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”.