Experience the magic of the Moomins with a new Sky Original Production, putting a modern twist on Moominvalley in 2018

Moomintroll, Snufkin, Little My and all the family are back in a brand-new Sky Original Production made by Gutsy Animations with the support of Moomin Characters.

Moominvalley, airing on Sky late next year, will bring the characters from award-winning author Tove Jansson’s adored classic books to life.

Bel Powley (Benidorm), Edvin Endre (Vikings) and comedian Joe Wilkinson (8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown) are set to join Rosamund Pike, Kate Winslet, Taron Egerton and Warwick Davis to voice the much-loved residents of Moominvalley.

Starring Moomintroll and his family and friends the series will be centred around the Moominhouse and valley, an idyllic place entirely untouched by the modern world, and will be based on Jansson’s well-known novels and comic strips. Airing exclusively on Sky and streaming service NOW TV in the UK and Ireland, the series will be full of life, laughter and adventure, with visual humour, witty dialogue and plenty of energy and drama.

Adam MacDonald, director of Sky One, Sky, said: “Rosamund Pike, Kate Winslet and Taron Egerton coming together in one Sky One show – how amazing is that? The Moomin stories are absolute classics so I can’t wait for them to hit our screens next year.”

Lucy Murphy, head of kids content, Sky, said: “With their beguiling adventures, magical setting and a cast of fantastical creatures, Tove Jansson’s beautiful books have been a well-deserved family favourite for decades and we can’t wait to bring the joyous Moomin world to Sky families in this fabulous new series.”

Marika Makaroff, creative director and executive producer, Gutsy Animations, said: “Moominvalley is very much a Finnish-British collaboration, with a top-quality UK team that includes the Oscar®-winning director Steve Box and Emmy®-winning writing duo Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler – alongside all of this incredible acting talent. So we’re delighted to announce that we’re working with Sky to broadcast the series to Moomin fans in the UK, of which we know there are very many. It’s an honour to be making this new adaptation of Tove’s beautiful and deeply meaningful stories a reality.”

Moominvalley will be directed by Academy Award® winner Steve Box (Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit) and produced by Gutsy Animations exclusively for Sky One and Sky Kids in the UK and Ireland. Other names joining the cast include Matt Berry (The IT Crowd), Akiya Henry (Bing), Will Self (The Minor Character) and Richard Ayoade (The IT Crowd).

Moominvalley has the full support of Moomin Characters, the business set up by Moomin creator Tove Jansson and her brother Lars in the 1950s, and Bulls Licensing, their global licensing agent. It is being developed in association with the Drama department of Yle, the Finnish public broadcaster.

Moominvalley will air on Sky One, TV streaming service NOW TV, the Sky Kids app and on demand on Sky in late 2018.

Notes to editors

Image credit must be used alongside image: © Moomin Characters ™ / Gutsy Animations

About Sky Kids

Kids’ shows on Sky are available via the dedicated Sky Kids app and on demand via the kids’ section on Sky Q and Sky+, as well as through Sky Go, and online streaming service NOW TV.

Kids’ shows are available for millions of Sky families with Sky Variety and Box Sets bundles at no extra cost. They’re also available on NOW TV with the NOW TV Kids Pass, available for £2.99 a month, no contract.

The Sky Kids app can be downloaded from Google Play and Apple’s App Store on compatible tablets. The app will work on 3G/4G and Wi-Fi. Download is available to customers with Sky Go Extra, Sky Multiscreen or a Sky Q Multiscreen Subscription, and available over Wi-Fi only.

There is a dedicated Sky Kids tile on demand where Aliens Love Underpants And..., Morph, Big Cats: Wild Files and other new commissions from Sky are available.

About Sky

Sky is Europe’s leading entertainment company, serving 22.5 million customers across seven countries - UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. The company has annual revenues of £12.9 billion and is Europe’s leading investor in television content with annual programming spend of over £6 billion.

From exclusive partnerships with HBO and Showtime, to Sky Original Productions, Sky offers the best and broadest range of content along with the best viewing experience to suit each and every customer. Whether that’s through the multi-award winning next generation box, Sky Q, or Sky’s contract-free online streaming service, NOW TV, customers have access to the latest movies, drama, sports and kids entertainment wherever and whenever they like. This is all supported by Sky’s best in class customer service.

Sky’s success is not just based on what the company does but how it does it. Named as one of the Top 10 Green Companies in the World by Newsweek, one of the world’s most recognised rankings of business’s environmental performance, Sky ensures its responsible business strategy is embedded right across the group.

Sky has over 31,000 employees and is listed as one of The Times Top 50 employers for women. Sky is listed on the London Stock Exchange (SKY).

About Gutsy Animations

Gutsy is a team of creators and producers who believe that the world is in need of funny, clever, gutsy and – above all – meaningful content. All of its productions are aimed at international audiences and based on a concept of genuine social impact.

Cast announced to date

• Moominmamma – Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl, A United Kingdom, An Education)
• Moominpappa – Matt Berry (The IT Crowd, Toast of London, The Philanthropist)
• Moomintroll – Taron Egerton (Kingsman, Eddie the Eagle, Testament of Youth)
• Little My – Bel Powley (The Diary of a Teenage Girl, A Royal Night Out, Carrie Pilby)
• Snufkin – Edvin Endre (Eddie the Eagle, Vikings, Nameja gredzens)
• Snorkmaiden – Akiya Henry (Bing, Bottersnikes and Gumble, Noddy in Toyland)
• Sniff – Warwick Davis (Harry Potter, Star Wars, Life’s Too Short)
• Mrs Fillyjonk – Kate Winslet (Titanic, Revolutionary Road, The Reader)
• The Hemulen – Joe Wilkinson (Rovers, Miranda, Him & Her)
• The Muskrat – Will Self (Shooting Stars, author of Phone and Sky Arts drama The Minor Character)
• The Ghost – Richard Ayoade (The IT Crowd, presenter of Travel Man & Crystal Maze)

About Moomin Characters

Oy Moomin Characters Ltd is the owner, originator and official company responsible for supervising and managing the Moomins’ brand, copyright and registrations. The company was started in 1958 by Tove Jansson and her brother Lars Jansson and even today is run by family members. Sophia Jansson, Lars’s daughter and Tove’s niece, is Chairman of the Board and Creative Director at Moomin Characters. All characters from Moominvalley are registered trademarks.

Moomin in the UK

A series of major Moomin-themed events and exhibitions have taken place in the UK in 2017, including Southbank Centre’s immersive Adventures in Moominland and Kew Gardens’ Easter Festival. In autumn 2017, Dulwich Picture Gallery will present the first major UK exhibition of work by Tove Jansson – including not only Moomin drawings but also Jansson’s surrealist-inspired paintings of the 1930s and abstract works of the ‘60s, her satirical anti-war cartoons and book jacket designs – and the Moomins will feature prominently at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival.

A diverse range of quality Moomin products are available in the UK, from new Collectors’ Editions of the original Moomin stories (published by Sort of Books) and a guide to the Moomins, The World of Moominvalley (published by Macmillan Children’s Books), to 100% cashmere sweaters and other accessories from fashion label Chinti and Parker.

Moomin around the world

In June 2017 the world’s first Moomin Museum opened in Tampere, Finland, presenting 300 of Tove Jansson’s drawings and paintings and 30 Moomin tableaux created by Tove’s partner, the artist Tuulikki Pietilä. Later in the year, a 12-month Moomin exhibition will begin touring major cities in South Korea, and in spring 2019 a new Moomin theme park will open in Tokyo.