Moomins on the Riviera (2014) Maria Sid, Russell Tovey, Mats L?ngbacka, Tracy Ann Oberman, Nathaniel Parker Movie Review

Moomins on the Riviera (2014)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Moomins on the Riviera (2014)

Some Moomin Magic

The Moomins, Snorkmaiden and Little My, in search of adventures of their own, set sail for the Riviera, where, after a journey fraught with menacing storms and desert island dangers, Snorkmaiden is dazzled by the attentions of a playboy and Moomin learns that jealousy?s sting is the most painful of all.

Having just watched "Moomins on the Riviera" I have suddenly realised something, I have never seen a Moomin animation before and haven't read one of the comic strips. Yet somehow I am familiar with the Moomins and at some point I must have stumbled across the characters, probably on the cover of a book in the dentist's surgery as a young child but didn't bother with it. That is actually not just mindless ramblings but an important point as I reckon this is one of those animations which is going to charm those who grew up on the antics of the Moomins but for those who didn't might just find it beautiful fun.

That is how "Moomins on the Riviera" ended up for me as whilst there is a lot going on in this 80 minute animation with plenty of humour and story that didn't actually wow me. Instead what captivated me was the beautiful yet simple nature of the hand drawn animation. Yes this has that classic feel of artists who drew frame after frame and bringing to life the characters with the skill of their pen and brush through the movements. Considering I have little interest in art I could go on and on about how the use of tone and shadow give this movie so much depth despite what looks like incredibly simple drawings.

What this all boils down to is that "Moomins on the Riviera" should entertain those who grew up on the Moomins whilst those who didn't are likely to be charmed by the animation work which whilst seemingly simple is rich in depth.


LATEST REVIEWS