#cause I started watching the 2019 moominvalley

[thatsitso]

He's coming back today!!!

[studyingmoominvalley]

my analysis of Moominvalley (2019)'s season one soundtrack

(yeah I may not be great at this and I may be missing a lot, but bare in mind this is my analysis, not anyone else's. Please be nice to me ;-;)

I'm Far Away:

Snufkin has travelled for the Winter. The first verse is like Moomin leaving letters in Snufkin's bag, wishing him with good travels and a safe return hope. Snufkin is longing for something to change, or maybe something in him to change... The second verse is more talking about his travels and how he longs to return no matter what happens.

Starlight:

I don't know, reading this and thinking of Snufmin makes me concerned. It's SO obvious that it's from Moomin's perspective that it gives me a cavaty. "Please say you'll never leave 'cause it's in your hands" If that wasn't obvious enough, idk what is. This is him just... wanting to be with Snufkin. He knows deep down that Snufkin has to travel, yes it's in his hands but not completely. It's a part of him. This is obviously his mind in a point of time where he hasn't gotten used to Snufkin being away from him, possibly what is reflected in Teety-Woo.

Summer Day:

Moomin doesn't like the Winter because it feels wrong without Snufkin. But he has Snorkmaiden with him at least, and that's good enough right? Snorkmaiden loves Moomin, almost in a similar way Moomin loves Snufkin, but Moomin just feels tied down in the relationship. He thinks he's just thinking like an adult, like a moody teenager or something. But then again, he feels Snufkin is the only one who understands him ("But when you put your hands in my hands/You speak a language only us can understand"). It feels like Summer with Snufkin, but not with Snorkmaiden. He reassures himself that Spring is coming and that he'll see the one who knows him best soon.

Back To The Cave:

We get to look into Snufkin's brain, ooo! This is mainly about Snufkin's feelings about himself and how he hides his true emotions from Moomin and the others. "They can't see behind the camouflage" this is him hiding behind a wise and carefree persona, when deep down he is conflicted about almost everything. It seems when he runs out of things to say or when he fears that he'll show his emotions, he finds time to be alone, shown by the lines "We're running out of punchlines/So watch us crawl/We're crawling back to the cave". But his feelings are getting too much, his fears of being forgotten most likely because he doesn't express himself in the way he should "There's a storm/It's rising". So basically he doesn't know what to do anymore. And I guess the "you can't be truly free if you admire somebody too much" quote can link to "There's no time/There's no place for idles", showing more that this is about Snufkin's emotions.

Love Me With All Your Heart:

now this song choice was intentional. This is mutual pining, their emotions mixing into the same song. They've loved each other for a long time, be it platonic turning to romance or be it always romantic. They both want each other, they both long for each other. But they don't wish for their relationship to change, they want it to stay the same ("When we're far apart or when you're near me", "Love me always as you've loved me from the start").

Home Again:

Snufkin is back home, and he could not be happier. Yeah he likes to travel and be with his thoughts, but nothing is better than being with Moomin, shown by the lines "Nothing could be better/Than when I hold you close to me" and "Who I was back then and who I am now/Makes no difference when I'm by your side".

There Is Something In The Forest:

One day, Moomin and Snufkin are just adventuring as they usually do. But something feels different. Something new. Moomin realises it that night, when sitting hand in hand with Snufkin. He finds himself losing track of time, only paying attention to his friend. When he goes home, all he can think of is Snufkin. He thinks of it as he walks, embracing his new emotions as love, a deep love, for Snufkin. And he never wants to let it go. Ever.

Home:

Moomin has noticed how off Snufkin has been acting, and one day he decides to comfort him. He tells him that if he ever feels like he needs to hide ("Sometimes you only want to hide") or that nobody is there for him, that Moomin will always be there for him. This song can also link to Snufkin's own saying "You must go on a long journey before you find out how wonderful home is", and seems like Snufkin has found his home in Moomintroll.

All Small Beasts:

nah this is crime anthem. Little My is cheering Snufkin up, telling him that people with lots of dreams, emotions and all that should just let it out in a huge show! Commit crime! Burn some signs! Fuck Hemulens, who's to say what they can or can't do? The first verses are her making fun of people being neat and telling Snufkin that bottling up your emotions is just going to tease at you and bite you in the tail one day. But this can also be seen in another way, brought to my attention by my friend Bloom. It can be a song about owning up to your mistakes instead of keeping them away.

Free Spirit:

must I say anything? Snufkin likes being alone and free. The second verse is what I want to focus on however. He knows it's good to be alone and not worry about anything, but his avoiding of responsibility is doing him worse than he knows (much like the "owning up to mistakes" analysis by my friend Bloom).

Country Air:

This is what Snufkin wishes he could say to Moomin. They're relaxing together in Summer, Moomin asleep. Snufkin is thinking in his brain about how much he loves him and just wishes he could say SOMETHING. Winter is coming soon, almost time for them to part. Maybe he can ponder more on his emotions then?

By Your Side:

it seems Snufkin is accepting and returning Moomin's offering of comfort, showing that he cares for Moomin and that he doesn't even need to ask for help, he'll do anything to make him happy.

In Blue:

oh boy

Snufkin fears he made a mistake already. He let out his emotions. Even when reassured that it was okay to do so, he feels utterly guilty, shown by the lines "I built a house from sticks and twine/And you said it would serve me fine/But then the rain could soak me through". He begins to fear that he's being put up with, like he doesn't matter anymore ("Anything to keep me quiet"). But he can't help but feel a strong admiration for Moomin. Snufkin has made so many mistakes, and has so many bad feelings ("I caught a fever like I always do"), yet Moomin is still his friend ("And still you let me stand with you, in blue"). He feels his emotions are his fault, and wonders if he should just stay in the valley and own up to his mistakes and allow others to show their true emotions for him, shown by the lines "I bet next year I'll see you all the time/The fault is all deserved as mine", "Was it all on purpose?/Was this true?" and "Tell me and be honest, was this you?". The phrase "In Blue" could refer to the saying "into the blue", which refers to the unknown. Snufkin is "In Blue" because he is in a stage where he is unsure of what he is hearing and wants to know if it's true or not.

Nothern Lights:

Snufkin's feelings for Moomin are increasing to what is obvious to him as love. "Will you find peace in your heart?" this line could be Snufkin talking to himself. Will be ever come to peace with his emotions and open up?

Ready Now:

Moomin has been there for Snufkin all this time. Through all his doubts, through all his sadness. Snufkin has no idea how to express himself, so Moomin helps him. They take it in turns to just talk about things, and "To my surprise we found my words". All this time, Snufkin believed himself to be free. But now he knows that opening up and embracing how you feel is true freedom. He is ready now.

The Author:

This is more about Moomin. He feels like his future will be like his father's, he already met Snorkmaiden during a big childhood adventure after all, just like Pappa. But he finds his story is changing. He's fallen in love with Snufkin. He slowly realises that his future is his own and that he is in charge of his story. And his story begins with being there for his best friend.

[dabruzzy]

✨♥️🍄🐛🎵🌿🌲🍯🍀

This turned out really long so I'm putting it under a read more

✨who is your favourite moomin character and why?

I love most of the characters but my favorite is Snufkin! Book Snufkin especially, I just find him really interesting and relatable in a way, but I find it hard to explain why I like him specifically. My brain decides to latch onto a particular character and I just go with it 😂

♥️if you could befriend any moomin character, who would it be?

As much as I love Snufkin I don't think we'd get along lmao, so I'm going with Moominmamma. She's really kind but also adventurous, I think she'd be fun to hang out with :)

🍄when did you first discover the moomins?

I first learned about Moomin through a youtuber named Jaiden (I think? I haven't watched his videos in years). He used a clip from Tanoshii Moomin Ikka as a transition for his videos, but I didn't really get into it until the Moomin boom from 2019

🐛do you have any moomin merch / memorabilia / plushies?

Not yet 💔 Moomin merch tends to be expensive unfortunately. I'd love to get this tho look at him he's so cute

🎵songs that make you think of the moomins, or songs you think would fit perfectly as part of the soundtrack?

This is the opposite of what the question is asking but I think a lot of music from Tanoshii Moomin Ikka would fit the Mother games perfectly, especially Mother 3. They give me similar vibes and sometimes they straight up sound the same to the point I actually tried to look up if the composers were inspired by each other in some way.

There are also a couple of italian songs that remind me of Moomin. The first one is called Maledetta Primavera (Damned Spring). It's a really popular song here and until recently I only knew the refrain, so I looked up the rest of the lyrics since it reminded me of Snufmin so much and uuh there's a NSFW line...which is too bad cause the rest of the song really makes me think of Snufmin ("I can't act like it's not love anymore if by mistake I close my eyes and think of you" is such a Snufkin line...) so I'm just gonna pretend I do not see it and pretend the song is about Moomin and Snufkin pining for each other and thinking their love is unrequited ❤

And another song is Io Vagabondo which translates to "Me Vagabond" so yeah I obviously associate it with Snufkin

🌿what's your favourite moomin book?

I think my favorite is probably Moominland Midwinter. I really didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did cause the way they adapted it in Tanoshii Moomin Ikka and Moominvalley didn't really impress me, but I was pleasantly surprised. I find myself thinking more about Moominvalley in November though so I think that's a close second

🌲what's your favourite episode of moomin (this can be any of the older anime series or the 2019 moominvalley series!)

I don't remember Tanoshii Moomin Ikka very well cause I watched it over 2 years ago and I only rewatched some of the episodes recently, but I remember really liking the Ninny episodes, that's when I really started to get invested.

Not an anime but I also liked The Catastrophe episode from Fuzzy Felt Moomins, mostly because it just told me what I needed to hear in that moment and it really helped me (and I just love the Fillyjonk Who Believed in Disasters)

Also not an anime but shout out to the musical adaptation of Who Will Comfort Toffle from 1980, it's my favorite adaptation and I can't not mention it.

As for Moominvalley my favorite is definitely The Spring Tune, the only thing I didn't like about it is how they turned Snorkmaiden into a jealous girlfriend. And Snufkin is just iconic. It's also really gay

🍯if you could make any moomin recipe, what would it be?

Honestly I'd love to try anything Moominmamma makes, maybe pancakes? Also not really a recipe but I saw they made Moomin chestnut sweets and I love chestnuts, I really wanna try those especially

🍀what's your favourite song on the 2019 moominvalley soundtrack?

This is a tough one cause I like most of the songs, but I find myself listening more to Love Me With All Of Your Heart and Country Air. I also like Cloudy if anything cause it sounds more old-timey than the rest and I think that fits Moomin better than pop songs.

Thank you so much for the ask!!

[vimbry]

moomins: we live simply and enjoyably, we find comfort in small things and nobody here knows how money works

snufkin: I don’t need possessions to make me happy

moominofficial: buy this watch for 33 thousand euros

fFHDJ

they miss the point of their own IP so badly it’s weird! well, weird yet not surprising. they’re a business, I get it, they gotta make money. I know there’s been moomin merchandise since the ‘50s, they’ve hardly just started to sell out now, but for a good while it was just like, posters? some cool handmade dolls? crockery? and all originals. now they’ll rotate their limited gallery of stock images on anything that’ll sell. moominvalley (2019) stuff is the worst for this. it’s just recycling their 2D concept art.

and it’s not that they don’t make some good merch still, but man, is there a lot of weak and kinda desperate stuff in there. like you said, yeah we really needed “pricey regular watch but tiny moomin and snufkin lineart on it”. 

they churn out a lot of (overpriced) easy products cause they know people will go, hey, it’s moomin! I’ll buy it. and as much as they like to lord over disney with the, “did u know: tove kicked uncle mr wilty off her island :)” trivia, they basically operate the same way. they’re legally vicious. you saw how they went after that google drive and its creator (which had multiple discontinued/previously lost media, free subtitled videos, and actually helped the moomin boom along because people could access it. it’s something a company should really turn a blind eye to if it means more consumers down the line imo). they also vetoed down a non-profit charity zine. worst look. great job shutting down all that potential fundraising, moomin characters. some pesky fans might’ve gotten food, shelter, or other resources through images of your hippos and we can’t have that.

also this may sound a bit societycomic.jpg, but look how they’re partnering with a campaign to save the baltic sea with posters like “oh! don’t make waste. be like snufkin, buy practical clothes only when you need them!”, while turning around and producing fashionable outfits and saying “hey, you wanna be like snufkin?” at the same time. like pick one maybe.

like, clothing with your faves on is nice! I wouldn’t begrudge anyone purchasing that. it’s not like that’s the Biggest problem in the world compared to say, disposable high fashion, but it’s still hypocritical of them.

[smile-files]

interesting things i’ve noted about moominvalley: part 1

i am so glad to have found a way to watch the 2019 moominvalley series, it really is amazing! the animation is great in its own right, but adapting the characters into these updated stories with new character development really lent itself well to the show!

i’m 8 episodes in already (wanting to watch one episode a day so i don’t end up binging the whole thing rapid fire), and there are two things in particular that i’ve noted. if i mention both in a single post it would be super long, so i’m splitting it up :’D

also psychoanalyzing fictional characters is super fun, please forgive me

1. even before watching moominvalley, i had heard that this adaptation of snufkin makes him out to have some kind of anxiety disorder, something that is quite clear to see from his first appearance in episode 2, the spring tune. 

one thing to note is that in his instance of ‘talking to moomintroll’ it’s unclear if he’s just pretending he is and imagining a hypothetical conversation, if he actually thinks moomin is there, or he’s ruminating over an actual conversation that he had had with moomin previously. in any case, it’s about how he needs to spend a bit more time alone and that he isn’t quite ready to return to moominvalley yet. 

this cues the interaction with teety-woo, a little creature who admires snufkin immensely. teety-woo ends up asking snufkin a number of personal questions that end up upsetting him. eventually though, snufkin comes to tolerate him.

in the morning, we’re treated with a scene of snufkin not being able to find teety-woo anywhere; he heads to moominvalley, calling out moomin’s name, but there’s no response. a hedgehog says that he’d been gone too long. a confused snufkin climbs up the ladder to look in the window and see that moomin was lovingly playing with teety-woo, that moomin had forgotten him. in shock, snufkin lets go of the ladder and falls, only to wake up from this terrible nightmare with a cry.

the episode goes on to resolve itself, but i’m focusing on the instances of the ‘conversation with moomin’ and the nightmare for my point, and then going onto episode 7, snufkin and the park keeper.

2. if you know anything at all about snufkin, you know that he despises impending authority and a lack of freedom. the episode in itself describes the familiar story of everything with snufkin, the private park, the hattifatteners, the orphans... etc.

while all of this is important to the episode, another interesting thing is brought up which is what i’m talking about; first of all, at the beginning of the episode, snufkin was taking a walk in the woods, feeling rather stifled, which is one of the reasons why he was so upset by this closed off park.

later on in the episode he’s talking with little my, and he mentioned how lately he needed a break from everyone - not because he doesn’t like them, but because it made him feel almost... claustrophobic being surrounded by people all the time. we get a scene of him sitting next to moomin at a crowded party - they laugh together, then moomin goes to get both of them something to drink. we then see a rather frightened snufkin as moomin leaves, showing scenes of the crowded, noisy party. we cut back to moomin coming with the drinks to see that snufkin was gone, leaving moomin quite sad.

and so on with the revenge against the park keeper, the exodus of the orphans, and then the subsequent accusation of moomin and snorkmaiden committing the crime. snufkin obviously feels really bad when he finds out about this. 

eventually snufkin comes to locking himself in the cell that moomin and snorkmaiden had been in (the children had followed him there) as he admitted that he was the one to commit the crime. he is sentenced with the task of making 5000 new signs for the park. 

then we see snufkin look up to a surprised moomin, and snufkin has a flashback of moomin at the party, then alone after snufkin fled. back to the present, in response to his sentence, snufkin sadly replies with “i suppose it’s all i deserve”, something clearly more in response with what happened at the party rather than his revenge on the park keeper.

the episode does eventually end on a good note, but this and the events of episode 2 together stuck me as something:

- one of my many characters goes through a similar thing to what i’m noting here, so it was easy for me to spot it in snufkin’s behavior. of course, this is all speculation. it seems to me that snufkin feels bad for making accommodations to the benefit of his own mental health if they have the chance of hurting someone or if he suspects that it might come back to bite him.

take in episode 2, where whatever happened with ‘the conversation with moomin’ (whether he was imagining, thought he actually saw moomin, or was remembering something), it was clear that snufkin intended on returning to moominvalley later than usual as he felt he wasn’t ready to go back yet. this is an understandable choice, that, even if moomin would be sad to have to wait longer to see him because of it, he would respect it.

in the same episode, in the nightmare, his fear that he’d been gone too long manifested in the vision that not only did teety-woo leave him for moomin, but moomin also just completely forgot about him.

we can infer that snufkin is worried that his decision to wait a bit longer to return would end up causing moomin to end up befriending somebody more consistently present in his life and so would end up with him forgetting about snufkin’s existence. 

and in episode 7, where we see the whole scene of moomin and snufkin at the party - where snufkin was starting to feel caged in again by the surrounding crowd and so he left, seeing how it would’ve been too stressful on himself to stay, even for just that short while, if moomin wasn’t with him. this in itself is also understandable.

later on in the episode, when given is sentence, snufkin accepts it - not as punishment for what he did to the park keeper, but rather for what he had done to moomin. and unlike in episode 2, where there’s a little bit of dot-connecting needed to be done to see the connecting, here it’s just given to us, especially with the flashback at the moment.

- i’m not a psychologist, so i can’t go around saying with almost definite certainty that this is a symptom of an anxiety disorder or depression or whatever, but i do believe this to be a serious aspect of snufkin’s character in moominvalley that will probably be touched on in greater detail as the story continues.

:)