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Japan's Moomin Theme Park Reveals Attractions' Voice Cast
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
The long in development Moomin theme park will officially open its doors on March 16 in Hannō, Saitama. Ahead of the grand opening, staff announced the voices for its attractions in a press release on Wednesday.
The park's attractions are based on the original Moomin story by Tove Jansson. Several attractions include voice over and that's where Haruka Tomatsu, Kana Hanazawa, and the rest of the cast come in to play.
The recently wed Tomatsu will voice Moomintroll, the protagonist from the children's book series. Tomatsu is familiar with the character and grew up with them as a child. She auditioned for the role and said that she was delighted when she found out she got the part. Hanazawa will voice Moomintroll's playmate and friend, the flirtatious Snorkmaiden.
Additional cast includes:
- Yasuhiro Kikuchi as Moominpappa
- Kaoru Katakai as Moominmamma
- Aki Toyosaki as Little My
- Takahiro Sakurai as Snufkin
- Jun Fukuyama as Sniff
Moomin Valley Park will have three different areas. The park will be home to replicas of the three-story Moomin family home, the lighthouse and bathing hut. A three-story exhibition space "KOKEMUS" will retell Jansson's life and Moomin for visitors and include a two-floor diorama of Moomin Valley measuring about eight meters high.
The Lonely Mountains Area (Osabishiyama) is home to an athletic playground full of suspension bridges, climbing ropes, a tree house, slides, and a merry-go-round. There's also a 400m round trip zipline with stunning views of Lake Miyazawa. Other attractions include the Sea Orchestra show that Moominpapa and his friends witnessed in the books and a live entertainment stage.
Moomin began in 1945 as a series of children's books written in Swedish by Finnish author Tove Jansson, but has expanded over the decades into comics, films, animated TV series, and a theme park in Naantali, Finland. Its cute main characters, the Moomins, have gained the franchise a sizable fanbase in Japan, and many of the animated series were produced in Japan.
