The Moomins are a carefree and adventurous family who live in their house in the peaceful Moominvalley.
Tag: Moomin
Rights & Brands appoints Maurizio Distefano Licensing in Italy for Moomin
Rights & Brands appoints Maurizio Distefano Licensing in Italy for Moomin to develop the licensing program in Italy
The carefree and adventurous family born from the pen of the Finnish author and artist Tove Jansson brings color and art to Maurizio Distefano Licensing’s property portfolio.
The Moomins are a carefree and adventurous family who live in their house in the peaceful Moominvalley. They are central characters in the works of celebrated and beloved Finnish author and artist Tove Jansson who created the magical and fascinated stories and designed location and characters from scratch.
Moomin is a values-led brand, with three core values at its heart: love, equality and courage. The main character is young and curious Moomintroll, who goes through the important stages of growing up with his extraordinary family and quirky friends who live in the magical and protected world of Moominvalley. But at times, the Moomins venture beyond the Valley into the vast wilderness, traverse dense dark forests, land on mysterious faraway islands and climb lonely dangerous mountains engaging viewers in their adventures at once familiar and extraordinary. There is always a happy ending to the stories. Jansson, in fact, wrote during World War II so it was important to her to express a feeling of serenity and confidence.
Nine books were released in the collection, together with five picture books and an extensive series of comic strips between the years 1945 and 1980 The Moomins have since been the basis for numerous television series, films and even theme parks. The stories have been translated into more than 55 languages and are still in print all over the world today.
“Moominvalley” is the animated series based on Moomin, produced by Gutsy Animations in association with Yle and Sky. Moominvalley has been sold to over 60 countries to date, including Finland (Yle), UK (Sky), Japan (NHK) and Germany (ZDF). In Italy is available on Rai Yoyo and Rai Play. The series was awarded the ‘Audience Episodic Award’ at the New York International Children’s Film Festival 2022 and was also nominated for the British Animation Awards 2022.
Maurizio Distefano, President of MDL states: “We are so excited for this partnership. Moomin covers a wide range target which makes it appealing to multiple Licensing categories, from adults, with its pieces of art, to kids with the Moominvalley series. I’m sure that the upcoming projects will reflect its artistic and colorful style”.
Moomins to give keynote address at BLE 2015
Sophia Jansson, Creative Director of Moomin Characters and niece of Moomins creator Tove Jansson, will give the keynote address on Wednesday 14th October at 12.30 in the Licensing Academy.
Jansson will share her personal story of the Moomin brand journey, joined by Roleff Kråkström, CEO of Moomin Characters, and Gustav Melin, Global Licensing Director at Bulls Licensing, offering unique insights into the strategy, brand development and future plans for this classic brand.
The Moomins were created by Finnish artist, illustrator and author Tove Jansson in 1945. Over the years Moomins conquered the world, but success had a dark side. Licensing and merchandising took over the brand, and by the early nineties the classic characters were more associated with colourful Japanese animations than the original works of art. Sophia joined the family company in 1997 and with a new strategy turned the business around, returning to the original values of the books. The Moomins is now considered one of the top 20 brands in the world, with an estimated retail value of 600 million Euro and over 600 licensees worldwide.
Sophia Jansson said: “I feel very honoured to have been asked to share my experiences with the Moomin brand at BLE this year. It is really great to recount the brand’s journey over the years to such an international and knowledgeable audience of experts in the licensing field.”
Darren Brechin, BLE Event Director, said: “The Moomins’ brand journey is fascinating; from the first books in 1945 and dolls a few years later through to the present day and its impressive position amongst worldwide brands. We are delighted to help celebrate the 70th anniversary with a showcase at BLE, and look forward to hearing the future plans for this beautiful and much-loved brand.”
The Keynote forms part of the Licensing Academy programme of talks and seminars which are held during BLE 2015. They are free to attend and the programme can be found at www.brandlicensing.eu.
