Dear Backers,
Director Steve Box here. My very first memory of the Moomins is being read Comet in Moominland at school when I was around 5- or 6-years- old. I remember being utterly entranced by the surreal and fantastic nature of the story – this dangerous adventure with such a wonderful group of characters. I was particularly drawn to the cover of the book, which showed Moomintroll and the other characters on stilts, walking through the dried-up sea. I desperately wanted to see more of the pictures, but the teacher would only fleetingly show us the illustrations, so I begged my parents to buy me copy and poured over it. I still have that copy to this day!
When I started working on the series I read all the stories again in order. They work so well in sequence, and reading them in that way really showed the arc of the narrative and the development of the characters. I realised, reading the stories in this way, that there was a lot more depth to them than I first understood.
I was fortunate enough to get involved with MOOMIN through a friend of mine who was doing some work on the production and knew I would be a good fit, being a life-long fan. In fact, when I got the call I was looking at some of Tove’s beautiful illustrations for the Swedish editions of The Hobbit and Alice in Wonderland, which I had only just discovered. It felt a little like fate, to get the call about The Moomin whilst looking at some of Tove’s work. I had a meeting with Marika, the Executive Producer, who came to my house – which she said reminded her of the Moomin house! – and we hit it off immediately.
I have been very lucky to have loved everything I have worked on over the course of my career, but this feels particularly special to me as I have always wanted to work with the Moomins. The chance to do something like this is so rare and I can’t think of any other properties that have this much potential. It’s such a wonderful opportunity, and I feel very privileged to be working on it.
Click here to learn more about MOOMIN tv series, how you can get involved and the perks on offer.
Best regards,
Steve Box