The Spring Tune

Overview
The episode "The Spring Tune" is the second episode in the first season and the second one overall. It is based on chapter 1 of the book Tales from Moominvalley.

Episode Description
Sky: Snufkin's return journey to Moominvalley is disrupted by an overly friendly forest creature. Is it time to hurry back and see his friend Moomintroll?

YLE: Snufkin's return journey to Moominvalley is disrupted by an overly friendly forest creature he just can't shake off. Is it time to hurry back and see his friend Moomintroll, or can he finish composing his new song first?

Episode Summary
The episode begins with Moominmamma preparing a sandwich for Moomintroll, which she puts in a paper bag and also gives him an apple and an umbrella. He rushes past Moominpappa, bumping into him and apologizing. A confused Moominpappa is told that it's the first day of spring. Moomintroll crosses the bridge in front of his house to sit on a log at the head of the path leading into the woods to wait for someone.

The episode cuts to another perspective and a drop of melted snow falls into the river, which someone hops over. A small creature sniffs and takes in the new spring air, retreating into his burrow as the person walks by, though peeks back out after he passes, a smile growing on his face. After a bit of walking, the person, who is wearing an old green hat and smock with a backpack, stops and takes in the sounds of the forest. He feels a musical rhythm and taps his foot, taking out a mouth-organ and beginning to play it, though stops and says he can't compose while being watched, much to the displeasure of the small creature.

The person in the old green hat walks into a clearing, seeing Moomintroll who greets him and reveals his name, Snufkin. Snufkin sits on a rock next to him and tells him about how he isn't ready to return to Moominvalley just yet since he's having trouble composing his new spring tune and also that he himself isn't ready to return, which Moomintroll understands. The small creature peers into the clearing and looks shocked upon seeing that Snufkin is not actually talking to Moomintroll, but a similarly shaped pile of snow. Snufkin tells the pile of snow that he needs to be alone with his tune for now and leaves with a smile.

Then the perspective is switched back to that of Moomintroll's, who is still waiting for Snufkin. Every little sound makes him think that Snufkin is about to arrive and Snorkmaiden approaches Moomintroll from behind with a small bouquet of snowdrops, greeting him. He greets her back and gives Snorkmaiden a small compliment on how her beauty sleep worked like a charm. Snorkmaiden begins to talk about how the snowdrops symbolize hope and the return of loved ones, though Moomintroll is distracted, listening for Snufkin. Realizing that Moomintroll isn't listening, Snorkmaiden attemps to pry him out of his thoughts. He apologizes and calls her Snufkin by mistake, though is horrified when he realizes he did. Hurt, Snorkmaiden mentions how that in the spring, there's no time for her and only for Snufkin. Moomintroll apologizes once more to her, but then begins talking about how nice it will be to see Snufkin again. Snorkmaiden jerks him out of his thoughts, once again prompting him to say sorry and that until Snufkin comes back, she's his whole world. However, a twig cracks and Moomintroll thinks it's Snufkin. Snorkmaiden gets very angry at him and hits him with her bouquet of snowdrops.

She stomps off angrily as a lanky, brown, kangaroo-like character runs up to Moomintroll with his arms full of snowballs, calling for him. Snorkmaiden tells him that unless his name is Snufkin, he's wasting his time. He is confused for a brief moment but catches up to an exasperated Moomintroll, revealing his name is Sniff and asking what he wants. Sniff reveals his plan to sell snowballs now that the snow is melting because they'll be in high demand. As he builds his stand, Moomintroll tells him that he's busy waiting for someone, to which Sniff replies that they can be his first customer. As soon as the two have finished stocking up the snowballs, Moomintroll goes back to waiting and a Hemulen approaches, asking for two dozen snowballs, though, by now, they have all melted.

Snufkin, now on a path through the forest, nears the river and begins to hum his spring tune, the small creature still watching him. He makes the mistake of cracking a twig and Snufkin is snapped out of his thoughts, looking back suspiciously for a moment before continuing on. The creature isn't spotted thanks to hiding behind a tree trunk.

As dusk approaches, Moomintroll dejectedly walks back to his house, pausing only for a moment to see Little My spinning Muskrat around on a hammock. He enters the home, looking sad and going to his room, leaving a very concerned Moominmamma. Moomintroll returns to his room, opening his window to look out into the forest and wonder where Snufkin is.

Meanwhile, Snufkin has pitched his tent in the woods and is making dinner for himself by the fire. He finishes and as he's washing the bowl, he spots the small creature and looks at him through narrowed eyes, though goes back to enjoy his fire, a scowl still on his face. He tries to work on his tune, but feels the small creature watching him and gets up angrily, telling him to shoo. Instead of moving away, the creature crosses a stream to get closer to Snufkin, saying that he knows who he is. He reaches Snufkin and says hello and that he's happy to meet him. Snufkin does not feel the same.

Back in Moomintroll's perspective, he lowers a rope ladder from his window and goes to the bridge to wait for Snufkin once more.

Snufkin has shared his soup with the small creature, who turns out to be quite talkative and is vocal about idolizing Snufkin, who still isn't enjoying their encounter and is keeping to himself without talking. The creature goes on about how he'll be the creep who sat by Snufkin's campfire and that he knows all about Snufkin from his Toffle, hedgehogs, and his mother. He reaches at Snufkin's backpack, asking if that's where he keeps his mouth-organ, and Snufkin wordlessly picks it up and moves it to the other side. The creature goes on about how Snufkin can play his mouth-organ whenever he's ready and that he can't play very well at all. Snufkin, still upset, tells the creature that he can't just play out of nowhere and that he wouldn't understand, leading the creature to sniffle sadly. Noticing this, Snufkin asks the creature his name, though the creature responds that he doesn't have one and that Snufkin should give him one. He goes on to talk about how nobody has ever asked him his name before and now he meets his idol, Snufkin, and about how the first thing Snufkin asks him is what his name is. He also talks about how Snufkin knows everything and has seen everything and that he wants to become as free as him, though Snufkin backs away and tells him that he can't be free if he admires someone too much, which Snufkin knows all too well. The creature says how wise the thing Snufkin just said was and presses him on whether he's going to Moominvalley or not, to which Snufkin says he'll go when it suits him or maybe not at all. The small creature points out that Moomintroll will be sad and Snufkin stomps off to his tent, yelling that he wants to be left alone. The creature, now sad, says goodnight to him and Snufkin says goodbye. Just as the creature begins to leave, Snufkin suggests Teety-woo for a name, which the creature readily takes. Teety-woo howls out his new name and Snufkin exits the tent, saying that he could play a song now, though Teety-woo has already left.

Now deep into the night, Moomintroll fell asleep on the bridge and falls into the river, hauling himself out miserably and telling himself that Snufkin isn't coming. He starts to go to his house, but stops, saying that he will come. Moomintroll, now wide awake, sits on his bridge once more to wait.

Snufkin has left his tent to look for Teety-woo, and uses the wish of a new moon to find Teety-woo, though it doesn't work. He goes back to his tent, wrapped in his blanket by the dying fire, talking about how he must be ill since he feels so alone. He goes to bed but a clump of snow falls from one of the trees and on to him, waking him up. He sets off to Moominvalley, though gets snagged on plants and ends up dropping his mouth-organ, which an owl takes away. He hesitates before running to Moominhouse, calling to Moomintroll from beneath his window. When he gets no response, he climbs up the ladder and looks into his room to see Moomintroll playing with Teety-woo. The shock of this makes Snufkin fall backwards off of the ladder, though he wakes up, as the whole sequence was a dream.

He wakes up with a start and Teety-woo has brought him some breakfast, which is a worm on some bark. Snufkin asks Teety-woo if he's ever been to Moominvalley, to which Teety-woo responds that he hasn't and that he's a very busy person nowadays. He greets his neighbors as he walks towards his new house to show Snufkin, and Snukin congratulates him. He asks him what he'll do now and he responds that he'll be going to Moominvalley now to see Moomintroll and that he really wants to see him. Snufkin offers a tune before he leaves but Teety-woo declines, and Snufkin says everyone needs some time to themself. Snufkin leaves, happy, on his way to Moominvalley and takes out his mouth-organ so he can play his spring tune as he walks toward Moominvalley.

Trivia & Mistakes

 * The episode adheres to the source material more than it does in the 90s adaptation.
 * As Snufkin ducks under a branch, his hat clips through it.
 * The episode is meant to show that this series will be "different" and that the audience will have to be patient to watch the story unfold.
 * With this episode, director and animator Steve Box decided that he wants more physical contact between the characters.
 * When Snufkin hallucinates Moomintroll, he is holding a bouquet of the same flowers Snorkmaiden is.