Moomin Animations – Thrills and Cuddles, Minna Honkasalo. Washington D.C.: National Children’s Museum on September 3, 2021-January 9, 2022. https://nationalchildrensmuseum.org/
reviewed by Mike Rhode
In
1945, Finnish writer and illustrator Tove Jansson created her
Mumintrolls for a children's book. The Moomins look like hippos crossed
with the Pillsbury doughboy, but have proved popular enough to make her
the Scandinavian equivalent of Walt Disney. She eventually wrote or drew
9 books about them. In 1947 she started a comic strip with the
characters, which started appearing in English in 1954. Her brother Lars
Jannson joined her on the strip from 1959-1961 and then he took the
strip over until 1975 when it ended. Reprints have been published by
Canada's Drawn & Quarterly. There have been multiple animated
versions of her characters, and that is what this exhibit focused on.
The
NCM has had some rough years, closing off and on while searching for
new locations. In 2020, it finally wound up just off Pennsylvania Ave,
NW in a plaza behind the Reagan building. They had to shut again almost
immediately due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but reopened in September 2021
with the Moomin exhibit among others, and are aiming for an attendance
of a half million people per year. Note that you have to visit with a
child; unaccompanied visitors need to make an appointment, and
throughout my tour of the exhibit, I was accompanied by a staff member.
The museum is actually largely underground; one enters at ground level
and then moves downward through an unfinished concrete warren. The guide
is probably necessary for more than the main reason.
The
Embassy of Finland has brought over a version of Honkasalo's original
exhibit from the Moomin Museum that is completely composed of
reproductions. It has several sections - a wall on Jansson's life,
stills from various animations, 4 screens showing cartoons, and several
activity areas for children. An average American viewer might have no
knowledge about the Moomins, in spite of the fact that there have been
so many adaptations. 
This exhibit focuses on animated versions and
includes episodes from 1959 (West Germany), 1969 (Japan), 1977 (Poland),
1990 (Japan). Obviously, none of these would be particularly easy for
an Anglophone to find, but the 1969 one in particular was surpressed by
Jansson, as noted in the exhibit catalog - "She felt that Momin was too
far removed from her stories' world and atmosphere. Elements foreign
to Moominvalley had been inserted into the tales, including cars, money
and weapons. For example, a few episodes show Snork driving around in a
car, Moomintroll makes money by busking, and weapons feature in several
episodes." "She did not want them to reach international distribution,
so they have never been broadcast outside Japan. Today, they are hard to
find even in Japan, on account of complicated copyright issues
connected with the [1900s series]." The exhibit catalog is unfortunately
not available, except for a few copies lying in the exhibit, but I
recommend it highly if you can find it.
Jansson
has been the focus of recent attention including a documentary, two
biographies, and an edition of her letters. The wall on her life is
written for children, but includes the basics necessary to have an idea
about her as a person and as a creator. To the exhibit's credit, the
segment on her life does not shy away from her love of another woman,
even though it was socially unacceptable at the time. "A soul mate. Amid
the hustle and buslte, Tove meets Tuulikki, the woman who will become
her life partner for the rest of her life..." reads part of the panel.
The
wall of stills would probably have been of more interest in the
original exhibit, as it apparently included some actual artwork by her.
Here, understandably, it's all reproductions and screen captures. A fan
of the characters might be interested in seeing how they evolved in
different animations. There are also some areas for children to draw,
hang things on a tree, or take a picture with cardboard standups. There
is also a small selection of gifts in the giftshop. Also
of interest from a cartoon perspective are a STEAM-centric exhibits
about creating animations featuring SpongeBob and his cast, and another
on Paw Patrol.
All the images, except for "Exhibition space 4" and "Tove Jansson," are courtesy of the Embassy of Finland in Washington, D.C. The two are courtesy of the NCM. The exhibit catalog cover is taken from the copy the staff gave to me. A version of this review also appeared on the ComicsDC blog. My photographs can be seen here.
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