Sniff (Moomin)

Description

Sniff is Moomintroll's friend and later adopted brother. He is the son of the Muddler and the Fuzzy. He is one of the few characters in the Moomin series who is sincerely interested in money and is always on the lookout for another way to get rich quick. This trait in him is often played as a contrast to Snufkin, who doesn't care much about worldly belongings, and their two different philosophies sometimes clash although Snufkin is generally portrayed as the wiser of the two. Physically, he somewhat resembles a kangaroo or bandicoot. Sniff is not a Moomin, but he lives in the Moominhouse just like Little My. Although he’s eager to join in with whatever the Moomins are up to, his timidity means that he won’t do anything dangerous. He’s very good-natured and sometimes a little cowardly. Sniff loves all valuable things and gets excited whenever he encounters some. Shiny, sparkly objects in particular fascinate him. Sniff makes many plans to get rich, even though they usually don’t succeed. Owning things is, however, very important to him – and he’s something of a gourmet, too. Many of the Moominvalley residents couldn’t live without the sea, but Sniff is terrified of water and doesn’t even dare to go on the jetty. Sniff loves to investigate new things with others, but he soon gets tired and is always the first in the group to quit. Sniff is selfish, lazy and easily bored, and so can’t be bothered to stick at anything for very long. It was chance that brought Sniff to the Moominhouse: his parents, The Muddler and Fuzzy, lost him when he was little, and the Moomins found him while they were searching for Moominpappa, who had gone missing. The Moomins then took Sniff in to live with them. You can recognise Sniff by his large, pointy ears and long tail. He first joins the Moomins on their adventures in the book The Moomins and the Great Flood. Particularly in the earlier books, Sniff seems to be younger than the other major characters, and many of his negative qualities can be said to be those of a thoughtless child; he is selfish, greedy and quick to push all responsibility over on other people, but he is not malicious or mean-spirited. He's also easily frightened or upset, and not very fond of taking risks, although he will often overcome his fears if there's a chance of treasure or wealth. Sniff is one of the first characters introduced in the series; in fact, he is the first person Moomintroll and Moominmamma encounter on their journey in The Moomins and the Great Flood, although he has not yet been given an actual name and is referred throughout the story simply as "the little creature." In the following book, Comet in Moominland, he gets his proper name and goes on to play a major role in both that book and in Finn Family Moomintroll, and he also plays a more minor role in The Exploits of Moominpappa wherein he together with Snufkin and Moomintroll listen to Moominpappa read from his memoirs, and at the end of the book finally meets his own parents for the first time in the series. After this, possibly due to the lack of potential for character development or because he goes on to live with his parents, Sniff fades into the background and becomes a very minor character. His last appearance in the regular books is in Tales from Moominvalley, although he gets a fairly large role in the picture-book The Dangerous Journey, and has a minor speaking role in An Unwanted Guest. Tove Jansson seems to have been unsure what to call Sniff when she first created him, as he is only called "the small creature" in the first book. In Comet in Moominland, he is named Sniff, but in the comic adaption of that story written for Ny Tid the same year, he is called "Rådd-djuret", the Swedish name for The Muddler. However, Jansson eventually settled on Sniff. Sniff also appears in other Moomin-related media, usually as a semi-major character. His Japanese voice actor, Ryusei Nakao is also the voice of Baikinman in Soreike! Anpanman, Frieza in Dragonball Z, Ickis in the Japanese version of Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Cranky Kong in the Japanese dub of Donkey Kong Country, Drake Mallard in the Japanese dub of Darkwing Duck, Bartok in the Japanese dub of Anastasia, Ling in the Japanese dub of Walt Disney's Mulan, among others.