The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

Moomins and the Comet Chase, an all-new 3D animation feature with Finnish novelist and comic strip author Tove Jansson’s adorable ghost-like creatures, debuted earlier this month in Finland, where Jansson lived as a member of the Swedish minority.

It’s Finnish animation studio Filmkmompaniet’s second feature with the Moomins.  An earlier movie, Moomin and Midsummer Madness (see trailer below), was created by using and reformatting footage from the original TV series (giving the Moomins actual dialogue in the process).  This one, however, is an all-new creation, which uses digital 3D techniques to conjure up that vintage stop-motion feel that made the early animation so adorable.

The story of the film, which is directed by Maria Lindberg, is eerily topical.  When the Moomins wake up one morning, they find their that their colorful, cheerful valley is completely covered in dust.  For once, it’s not a Nordic volcano that’s erupted, but a comet which, as a philosopher predicts, will cause the end of the world.  Moomintroll, Snufkin and Sniff take up a journey to the mountains observatory to find out if that’s really true.  What begins as a summery rafting trip quickly changes in a big adventure… (sounds a lot like one of the Pooh movies, if you ask me)

On their site, Filmkompaniet also mentions a Moomin TV series of 78 episodes which should be in production at the moment.  As yet, no UK or US  release date has been announced.  In the mean time, here’s a quick look at singer Bjork’s title track to Comet Chase :