Hello Kitty
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| Hello Kitty | |
|---|---|
| File:Hello Kitty Appearance.JPG Hello Kitty at a Sanrio Store appearance | |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Cat |
| Gender | Female |
Hello Kitty (ハローキティ, Harō Kiti)[1], is a fictional character produced by the Japanese company Sanrio, first designed by Ikuko Shimizu.[2] Her first appearance on an item, a vinyl coin purse, was introduced in Japan in 1974 and brought to the United States in 1976.[3][4]
The character is portrayed as a female white cat with a red bow and no drawn mouth. She lives in London, England with her parents and twin sister, Mimmy.
The Hello Kitty line has since developed licensing arrangements worth more than $1 billion a year in sales.[5] Examples of products depicting the character include dolls, stickers, greeting cards, clothes, accessories, school supplies, dishes and home appliances.[6] Hello Kitty has an official theme park, Sanrio Puroland, which opened in 1990.
In media
Television series
 |
| Hello Kitty | |
 Hello Kitty in a kimono from Hello Kitty Animation Theater vol.1 | |
| ハローキティ (Harō Kiti) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Kodomo manga |
| Anime | |
| Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater | |
| Studio |  DIC Entertainment Madhouse |
| Released | 1987 – present |
| Anime | |
| Hello Kitty and Friends | |
| Studio | Madhouse |
| Released | 1991 – 1992 |
| Anime | |
| Hello Kitty's Paradise | |
| Studio | Madhouse |
| Released | 1993 – 1994 |
The Japanese anime series Hello Kitty and Friends aired on TV Tokyo in Japan, and CBS in the United States in 1991. It also ran in reruns on Toon Disney. On the show, Kitty is a little girl living with her mother, father, and twin sister Mimmy, who is identical to Kitty but has different colored clothes and wears her bow under the opposite ear. 13 episodes were produced, using animation produced as early as 1991.
On Japanese television, Hello Kitty (and her pals) have starred in an anime series. Hello Kitty's Paradise ran for 16 episodes between 1993 and 1994. This version was released in English in 2000, and like "Hello Kitty and Friends". Hello Kitty and friends also appeared in Hello Kitty's Animation Theatre, which had Hello Kitty and other Sanrio characters appearing in their versions of different fairy tales. Available in the U.S. from ADV Films (who also own the video/DVD rights to Hello Kitty and Friends & Hello Kitty's Paradise)
Hello Kitty appeared in a new Japanese clay-animated series called Hello Kitty's Stump Village in 2005. At Anime Expo 2006, Geneon Universal Entertainment announced that Hello Kitty's Stump Village was one of the series it licensed for U.S. release. Volume 1 was released in October, and Volume 2 was released in January and in 2008. After Geneon withdrew from the US market at the end of 2007, it was later re-licensed by Funimation Entertainment, who will continue to release it in North America. Hello Kitty appeared for the first time in a full 3D animation The Adventures of Hello Kitty & Friends developed by Sanrio's digital entertainment entity Sanrio Digital.
By 1996, Hello Kitty had already grossed over 20 million dollars throughout Japan. As time progressed, many more Japanese artists exploited this arsenal of business by creating a second type of Hello Kitty featured in Clay. This version was released in English in 2000, and like many episodes in "Hello Kitty and Friends". Hello Kitty and friends also appeared in Hello Kitty's Animation Theatre, which had Hello Kitty buying other Sanrio characters appearing in their versions of different fairy tales. Over all, the Hello Kitty franchise has influenced many individuals to make similar productions.
Video games
Numerous Hello Kitty games have been produced since the release of the first title for NES in 1992; however, the majority of these games haven't seen a release outside of Japan. Hello Kitty also has made cameo appearances in games featuring other Sanrio characters, such as the Keroppi game, Kero Kero Keroppi no Bōken Nikki: Nemureru Mori no Keroleen. Special edition consoles such as the Hello Kitty Dreamcast, Hello Kitty Game Boy Pocket, and Hello Kitty Crystal Edition Xbox have also been released exclusively in Japan. Hello Kitty is a very popular figure all around the world nowadays. It is highly recognisable and is featured everywhere. Its friends and it are a huge part of the toy industry selling many different articles such as clothing, toys, stationary etc.
Examples of Hello Kitty games include:
- Hello Kitty no Hanabatake (1992, NES) - a platformer
- Hello Kitty World (1992, Famicom) - a Balloon Fight clone
- Hello Kitty's Big Fun Piano (1994, PC) - a piano simulation[7]
- Hello Kitty's Cube Frenzy (1998, Game Boy Color) - a life simulation/minigame collection
- DDR Hello Kitty (1999, Bemani Pocket) - a handheld Hello Kitty game in the Dance Dance Revolution series
- The Hello Kitty Simple 1500 series (PlayStation) - a series of specifically low-priced games
- Hello Kitty: Happy Party Pals (2005, Game Boy Advance) - an action/adventure game
- Hello Kitty: Roller Rescue (2005, Xbox, GameCube, PlayStation 2) - an action/adventure game
- Mainichi Suteki! Hello Kitty no Life Kit (2007, Nintendo DS) - a puzzle game
- The Hello Kitty Simple 2000 series (2007, PlayStation 2) - a series of specifically low-priced games
- Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams (2008, Nintendo DS) - an adventure game published by Empire Interactive developed by Sanrio Digital. In the game, Hello Kitty moves to the Big City where she meets other Sanrio characters and makes new friends.[8]
- Hello Kitty Daily (2008, Nintendo DS) - a PDA application featuring a diary, calendar, alarm clock, money managing system and school planner
- Hello Kitty Online (2009, PC) - an online MMORPG developed by Sanrio Digital and Typhoon Games. The game allows players to create and customize characters, then use them to battle monsters, socialize with one another, mine for ore, do domestic chores like farming or cooking, and participate in quests.
- Hello Kitty Parachute Paradise (2009, iPhone/iPod Touch) - an iPhone game with tilt-based controls[9]
Products
Hello Kitty can be found on a variety of consumer products ranging from school supplies to fashion accessories. In Japan, Hello Kitty products is the theme of local tourist attractions.
Hello Kitty has her own branded album, Hello World, featuring Hello Kitty-inspired songs performed by a collection of artists, including Keke Palmer and Cori Yarckin. Sanrio and Fender released a series of Hello Kitty guitars (the Hello Kitty Stratocaster), and even a jet airplane (the Hello Kitty Jet).
In Asia, they released limited-edition Hello Kitty credit cards.[not specific enough to verify] As of 2010, Bank of America offers Hello Kitty-themed checking accounts, where the account holder can get cheques and a Visa debit card with Kitty's face on it.[10]
In 2008 Hello Kitty collaboration with Tokidoki.
In 2009, Make-up Art Cosmetics (MAC) approached Sanrio to produce a limited-edition Hello Kitty makeup collection, which has now become an expensive collector's item.[citation needed]
Establishments
There is a themed restaurant named Hello Kitty Sweets in Taipei, Taiwan. The restaurant's decor and many of its dishes are visually patterned after the Hello Kitty character.[11][12]
In 2008, a Hello Kitty-themed maternity hospital opened in Yuanlin, Taiwan. Hello Kitty is featured on the receiving blankets, room decor, bed linens, birth certificate covers, and nurses' uniforms. The hospital's owner explained that he hoped that the theming would help ease the stress of childbirth.[13][14]
Reception
UNICEF awarded Hello Kitty the exclusive title of UNICEF Special Friend of Children.[15][16]
The brand rose to greater prominence during the late 1990s when several celebrities such as Mariah Carey adopted Hello Kitty as a fashion statement.[17] New products featuring the character can be found in many American department stores.
Since 2004, Hello Kitty has been featured on a MasterCard debit card from Legend Credit Inc. The card was released to teach young girls how to shop and use a debit card.[18]
In May 2008, Japan named Hello Kitty the ambassador of Japanese tourism in China and Hong Kong, two places where the character is exceptionally popular among children and young women. This marked the first time Japan's tourism ministry had appointed a fictional character to the role.[19]
Cultural references
In 1999, in Hong Kong, a brutal murder known as the Hello Kitty murder took place. The popular name of the case derives from the fact that the murderer inserted his victim's head into a Hello Kitty doll after decapitating her.
As of August 2007, Thai police officers who have committed minor transgressions such as showing up late or parking in the wrong place are forced to wear Hello Kitty armbands for several days as penance.[20]
On the episode "Stocks" of the television sitcom NewsRadio, Matthew gives Bill a backpack with Hello Kitty on it when he returns from a trip to Japan.
In the Homestar Runner Halloween cartoon "Most in the Graveyard", The King of Town dresses up as Hello Kitty for Halloween.
The video game Hello Kitty: Island Adventure is referenced in the South Park episode "Make Love, Not Warcraft".
During the financial crisis of 2007–2010, a poster of a Hello Kitty pre-paid debit card expanded to roughly 1 meter in length was displayed on the floor of the US Senate by Senator Byron Dorgan as a demonstration of extreme methods used by credit companies to attract "children 10 to 14 years of age". Though not an actual credit card, it was criticized for its promotional website encouraging users to "shop 'til you drop."[21]
References
- ^ "サンリオキャラクターたちの本名、言えますか？" (in Japanese). 2008-07-11. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
- ^ Takagi, Jun (August 21, 2008). "10 Questions for Yuko Yamaguchi". TIME Magazine. Retrieved 2009-10-31.
- ^ Dhamija, Tina (April 1, 2003). "Designing an Icon: Hello Kitty Transcends Generational and Cultural Limits". ToyDirectory. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
- ^ "Hello Kitty celebrates 30". China News Daily. 2005-08-19. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
- ^ Segers, Rien T. (2008). A New Japan for the Twenty-First Century. Routledge. p. 127. ISBN 9780415453110.
- ^ Paschal (2003-05-18). "Sanrio's Hula Kitty heads to the beach". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 1998-08-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Hello Kitty's Big Fun Piano". MobyGames. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
- ^ "Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams". IGN. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
- ^ "Hello Kitty Parachute Paradise". ZIO Interactive.
- ^ ""Bank of America's "My Expression Banking" page with the Hello Kitty theme". Retrieved 2010-21-01.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Catherine Shu (March 27, 2009). "RESTAURANTS : Hello Kitty Sweets". Retrieved 2009-10-17.
- ^ "Hello Kitty Sweets resto in Taipei (Part I)". April 30, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
- ^ "Hello baby! Hello Kitty welcomes Taiwan newborns". Reuters. December 5, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-09.
- ^ "Taiwan hospital a hit with Hello Kitty fans". January 21, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-06.
- ^ "UNICEF Special Friend of Children". Sanrio. March 23, 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
- ^ "Hello Kitty marks 30th birthday". The Japan Times Online. June 10, 2004. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
- ^ Walker, Esther (21 May 2008). "Top cat: how 'Hello Kitty' conquered the world". The Independent. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
- ^ Mayer, Caroline E. (October 3, 2004). "Girls Go From Hello Kitty To Hello Debit Card". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
- ^ "Hello Kitty named Japan tourism ambassador". MSNBC. May 19, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
- ^ BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Thai cops punished by Hello Kitty
- ^ "Credit card reform bill: Bye-bye to Hello Kitty?". Retrieved 2010-05-02.
External links
- Official Hello Kitty website
- Hello Kitty Online
- Sanriotown
- Kittylab Singapore Expo 2009 Hello Kitty 35th Anniversary Project Kitty Lab
- How to Draw Hello Kitty Step by Step Hello Kitty drawing tutorial