A festival in Moscow dedicated to the heroes of the popular Moomin cartoons was canceled after the author’s property was threatened with a lawsuit.
The spring Moomin festival was supposed to take place this week in one of the largest shopping centers in Moscow. But the event was canceled after a Russian distributor of Moomintroll materials said that the rights holders would not renew the license “because of what is happening in the world.”
Moomin Characters, the Finnish company that manages the intellectual property of Moomin creator Tove Jansson, has confirmed that lawyers have been ordered to crack down on the Moscow festival.
“Our legal advisor has canceled a commercial event that was planned and advertised without our consent,” a spokesperson said. I.
The company even went so far as to cut ties with Russia last year without making a public statement.
“Last spring, we asked our trading partners around the world not to approve new Moomin contracts, not to renew contracts and (to terminate) all partnerships in Russia as soon as contracts concluded before Russia’s illegal attack on Ukraine remain in force.” , the speaker said.
The Moomin trolls are one of the most enduring cartoon characters in the world, created by the enigmatic writer Jansson. Her first book with delicate round creatures. Moomin trolls and the flood appeared in 1945.
The series, featuring characters such as Moomintroll, Snorkmaiden and Snufkin, has been translated into dozens of languages and remains popular even more than 20 years after Jansson’s death.
In addition to the comics that made the characters famous, Moomin characters also sell a wide range of merchandise, from overalls to golden kitchen utensils. The company reported sales of €600-700m (£530-615m) in 2016, with Japan accounting for about 50 percent.
Finland has traditionally had a rocky relationship with Russia, with which it shares an 830-mile border, and surrendered to NATO in response to Ukraine’s invasion. Hundreds of Finnish companies severed relations with Russia.
Although the cancellation of the Moscow festival was disappointing, according to Russian media reports, the Moomin theme could be replaced with a theme featuring Cheburashka, an “iconic” Russian character depicting an animal with big ears.