Latest news with #ToveJansson
Fashion Network
3 days ago
- Business
- Fashion Network
Finnish franchise Moomin launches in India with Bradford License India
Finnish lifestyle franchise Moomin has entered the Indian market through a strategic licensing partnership with Bradford License India. The move brings the cartoon characters created by author and artist Tove Jansson to one of the world's fastest-growing consumer markets for storytelling brands. The India partnership aims to tap into the growing demand for emotionally resonant and design-led brands, Indian Retailer Bureau reported. Moomin's visual identity and cross-generational appeal are expected to drive expansion across premium lifestyle categories, apparel, gifting, and experiential retail formats. 'Moomin represents everything that makes a character brand timeless, a strong narrative, an emotionally engaging world, and relevance across generations," said Bradford License India's chairman Gaurav Marya, Indian Retailer Bureau reported. "We are excited to lead Moomin's foray into India and look forward to collaborating with innovative partners who see value in building something meaningful and lasting.' The Moomin brand, with a legacy spanning generations and a fan base in over 100 countries, markets itself on themes of kindness, curiosity, and inclusion, according to its Facebook page. Having evolved from books and animation into a global lifestyle brand, Moomin now spans home décor, fashion, stationery, collectibles, and fast-moving consumer goods. 'India's market potential is unmatched, and we are confident Bradford License India is the right partner to help us grow in this region," said Moomin Characters' managing director Roleff Kråkström. "We've seen Moomin thrive in diverse markets, from Europe to East Asia, and we're excited to see how Indian consumers engage with the brand's values, designs, and storytelling."
The Guardian
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on the Moomins at 80: in search of a home
All Moomin fans will recognise the turreted blue house that is home to the family of gentle, upright‑hippo‑like creatures. The stove-shaped tower is a symbol of comfort and welcome throughout the nine Moomin novels by the celebrated Nordic writer and artist Tove Jansson. Now the house is the inspiration for a series of art installations in UK cities, in collaboration with Refugee Week, to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the creation of the Moomins. Taking the motto 'The door is always open', building will begin next week on a 12ft blue house outside London's Southbank Centre, just a stone's throw from Westminster. All of the installations, by artists from countries including Afghanistan, Syria and Romania, deal with displacement: in Bradford, the Palestinian artist Basel Zaraa has created a refugee tent in which to imagine life after occupation and war; in Gateshead, natural materials are being foraged to build To Own Both Nothing and the Whole World (a quote from Jansson's philosophical character Snufkin); and a Moomin raft will launch from Gloucester Docks. Begun in the winter of 1939 and published in 1945, the first book, The Moomins and the Great Flood, was a 'fairytale', as Jansson called it, born out of the darkness of war. A mother and her son set off across an unfamiliar land – overcoming dangers, natural disasters and hostile creatures – in search of their missing family and a place to build a new home. It was the story of millions of refugees after the second world war, and an all-too familiar one across the world today. In their themes of loneliness, a search for identity and freedom, the Moomin books speak to anyone who feels that they don't belong. In Finn Family Moomintroll, the inseparable Thingumy and Bob (reflecting the nicknames of Jansson and her lover, the theatre director Vivica Bandler) arrive in Moominland speaking a strange language and carrying a suitcase containing a ruby, a metaphor for their secret love – homosexuality was illegal in Finland until 1971. Growing up on a housing estate outside Liverpool, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, the children's laureate, was astounded that 'a book written by a bohemian Finnish lesbian' seemed to be speaking directly to him. According to Philip Pullman, Jansson should have won the Nobel prize in literature. All the inhabitants of Moominvalley come in wildly different shapes and sizes. Tiny, furious Little My is adopted by the Moomin family because 'no one else dared'. The Groke, a symbol of gloom who turns everything she touches into ice, is simply looking for warmth and is not to be feared. Unlike Paddington, that other postwar refugee, this is the newcomer narrative as acceptance rather than assimilation. Today, the Moomins have become a brand, valued more for being cute than kind. Jansson would doubtless be thrilled that her legacy is being used as part of Refugee Week to foster understanding rather than to flog pencil cases and oven mitts. Moominland is a fairytale, far from our 21st-century refugee crisis. But this magical world provides a quietly radical message of tolerance, inclusivity and hope. Moominvalley might be described as 'an island of strangers', to borrow the prime minister's unfortunate phrase, and is all the better for it: it is a place where you don't have to fit in to belong. As Jansson writes in the preface to The Moomins and the Great Flood: 'Here was my very first happy ending!'
The Guardian
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Beegu review – Alexis Deacon's mellow yellow alien adventure hits the stage
If you took one of Tove Jansson's Moomins, sprayed them with custard, added a third eye and stretched their ears then you might end up with Beegu. The yellow alien from Alexis Deacon's popular picture book now crash-lands in a comical show for children aged three to seven. Director Debbie Hannan's adaptation often forgoes the contemplative grace of the original and whips the audience into chants for the befuddled, far-from-home heroine. Bee-gu! Bee-gu! The themes of curiosity, care and found family remain intact. A cuddly looking Beegu (movement and puppetry direction from Laura Cubitt) is principally controlled by Emma MacLennan, who also voices the alien's inquisitive chatter. During her odyssey on Earth, Beegu is ignored and insulted by busy grownups ('bit early for a Halloween costume,' sneers one) but warmly welcomed by some friendly schoolchildren. On the Unicorn's main stage you might think this would lead to some extravagant circus skills but their games, rendered in slow motion, instead have a simplicity that young audiences will recognise from their own playground. The same goes for the cheerleading routine that involves a litter of fluffy puppies whizzing through the air. There is amiable audience interaction from three other performers, Lucy Havard, Lawrence Hodgson-Mullings and Aryana Ramkhalawon, who rattle through a range of supporting roles. The use of Teletubbies-style sun and moon characters, with projected faces, emphasises the message about looking out for one another but their rather solemn narrative is often superfluous. With a skyline of swerving apartment blocks on wheels, Jean Chan's designs honour the spareness of the book. Chan and lighting designer Will Monks deliver a luminous scene in which Beegu plays music on the playground's railings, wonderfully accompanied by Deanna H Choi's compositions. The withering teacher wearing cat-eye glasses becomes a 10ft tall terror. Beegu is principally an observer (despite all that chatter, she has no visible mouth) and puppet designer Jonathan Saville has done well to make her this sympathetic. At 50 minutes, the story never feels drawn out and Beegu's meet and greet session with the audience proves the book's point that children have a gift for forming friendships. At the Unicorn theatre, London, until 4 May.
