness. She didn’t shy away from that.”
Readers interested in the Arctic, will also recognise themes of seasonal change, migration, and the search for warmth and shelter that has been metaphorically built into the Moomin world.
No neat conclusions
The Moomin stories can’t be pinned down with tidy morals or happy endings. In letters and interviews, Jansson herself said she didn’t like moralizing and preferred ambiguity. “A good story,” she wrote, “has no need to be explained; its truth lies in its telling, not in its conclusion.”
In the early Moomin books, immediately following World War II, the conflict in the stories comes from the outside, with floods, comets, and volcanoes. In The Moomins and the Great Flood (1945), the family is displaced and journeys down a river in search of Moominpappa, who has gone missing. In the next book Comet in Moominland (1946), a comet is heading straight for Moominvalley. But as the series evolves, the drama turns inward. For example, in Moominpappa at Sea (1965), the father is bored and feels like his family has no use for him. He decides he needs a big adventure and takes them to a bleak and deserted lighthouse island, where everyone except him becomes depressed — especially Moominmamma, who starts to unravel.
“For a child,” Schroeder points out, “this story probably reads more like a great adventure. But for an adult, who has maybe seen something like that in their own lives, it’s reads like a classical mid-life crisis, and quite dark.”
Although the Moomins normally hibernate, some of the stories feature the Nordic icy landscapes, long winters, silence, solitude and shifting light. In Moominland Midwinter (1957), Moomintroll wakes up during hibernation and escapes alone down a ladder, while his parents sleep. On the surface this sounds like a kid’s fun adventure without Mum and Dad. But Moomintroll has never been in snow before and has to navigate this frozen, unfamiliar world on his own, in what becomes a haunting coming-of-age tale. “This is favorite among adult readers,” Schroeder says, “and a reminder that the stories can be read at different ages and times in our lives with different takeaways.”
An artist in many forms
Tove Jansson was many things — painter, illustrator, playwright, theatre designer, novelist. She even had a long career as a political satirist. In 1954, Jansson launched a daily Moomin comic strip in the Evening News in the UK. When it was syndicated across the Commonwealth, it quickly reached millions of readers.
“That’s really what launched her,” says Schroeder, “and propelled the Moomins into the world-known phenomenon they became.”
Guardians of the brand
Today, the business model behind the Moomins is at once scattered but tightly controlled. Moomin Characters Ltd., founded by Jansson and her brother Lars, is the parent company and global rights holder. It doesn’t manufacture products itself but licenses the brand to a growing number of partners around the world. Each product, whether it’s TV script or a tea towel, must pass through an internal approval process — Schroeder’s team handles text and another the visuals — to make sure the spirit and tone stay true to the original work.
But with this ever-growing visibility, are the Moomins in danger of becoming too ubiquitous? Can any brand with its image on so much merchandise really retain its soul? For now, the family-run company seems determined to safeguard what matters. According to Schroeder, it carefully curates its expansion, particularly in growing markets like the U.S., where a recent rollout in Barnes & Noble stores has become a key turning point.
“We are an art and literature-based brand, and that sets us apart from most others in the licensing industry,” Schroeder explains. “We want to do things differently and we want to respect our roots in art and literature. And that’s also, I think, why people form a special bond to the Moomins. It’s stories they’ve been read in childhood… that they want to pass on to their own children.”
