Credit: Dangerous Minds / Per Olov Jansson

In a children’s television ecosystem dominated by Bluey, it can be tempting to say that the kids have never had it better than they do right now. There’s definitely an argument to be made for that, but the truth is that, for those willing to experiment with kids’ media from a different time, we’ve had The Moomins since 1945.

The soft, gentle citizens of Moominvalley have been icons of children’s media and of their native Finland for 80 years now. Telling stories that don’t just emphasise the importance of kindness, understanding and empathy, but in a more general manner, how to exist as part of a tight-knit community. How to stand your ground against people you love and respect, but also when to apologise and listen to others. Unlike other kids’ franchises, we can identify the core messaging of at least the original Moomins stories, as the majority of them were written by the same author.

The Moomins were the life’s work of their creator, writer and illustrator Tove Jansson. The stories and messages were tied to her upbringing so closely that individual characters were directly inspired by her family and friends. However, by the mid-1950s, she ran into the same brick wall that all creators of long-running franchises run into. The Moomins had been running for a decade and were a phenomenon all over the world, all running on her creative vision. Thus, she was burnt out. Sick of the characters and desperate to leave it all behind and tell slightly more complex, satisfying stories.

Then she went to a Christmas party in 1955, thrown by the Helsinki Artists’ Guild. As was her way, Jansson was drawn to the record player, trying to take over the music. The issue was that someone had got there ahead of her. Thus, the first conversation between Jansson and Tuulikki Pietilä was about music. The two were utterly drawn to each other from the off, with Janson asking Pietilä to dance but getting turned down due to the scandal that would cause.

After all, homosexuality was extremely illegal in Finland at the time, and over the next few days, Jansson and Pietilä discovered that what they were feeling for each other was very much love.

How did Pietilä inspire Tove Jansson to write a Moomin character?

Many of Jansson’s letters to Pietilä were collected in the book Letters From Tove, so we can see just how taken with each other they were. This was the kind of love that they didn’t just share with each other, but let it spread to every aspect of their lives. Of course, it does Tuulikki Pietilä something of a disservice to boil her down to simply being Jansson’s partner. She was one of Finland’s most celebrated graphic artists, with any Finnish practitioner of lithography, woodcutting and metal engraving owing her a debt.

Yet, outside of her home country, her most well-known work came from rejuvenating Jansson’s love of writing The Moomins. After discussing her feelings with Pietilä and ruminating on everything they’d discussed, she began work on Moominland Midwinter – in a particularly lovely letter to Pietilä, she finishes up with a drawing of a character that anyone familiar with The Moomins would be well familiar with. Saying that this was “a new little creature that isn’t quite sure if it’s allowed to come in!”

This “new little creature” became a trusted friend for the Moomins. One with a practical, patient and wise demeanour who never lets a friend in need down. One introduced in Moominland Midwinter and would soon become one of the most beloved supporting characters in the whole series. One doesn’t need to know that Jansson often based her characters on the people she cared about most to see who was the inspiration for this one.

In honour of her Tuulikki, she named this character Too-Ticky.