Memes / The Moomins

As strange as it is, many memes have come from this series.

Character Specific Memes

• Moomintroll
  • A pair of screenshots from the Comet in Moominland movie showing Moomintroll angrily brandishing his pocketknife (in context, to fight off the Angostura bush threatening Snorkmaiden), then calmly folding it, are used as a meme template, usually representing being briefly angered by something before calming down.
• Little My
  • Little My wants to date Snufkin. ^ExplanationIn one episode of the 90s anime, Little My says that she wants to date Snufkin. The thing is, in the books, they're brother and sister. While them being siblings is never mentioned in the anime and the exhange is never brought up again, the fandom never forgot about it, and memes regarding Little My having a crush on her brother are still common.
  • SLUT ^Explanation Originates from an image of Little My holding up a sign that says “SLUT” (Swedish for “END”) taken from a children's book. This became memetic because of how it looks when you don’t know Swedish.
• Snufkin
  • Many clips of him from the English dub of the 90s anime are often used to portray him as a Memetic Troll.
  • Russian Snufkin ^ExplanationThe 80's "Magician's Hat" shorts, which were made in the USSR, dramatically alters the character designs in a way that can be unnerving, especially to those who are used to their normal look. Snufkin stands out due having what appears to be a beak instead of a mouth, while the rest of his body remains human-like. Fans sometimes joke about how his design is Nightmare Fuel, and even worse than The Groke.
  • Criminal Snufkin/"Let's go and fill Moominvalley with crime!" ^ExplanationFans have noticed that Snufkin is sometimes very eager to commit crimes, most notably vandalizing the park in Moominsummer Madness and stealing a melon and running away from the police in the original version of Comet in Moominland. Fanworks and memes often exaggerate this into him constantly and casually committing crimes. His line from the 90s anime episode "Crooks in Moominvalley" is often taken out of context in accordance to the meme (in the episode, he only commits crimes so the police station won't have to be closed down).
  • Gun Snufkin ^ExplanationFans like to draw/make edits of Snufkin holding a gun, most of these originating from a screenshot of the 60s anime where he’s actually holding a gun. Various examples◊ are◊ shown◊ here◊.
  • You can’t get away, Stinky. ^Explanation A line said by Snufkin in an episode of the 90s anime while he and his friends are chasing Stinky to punish him for trapping Ninny in a cave. What makes it so funny is the fact that he’s staring at him with a completely blank expression while saying it.
  • Yip Yip ^Explanation Snufkin’s catchphrase from Moominvalley. Naturally, the fandom took it and ran with it.
  • In your room, you say? ^ExplanationIn the episode "The Last Dragon in the World" of Moominvalley, Moomintroll tells Snufkin that the dragon is in his room, to which Snufkin answers "In your room, you say?" in a cheeky manner. Given the way he says it, many fans interpret this as him thinking that Moomintroll is just flirting with him and flirting back, and make memes about it.
  • Why does Snufkin sound like that?^ExplanationThe Movie for Comet in Moominland was produced by a different studio than the 90s anime despite having the same animation style, so it had different English voice actors. Most of them sound appropriate, but Snufkin’s sounds really bizarre and doesn’t fit him at all. It’s often jokingly referred to as a Jumpscare for people who expected him to sound like John Chancer.
    • Snoofkin^Explanation He pronounces his own name like this the first time he’s introduced in the film, and it’s a major source of jokes and memes.
  • Ralsei^ExplanationWhen Deltarune Chapter 1 was released, memes comparing Snufkin to Ralsei began to appear due to their similar appearances.
  • Moomin fans when they see a harmonica^ExplanationSince Snufkin is a fan favourite, fans will often joke that any image or video on the internet involving a harmonica is related to him.
  • Snufkin’s Surprised Pikachu Face^ExplanationIn one episode of the 60s anime, Moomintroll falls down a mountain, and instead of saving him, Snufkin just looks◊at him with what people have described as “the next Surprised Pikachu face”, comparing it to the famous screenshot from the Pokémon anime. Plus, like the Mr Hemulen meme below, Moomintroll sounds like he’s moaning.
  • “You’ll soon find out” ^ExplanationA line said in response to Little My asking what he had in his bag (hattifattener seeds) in the 90s anime episode adapting Moominsummer Madness. He then snaps a twig. Without context, it just looks like he’s threatening her.
  • Snufkin hitting the sign ^ExplanationIn an episode of Moominvalley, Snufkin watches some birds fly away, starts playing his harmonica, and then smacks headfirst into a sign. Many viewers were caught off guard by this, which is why they found it so funny.
  • Memes replacing the audio of clips of Snufkin in the 90s Anime with John Chancer’s audiobooks are popular, as it’s hilarious to imagine Snufkin actually saying some of those lines. One video even attracted the attention of the author of the book that the audio came from.
  John Siddique - “Hi Vimbry - wow I love this. Thank you so much for being so creative and sharing this. Not sure copyright wise but I think my publisher would love this... we'll call it fair use eh. John Chancer's voice is perfect here. I wasn't able to record the audiobook myself at the time due to a family loss. bless you“
  • "…I love this hat." ^Explanation He says this in response to Alicia telling him it was nice to see him in one episode.
  • "You’re so white!"
  • "Jaa."^ExplanationSnufkin's catchphrase from the 90's anime's Finnish dub. Doesn't quite translate to English; the way Snufkin uses it in the anime carries a certain connotation of "I'm listening, go on". Has a major influence on the Finnish fandom's perception of Snufkin as The Stoic.
    • "Nuuskamuikkunen, pitäisikö minun jakaa animea?"^ExplanationTranslation: "Snufkin, should I share anime?" A pun on how the word jaa in Finnish is also the imperative form of the verb jakaa (to share). Similar puns exist depending on the subculture.
• Sniff
  • Sniff throwing a grenade. ^ExplanationIn the Comet in Moominland movie, Sniff throws a gemstone at a monster attacking him. In the Finnish dub, he says "Heitin granaatin!" ("I threw a garnet!") right afterwards, which is often misheard as "Heitin kranaatin!" ("I threw a grenade!"), which has resulted in multiple edits where he actually throws a grenade.
• The Witch
  • I am a witch with 3 diplomas! ^Explaination A line said by the Witch in the 90s anime. It became a meme because she just seemingly says it out of nowhere.
• Joxter
  • Feral Cat Joxter. ^ExplanationWhen the Moomins gained internet popularity in the late 2010s due to Moominvalley coming out, Snufkin's father, the Joxter, went from an obscure character usually just treated like an older version of Snufkin by fans to an Ensemble Dark Horse. Due to a line in Moominpappa's Memoirs saying that he "stretches like a cat", some fans take this and give him more catlike features in fanart, which has lead to fanart and memes of other characters, including his wife and son, treating him like an actual cat.
  • No Joxter?^ExplanationEverytime a new season of Moominvalley comes out, fans will jokingly say that this season will be the one where they bring back Joxter. So far, none of them have been, but when season 4 is released in 2024, hopefully he will come back.
• Mr Hemulen
  • Mr Hemulen moaning^ExplanationIn episode 3 of the 90s anime, when Mr Hemulen is surrounded by the Hattifatteners, he shakes the post he’s clinging to in order to scare them away. If you look away from the screen, it sort of sounds like he’s moaning.

General Character Memes

• How do Moomins poop? ^ExplanationFor some reason, Finnish fans tend to wonder if the Moomins poop, possibly because many versions of the Moominhouse don't have a toilet. (The lesser-known book An Unwanted Guest has a line that implies they have an outhouse.) Some even joke that they don't, which is why they're so fat.
• Everyone on Moominvalley is a criminal. ^Explanation Similarly to the way Snufkin's crimes are a popular meme, Moominpappa and Moomintroll are also portrayed as memetic criminals, due to the former evading taxes and making illegal moonshine among other things in the comic strip, and the latter trying to straight-up murder people in the same comics and Moomins on the Riviera. Then there's Little My, who has talked about murdering people, has a tendency to bite, and poisons a bunch of ants in Moominpappa at the Sea (almost all animals shown in the books are sentient, so they could have been too). Thingumy and Bob stole the King's Ruby, and of course there's Stinky. Because of all this, some fans like to potray the entire cast as criminals of some sort.
  • Be gay, do crime. ^ExplanationA phrase that was already memetic in the LGBT community, is often associated with the Moomin fandom due to the aforementioned memetic criminal cast and the series' LGBT Fanbase.
  • Snufkin, I have to confess to you that the police are after me. Not murder this time, just a bit of counterfeiting and smuggling. ^ExplanationIn the comic strip, when Moominpappa meets Snufkin for the first time, he's impressed by his nomadic lifestyle and tries to impress him by admitting he's a criminal. Since it's never explicitly confirmed that he's lying, along with the panels being spread online without context, it's became a part of the "criminal moomins" joke.
• Pulling a Joxter/Pulling a Snufkin^ExplanationThe fandom will often use these phrases when talking about leaving somewhere or running away, due to Joxter abandoning his son, and Snufkin leaving The valley every winter.

General Memes

• EVERYONE in the Nordics and Poland is afraid of the Groke, no exceptions (akin to Britain's time-honoured tradition of "hiding behind the sofa whenever the Daleks appear" on Doctor Who). The show was immensely popular, and everyone of the generation that watched the '90s animated series remembers that freaking creature. It was one of the only times in Scandinavia that a show was pulled off the air (for a time) because parents called and complained about it being too scary. That almost never happens there.
• This exchange from Moomin and Family Life has become a popular reaction image:
  Moominpappa: Tell us all that's happening out in the world!
  Snufkin: Fuss and misery...
• "Not a single ship since Michaelmas" ^note  A line from the Finnish dub of the 90s anime. Spoken by Snufkin as he quotes a scribble written on a wall by a disappeared Lighthouse keeper. The quote is then followed by the Moomins and Little My looking at each other bewildered which is considered by fans to be funny despite the scene otherwise being rather somber.
• This is water. ^ExplanationIn the Finnish dub of the 90s anime, one reseacher says "This is water." while putting a device in a stream, and another answers "Yes, apparently it is." This exhange became a meme due to how hilariously Captain Obvious it is. (In the English dub, they simply say "Water." and "Yes, of course it's water.")
• Gandalf the Gay^ExplanationA YouTube channel which has become well-known due to appearing in the comments of seemingly every Moomins-related video on the site, to the point of becoming an urban legend in the fandom, and a memetic icon.
• The overabundance of memes made out of this franchise is a meme in itself. As one commenter on a YouTube Poop of an episode of the 90s anime put it:
  ”I refuse to believe such a cute tv show has this kind of fandom”
• Moomin fandom reviving itself^ExplanationThe fandom tends to not have a lot of activity if it’s been a while since new content was released, (particularly during the wait for Moominvalley season 3, as it took longer) only to suddenly come back when it is.
• Everybody gangsta until the snufmin hate posts start appearing ^ExplanationA user by the name of frostierwinters has become infamous for their dislike of the ship Snufmin (Moomintroll x Snufkin), which wouldn’t be a problem were it not for them using other creators’ content related to the ship without their permission in their posts complaining about it. It’s become an in-joke that you aren’t a true fan until you’ve been targeted by them.