If you don’t know the Moomins yet, you’re about to! I am so excited to share that I’m producing a new animated feature film based on these beloved characters – the first Moomin film ever made in the United States, and one of the most joyful projects I’ve had the chance to bring to life!

Created by Finnish artist and writer Tove Jansson during WWII, the Moomins are gentle trolls who live in Moominvalley, a place where friendship, bravery, and kindness are always around the corner. The books have been published in more than 60 languages and adapted for TV in 120 countries, a genuinely global phenomenon.

Moomin Characters and Annapurna have teamed up with me to bring Jansson’s world to the screen, and the film will be written and directed by Rebecca Sugar, the mind behind Steven Universe and one of the most singular voices in animation working today. Rebecca has a massive, devoted following, and when this project was announced, it made noise! The internet already loves the Moomins – there was a whole New Yorker piece this past year on the joys of “Moomscrolling,” and an exhibition at the Brooklyn Public Library, and pairing that groundswell with Rebecca’s own audience feels like exactly the right match at exactly the right time.

What I love about this one is the same thing I love about every project I choose to spend years of my life on: it’s not just charming, it has real values underneath the charm. The Moomins have always been about kindness, curiosity, and making room for everyone – subversive in the gentlest possible way. That’s a very Rebecca Sugar sensibility too, so I think old fans and brand new ones are both going to be in great hands.

We’re still early in the process – the film is in development and there’s a lot more to come!

Read more from Variety.

– Julia