Gutsy Animations Secures €5 Million Investment from Rovio

Gutsy Animations, which is behind the Moominvalley 3D animated series, has secured a €5 million ($5.95 million) investment from Rovio Entertainment, creator of the Angry Birds franchise.

Rovio has secured exclusive rights from Moomin Characters and Rights & Brands, the global licensing agency for the Moomin brand, to develop and publish Moomin IP-based games for any platform and exclusive rights for all mobile platforms. Rovio’s first Moomin game, based on the original story and world created by Tove Jansson and inspired by the Moominvalley visuals, is already being developed and is expected to reach a soft launch later in 2021.

Alex Pelletier-Normand, CEO of Rovio, said: “Gutsy Animations did an astonishing job at bringing to life the rich stories and alluring atmosphere of the Moominvalley. We are honored and excited to enter this partnership with Moomin Characters and Gutsy Animations. Working with Gutsy and Moomin will give us the opportunity to present this iconic brand to new audiences across the globe at the same time as we surely will delight our existing fans. This partnership will diversify our IP portfolio, which is a key step in our consistent growth strategy. We are already working on a mobile game that is still in early phase of the development, and we expect it to reach soft launch later this year.”

Roleff Kråkström, managing director of Moomin Characters, said: “Moomin Characters looks to expand their digital footprint and offering, it’s fantastic to join forces with Rovio Entertainment, who bring a wealth of expertise and success in this space. We’re confident this partnership will open up new opportunities not only to the Moomin trademark but also to the additional Nordic story. This partnership marks an important milestone in our strategy to take local Nordic creations to the international marketplace.’’

Marika Makaroff, founder and CCO of Gutsy Animations, added: “I’m thrilled to have Rovio joining us and bolstering our efforts to create meaningful international content that leans into Nordic values. This investment shows growth does not always need to come from far afield and is an incredible display of confidence in Gutsy Animations’ ability to create high-quality, distinctive content for the global market. Additionally, by forging a collaboration between three Finnish companies, this partnership shows a high level of trust in Finnish know-how, as well as serving to highlight the power of storytelling through shared values. Through this investment, we’ll have a valuable opportunity to continue writing Finnish success stories that span the worlds of both entertainment and culture, and which follow in the footsteps of our celebrated, Emmy Award-nominated adaptation of the original Moomin stories, Moominvalley.”