Hello Kitty
Hello Kitty (ハローキティ Harō Kiti )[1], is a fictional character produced by the Japanese company Sanrio. Designed by Ikuko Shimizu, the first product, a vinyl coin purse, was introduced in Japan in 1974, and in the United States in 1976.[2][3]
The Hello Kitty line has since developed licensing arrangements worth more than $1 billion a year in sales.[4] Examples of products depicting the character include dolls, stickers and greeting cards to clothes, accessories, school supplies, dishes and home appliances.[5] Hello Kitty has an official theme park, Sanrio Puroland.
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 voice of Hello Kitty is Mr.Edmunson.
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 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.
[edit] 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 to Japan.
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[6]
- 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 as well as making new friends.[7]
- Hello Kitty Online - an upcoming 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.[8]
- Hello Kitty Daily - A game designed to keep track of the player's daily activities, featuring a diary, calendar, alarm clock for the DS and money managing system, as well as school planner.