05/12/2016 - A new, fully animated feature starring Tove Jansson’s troll family has been announced via the release of a music video in 23 languages

Moomins at Christmas – the stop-motion puppet animation from the 1980s restored to 4K quality

Intent on restoring and developing the brand of Finnish author Tove Jansson’s Moomins, the troll family she used in nine books, five picture books and a comic strip between 1943 and 1993, Finnish production company Filmkompaniet Alpha has so far released a 78-part HD television series and two features, most recently Moomins and the Comet Chase [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (2013), the first 3D movie produced in Scandinavia, which was distributed in more than 80 countries, including the US, the UK, France, China, Japan, Brazil and Australia.

Now, Moomins at Christmas is in production for Filmkompaniet Alpha and Polish animation studio Animoon, and on Friday 2 December, the movie’s Christmas 2017 premiere was announced via the film’s official website, with videos for the song “Bring the Snow” performed in 23 different languages, to the accompaniment of the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Incidentally, the song will also be used for the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ official Christmas greetings, and as part of the centenary celebrations of Finland’s independence in 2017. 

Scripted by Poland’s Małgorzata Więckowicz-Żyła and Piotr Szczepanowicz, and Finland’s Ira Carpelan, and created from Jupiter Film and Film Polski’s stop-motion co-productions in the 1980s, which will be edited and restored to 4K quality, “Moomins at Christmas will be a 21^st-century movie for a modern audience, while staying true to the magic created by Jansson in her original stories”, according to producers Grzegorz Wacławek and Piotr Szczepanowicz (Animoon), and executive producers Tom Carpelan and Ira Carpelan (Filmkompaniet Alpha).

Directed by Jakub Wroński and Ira Carpelan, the children’s puppet animation feature follows an extraordinary winter in the world of Moominvalley: Moomintroll has decided to stay awake and explore the delights of the festive season instead of hibernating as usual – and it turns out to be totally different from what he had imagined. The strangest creatures wander amidst the snowdrifts, midwinter darkness surrounds the valley, and an eccentric guest is soon to appear – called Christmas. “We believe that it will be a warm and important film that conveys a clear message: it will encourage the audience to reflect upon family, relationships and the feelings we have during our first Christmas,”Wroński and Carpelan added.