Remembering the Moomins: A Conversation with Sophia Jansson for the release of Moomins on the Riviera
Moomins On The Riviera, features the entire Moomin clan as they embark on a hilarious adventure on the glamorous Riviera. After a journey fraught with menacing storms and desert island dangers, Snorkmaiden is dazzled by the attentions of a playboy and Moomin learns that jealousy’s sting is the most painful of all.
The Fan Carpet’s Marc Jason Ali in association with Lydia Kay of Acting Hour had the pleasure of talking to Sophia Jansson, the associate producer and niece of Tove Jansson for the release of Moomins On The Riviera...
So what was it about the Moomins that make you decide to bring it to the big screen?
Well, you know that there have been films made based on the Moomins books before, but they were a few years ago, when we had a lot of different ideas I told them we didn’t want to move forward with any of them until this one now and this actually was started because the producer is an old friend of mine and I mentioned to her that so its strange that nobody had suggested making a film based on the comic strips. And then she said, Well, hold on a minute, I’m a film producer, can I have a go for you?” And I said, “Sure, why not?” So that’s basically how it came about.
How important was it for you to stay true to the original animation story style of the original cartoons?
Well, it was very important I would say. Yes, definitely, in everything that we do. There is a whole industry around the Moomins these days, what with merchandising and what not.
For me especially because it is important to me, it is extremely important to always link everything to the original for the original comic strips or her work in essence because any interpretation needs to basically pay homage to the original and not be something that we are not proud of.
I know that it is not always doable but definitely with the film we set our goals rather high. We want it, the new Moomins, to look like the original Moomins and we want the story to be true to her original comic strip and so on and so forth.
Do you think it will still appeal to the old generation who remember the series or were you more keen to engage the younger audience?
For sure, I mean if I interpret your question correctly, but that there are those old people alive who will have gotten to know the Moomins in the comic strip through the evening news or in the newspaper, you know, fifties, sixties, seventies and will they react to this film.
Well I think, the aim was to make the film good enough so that these people who feel very strongly about who the Moomins are, are also happy, but having said that of course, there are the younger generations who will be among the people who haven’t grown up with the comic strips are never in their life seen the Moomins so they know nothing about the Moomins, and it was important to introduce the whole kind of Moomins world to them as well, which is why the beginning of the film had to be basically rewritten.
The beginning of the movie where they actually come through the Riviera is really very close to the original comic strip and how it developed, but the Director at the start, said you know, for someone that has never seen the Moomins, we need to introduce them before we go the Riviera otherwise you don’t understand, you need to see contrast and so that was the challenge to actually put it in a very few minutes and briefly an introduction to the Moomins in Moomin Valley, so that a viewer that has never met the Moomins before will understand that okay, this is where it come from, and then they go somewhere else which is to them completely different and very alien and also have the opportunity to mirror these two realities.
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MOOMINS ON THE RIVIERA IS OUT NOW
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