Katherine Senior: “‘Moominvalley’ is a show with great depth”

Inspired by the “Moomin” stories by Tove Jansson, “Moominvalley” is an animated family drama series produced by Finnish company Gutsy Animations in collaboration with YLE and Sky, as well as Viaplay for the fourth season. The series brings the Moomins into 3D with a visual style combining high quality CGI and painterly effects. A coming- of-age story of family and friendship, which explores humanity, relationships and emotions, the show was nominated for the last edition of the International Emmy Awards. Katherine Senior, Head of International Sales at Gutsy Animations, talked about the show and the Emmy nomination, and outlined its future distribution goals.

▸  How did everything start with “Moominvalley”?

“Marika Makaroff is the creative behind this, and she is amazing. She decided that it was time to revive this hugely symbolic Finish property and IP for the 21st century, because it had been 30 years since the last series. When she rang me up, I was managing the ‘Mr. Bean’ brand, but she needed someone to manage sales for ‘Moominvalley.’ Marika spent 18 months on the development. She read every single Tove Jansson book, every single scrap of anything that he had written about ‘Moomins,’ because her background was drama. She approached this as a drama, not as an animation, not as a kid's property.”

▸  What did the International Emmy nomination mean for the company?

“It was really huge. We had already been nominated for the International Emmys, but it was during Covid, so it was online and it was not the same. Obviously, it was a great honor to be nominated, but it did not seem to have the same impact. To be present at the International Emmy gala was really something spectacular, so we were really excited about it.”

▸  Why do you think the show was nominated?

“I think it has great depth. Visually it seems spectacular to me. I do not think I have ever seen an animation that is so artistic in its own way. But it is not just about the images. The depth of the stories, the incredible cast and the level of detail we have managed to achieve with the series is enormous. That's why I think it has been nominated, because that really comes across on screen. It also helps that the show is aimed at family audiences around the world. It has been sold to 70 countries around the world. It's great to have Zodiak Kids & Family Distribution on board to do that."

▸  Which are your distribution goals for “Moominvalley”?

“We are looking at the United States and presenting it at Kidscreen Summit, so we are putting together all of the information in order to introduce it to the buyers there. It would also be great to take it to Latin America. Series one and two have already been sold to Mexico. Now, we are in production of the fourth season, which will be delivered in November 2024.”

By Diego Alfagemez and Federico Marzullo