Hello Kitty: Difference between revisions
Helloookitty (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
|||
| Line 7: | Line 7: | ||
In 1974, [[Sanrio]] Co. Ltd. of Tokyo, introduced a Hello Kitty franchise. The first Hello Kitty item was a vinyl coin purse sold in Tokyo, according to Sanrio Inc.'s U.S. marketing director Bill Hensley. In 1976, the franchise was introduced into the U.S. The Hello Kitty line has developed under licensing arrangements worth more than $1 billion a year in sales.<ref>{{cite book|last=Segers|first=Rien T. |title=A New Japan for the Twenty-First Century|publisher=Routledge|date=2008|pages=127|isbn=9780415453110|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=03SAVAaiwn4C&pg=PA127&dq=sanrio+%22hello+kitty%22+sales+billion&lr=&client=firefox-a&sig=ACfU3U1EB9MVsmtjEFnpnL6n3XlHtxHm0w}}</ref> Examples of products depicting the character include dolls, stickers and greeting cards to clothes, accessories, school supplies, dishes and home appliances.<ref name="Sanrio's Hula Kitty |
In 1974, [[Sanrio]] Co. Ltd. of Tokyo, introduced a Hello Kitty franchise. The first Hello Kitty item was a vinyl coin purse sold in Tokyo, according to Sanrio Inc.'s U.S. marketing director Bill Hensley. In 1976, the franchise was introduced into the U.S. The Hello Kitty line has developed under licensing arrangements worth more than $1 billion a year in sales.<ref>{{cite book|last=Segers|first=Rien T. |title=A New Japan for the Twenty-First Century|publisher=Routledge|date=2008|pages=127|isbn=9780415453110|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=03SAVAaiwn4C&pg=PA127&dq=sanrio+%22hello+kitty%22+sales+billion&lr=&client=firefox-a&sig=ACfU3U1EB9MVsmtjEFnpnL6n3XlHtxHm0w}}</ref> Examples of products depicting the character include dolls, stickers and greeting cards to clothes, accessories, school supplies, dishes and home appliances.<ref name="Sanrio's Hula Kitty |
||
heads to the beach" /> [[Sanrio Puroland]] is the official theme park of Sanrio featuring Hello Kitty and her friends. |
heads to the beach" /> [[Sanrio Puroland]] is the official theme park of Sanrio featuring Hello Kitty and her friends. |
||
==Why Hello Kitty Doesn't Have a Mouth== |
|||
The story behind the reason why Hello Kitty doesn't have a mouth is because she does not need a mouth. She is known to speak all the languages of the world. |
|||
==Sanrio character line== |
==Sanrio character line== |
||
{{Main article|List of Sanrio characters}} |
{{Main article|List of Sanrio characters}} |
||
Revision as of 19:58, 19 November 2008
 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
No issues specified. Please specify issues, or remove this template. |
Hello Kitty (ハローキティ, Harō Kiti), full name Kitty White (キティ・ホワイト, Kiti Howaito),[1] is the best-known of many simply drawn fictional characters produced by the Japanese company Sanrio. Hello Kitty is a friendly white kitty with the head larger than her body, small button eyes and nose, but no mouth. She is said to be five apples tall and the weight of three apples.[2]
In 1974, Sanrio Co. Ltd. of Tokyo, introduced a Hello Kitty franchise. The first Hello Kitty item was a vinyl coin purse sold in Tokyo, according to Sanrio Inc.'s U.S. marketing director Bill Hensley. In 1976, the franchise was introduced into the U.S. The Hello Kitty line has developed under licensing arrangements worth more than $1 billion a year in sales.[3] Examples of products depicting the character include dolls, stickers and greeting cards to clothes, accessories, school supplies, dishes and home appliances.[2] Sanrio Puroland is the official theme park of Sanrio featuring Hello Kitty and her friends.
Why Hello Kitty Doesn't Have a Mouth
The story behind the reason why Hello Kitty doesn't have a mouth is because she does not need a mouth. She is known to speak all the languages of the world.
Sanrio character line
Hello Kitty's fictional world includes friends and family members. Hello Kitty is also friends with other famous Sanrio characters, such as Cinnamoroll, Chococat, Badtz Maru. Since 2004 she has had a pet cat called Charmmy Kitty and a pet hamster called Sugar. Charmmy resembles Hello Kitty but has more cat-like features. Charmmy Kitty was given to Hello Kitty by her papa, George White, Mama, Mary White, her twin sister, Mimmy, and her grandparents, Anthony and Margret White.
In media
Television series
 |
| Hello Kitty | |
| Genre | Children |
|---|---|
| Anime | |
| Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theatre | |
| Studio |  DiC Entertainment |
| Released | 1986 – 1986 |
| Anime | |
| Hello Kitty and Friends | |
| Studio |  Madhouse |
| Released | 1991 – ? |
| Anime | |
| Hello Kitty's Paradise | |
| Studio | Toei Animation |
| Released | 1993 – 1994 |
Several Hello Kitty animated series targeted towards young children have been produced. In the animated films made by Sanrio from 1977 to 1985, Hello Kitty has made cameo appearances in them (similar to Disney's hidden Mickey techniques).
The earliest Hello Kitty animated series known was the American-animated (co-produced with Japan) Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theatre, which aired throughout 1986. This show, produced by Sanrio in cooperation with the now-defunct DiC Entertainment, parodies famous fairy tales and blockbuster movies from the period. It was broadcast in the United States on The Family Channel, and a Spanish-dubbed version also aired Saturday mornings on Univision.
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 Mimi, 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, which was co-produced with Toei Animation, was released in English in 2000. Like "Hello Kitty and Friends", it also aired on Toon Disney.
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 will appear in a new Japanese clay-animated series called Hello Kitty's Stump Village from Sanrio. At Anime Expo 2006, Geneon 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. Hello Kitty appeared for the first time in a full 3D animation Adventures of Hello Kitty & Friends developed by Sanrio's digital entertainment entity Sanrio Digital.
Video games
Hello Kitty Online is an uncoming Sanrio theme online MMORPG developed by Sanrio Digital and Typhoon Games. Currently in beta testing, 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. Among the first to play the game have been hard-core World of Warcraft gamers.[4]
Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams is a Nintendo DS 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 as well as making new friends.[5]
Products
Hello Kitty now has her own branded album with a collection of other artists. The album is only available at Walmart and iTunes. [6] She was also named, in May of 2008, Japan Tourism Ambassador, representing the country in China and Hong Kong. [7]
Reception
UNICEF awarded Hello Kitty the exclusive title of UNICEF Special Friend of Children.[8][9]
The brand rose to greater prominence during the late 1990s when several celebrities such as Mariah Carey adopted Hello Kitty as a fashion statement.[10] New products featuring the character can be found in many American department stores and Hello Kitty was once featured in an advertising campaign of the retail chain Target.
Since 2004 the little cat is 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.[11]
In 2008, Japan named Hello Kitty the ambassador of Japanese tourism in China and Hong Kong.[12]
Cultural references
As of August 2007, Thai police officers who have committed minor transgressions such as showing up late or parking in the wrong place will be forced to wear Hello Kitty armbands for several days as penance.[13]
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.
- ^ a b Paschal (2003-05-18). "Sanrio's Hula Kitty heads to the beach". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
- ^ Segers, Rien T. (2008). A New Japan for the Twenty-First Century. Routledge. p. 127. ISBN 9780415453110.
- ^ World of Warcraft invades Hello Kitty Online
- ^ http://uk.ds.ign.com/objects/142/14250212.html
- ^ [1][2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ "UNICEF Special Friend of Children". Sanrio. March 23rd, 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "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
External links
