Papa is hardworking and a very dependable father. He is very caring and loves to read books. He chats on about almost anything, and developed a good sense of humor. Just that sometimes he is a little absent-minded…
Mama is very loving. She has the heart and soul to look after the whole family and to take care of the house. She is always there to help the children, and always busy and occupied. In her spare time, she loves to cook and bake a cake with her daughters. Mama makes the best apple pies.
Grandpa is a wise man, and knows everything well. He loves to paint, and to share his thoughts and feelings by painting them. The neighborhood children love to get around with grandpa as he tells the greatest tales too.
Grandma is a great cook, just like Mama. Her puddings are the best too, no one else makes better pudding than grandma. She loves to make embroidery in her rocking-chair.
Mimi is Hello Kitty’s twin sister. Her personality is a little different compared to his sister, she is a little shy, however, still loving and friendly and has lot of friends just like Hello Kitty. The only difference between Mimi and her sister is that Mimi wears a ribbon on her right ear so the other people an tell Mimi and Kitty apart.
Let me introduce you to Hello Kitty’s close group of friends…
TIPPY
Tippy is a loving and kind-hearted bear. Strong and reliable, always there to help you in times of trouble. Tippy has a crush on Kitty and wants to be her boyfriend.
CATHY
Cathy is not as talkative like some of other Kitty’s friends. She is quiet and gentle, and she always think for the others first before herself, which makes her an unique friend.
JODIE
Jodie is the bookworm out of the whole pack. She is a dog with all the knowledge, and loves to read and study to become smarter. Her dream is to become a researcher one day.
JOEY
Joey is a humorous and a good friend with everyone. His wit and charm has turned him into one of the most popular student at school. He is also a great athlete too, check him out during track and field events.
TIM & TAMMY
The funniest little monkeys at school. They are very friendly and always show you new things to make you laugh. They are like the little entertainers of all.
TINY CHUM
A small cute bear who is always there to keep you companied. Tiny Chum has been a good friend with both Hello Kitty and Mimi for a longtime now, and they are such good friends that Mimi and Kitty treat TinyChum like their younger brother.
RORY
Rory lives in the forest and knows the forest well. Rory loves to climb up trees and jump around from branch to branch. Rory also taught Kitty the secrets of the forest.
TRACY
Tracy loves to joke around with the others, always brings out laughter and joy to the friends around him with his harmless mischief. He is everyone’s good buddy.
MORY
Mory is a small, cute but extremely shy seal who lives in Kitty’s backyard. You find her in his little pond most of the time enjoying a bit of sun baking.
FIFI
Fifi is the most energetic student out of all, she is always running around doing something! She is always busy and occupied and you will be surprised all the things she does and how little rest the takes.
Hello Kitty is a twinkling-eyed cartoonish character which is invented and promoted by a Japanese campany called Sanrio in 1974.
Sanrio is famous for their adorable and cute cartoon characters, which Hello Kitty is one of them along with others such as Keroppi, Melody…etc.
This line of cute little characters soon attracted millions of people around the world, first started in the US then spread very quickly to the Asian countries, then the rest of the world. Hello Kitty is the most successful out of all the Sanrio characters.
Name: Kitty White
Birthday: 1st November 1974
Birth Place: Suburban London, England
Residence: Kitty lives in a ref roof little white house at a suburban town 20km from London. The name of the town is unknown, but the population there is about 20,000. It takes about 25 min to get there by car & 30 min by bus.
Blood Type: A
Weight: Same as 3 apples
Height: Same as 5 apples
Star Sign: Scorpio
Favorite Color: Red
Favorite Food: Apple Pie (Baked by her mama) She also likes hot cakes, puddings & other sweet stuff like candy
Favorite School Subjects: English & Music
Hobbies: She likes small cute things, like herself. She likes collecting little stars, goldfish, lollies and as many ribbons as possible for decorations. She also likes to go to the nearby park with her friends. In her spare time, she’ll visit the candy store. She loves music & piano and her favorite sport is tennis
Personality: Very happy & cheerful, very energetic. She is an outdoor girl, loves to play in the park. She loves to meet new friends therefore she is very popular at school. Since her dad works at New York, she also has lots of teddy bears friends.
Love Life: Kitty likes kind & friendly boys. Her first love is Dear Daniel, but since Dear Daniel had to go to Africa with his parents, the boy that Hello Kitty likes right now is Tippy, her classmate at school.
The past, present and future come together in an exclusive one-on-one interview with legendary Hello Kitty designer, Ms. Yamaguchi Yuko.
Find out what’s in store and more with never-seen-before footage, photos and transcripts from this latest interview.
Satisfy your curiosity with fascinating trivia and learn about the wonderful plans lying ahead for Hello Kitty and her friends.
To view the full interview please visit the sario website.
TRANSCRIPT OF THE INTERVIEW
TG: When you took on the Chief designer post at Sanrio in 1980, did you ever imagine that Hello Kitty would become an international character as it is today? Knowing now that Kitty is globally recognized and influential, would you have changed anything about how you designed her character, or personality?
YY: Not really. I designed Hello Kitty way back in January 1980 but she was not that popular then in Japan, let alone other countries. In fact, one of my first jobs was to take the original Hello Kitty design and promote her in the canteens and local newspapers. Come 1984, people were already starting to recognize Hello Kitty and building an affection towards her when the pivotal question was raised, “Does Hello Kitty have any friends?” We then considered promoting Hello Kitty as a ‘Teddy Bear’ since that was big at the time. This turned out to be a huge success, making Hello Kitty the top selling character in Sanrio in 1985. Ever since, our focus has always been to listen to the demands of our customers and fans. So to answer your question, I personally would not consider to have changed the way Hello Kitty was.
TG: Do you still participate in the day-to-day creative direction for Sanrio? What do you do in your daily life to get inspiration for your work?
YY: I am constantly involved with all the design works so in that sense, yes, I do participate. As for inspiration, I believe nothing in particularly out of the ordinary, but that’s also what’s important. By embracing the lives and thoughts of what our target customer would be, we have come to understand their demands and desires, which then helps to shape the next generation designs. Recently, we’ve actually found it a bit easier though, because it seems that what we find appealing as a Japanese in this current age, is also appealing to the international countries as well.
TG :Why is Hello Kitty an English girl?
YY: During the time when Hello Kitty was first designed, ‘Alice in Wonderland’ was a fascinating concept and was very popular amongst the Japanese Girls. Therefore, we remained true to the demand and gave the settings for Hello Kitty to be from England where Alice was originated. In fact, the name Hello Kitty is derived from the cat that appears in the sequel of Alice, which is ‘Alice in Mirrorland’.
TG: In different markets, Hello Kitty appeals to different age groups, what are your thoughts to that, why do you think this is so?
YY: We purposely designed Hello Kitty in such a way that her age is vague, which in turn helps the customer relate to her as the character they want her to be. For instance, if a 4-5 years old girl portrays Hello Kitty being around the same age, it becomes so. Likewise, if a 20-year old woman would do the same, she ultimately defines her age. What’s important was for us to allow the fans some leeway to envisage Hello Kitty as they see fit and to whatever they felt was most comfortable.
TG: You had mentioned in a previous interview that the pinky kilt series was your favorite Hello Kitty item. Is that still the case? If not, what is your new favorite item?
YY: Yes, it’s still the case; the Pinky Kilt series is like an eternal theme for me and would not change. However there are some other ones, which I have started to build affection to, and that is the recent “Lolita” fashion and Charmmy’s Alice series. More so with ‘Alice’ as it holds a special place in my heart. Perhaps these could also become my eternal favorite themes eventually.
TG: You had said that Hello Kitty never thought of much complicated matters but that as a woman, she would support women’s right. She was also a special ambassador to UNICEF in the UNICEF Special Friend of Children campaign. Could you tell us more about this and other special campaigns Hello Kitty has done for the social good of society?
YY: Hello Kitty is currently participating in the Pink Ribbon campaign, which is an activity to prevent breast cancer. In Japan, breast cancer is one of the highest causes of death for women but it can actually be healed if it is detected early and treated accordingly. Unfortunately, a lot of the women often find it embarrassing to go to the hospital and some people around me have already died because of negligence. As such, we felt that if Hello Kitty could help by any means to prevent such tragedies, then there is nothing more wonderful than fulfilling her role as a true friend.
TG: What’s next for Hello Kitty? Will there be any more additions to the family or changes for Kitty herself?
YY: While her trend and taste may slightly change over time along with the demands of people, the underlying concept of what essentially makes Hello Kitty will not change. The world is one and we are all friends. This is the eternal theme of Hello Kitty and this is what shapes her personality as being active, kind and greatly caring for her friends.
For the first time… I hear the Hello Kitty movie theme song…
OMG!!! And if you look at it carefully, the Hello Kittys in the MV have mouths!
Hahahahahaha…..
I have always like Hello Kitty. But I fell in love with it last year in 2005. The ‘burning passion’ made me determined enough to part a portion of my money to acquire Hello Kitty products every month. Just look at the products that I’m going to post later. They are just soooooo kawaii!!! Once I started, I cannot stop ever since. Hee hee… Even my colleagues are ‘influenced’ and the 3 of us would have regular therapeutic trips to the Hello Kitty store near to our office.
But of course, I am not washing out all my money on Kitty… (Even though I would love too!) And I’m glad that my close ones are also suportive of my ‘burning passion’! Kekeke…
There is a wonderful store in Singapore that I would like to mention. It is called ‘Kai Kai Gifts’ at 133 New Bridge Road #02-36 Chinatown Point Singapore 059413.
The boss, Ye Li is a jovious lady whom apparently, also has a ‘burning passion’ for Hello Kitty. Or maybe hers is close to an erupting volcano! If you are in Singapore, do drop by at her store. Not only do they sell quality authentic Sanrio products, they have the variety too and most importantly, excellent & warm service.
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(6 votes, average: 4.83 out of 5)
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Papa is hardworking and a very dependable father. He is very caring and loves to read books. He chats on about almost anything, and developed a good sense of humor. Just that sometimes he is a little absent-minded…
Mama is very loving. She has the heart and soul to look after the whole family and to take care of the house. She is always there to help the children, and always busy and occupied. In her spare time, she loves to cook and bake a cake with her daughters. Mama makes the best apple pies.
Grandpa is a wise man, and knows everything well. He loves to paint, and to share his thoughts and feelings by painting them. The neighborhood children love to get around with grandpa as he tells the greatest tales too.
Grandma is a great cook, just like Mama. Her puddings are the best too, no one else makes better pudding than grandma. She loves to make embroidery in her rocking-chair.
Mimi is Hello Kitty’s twin sister. Her personality is a little different compared to his sister, she is a little shy, however, still loving and friendly and has lot of friends just like Hello Kitty. The only difference between Mimi and her sister is that Mimi wears a ribbon on her right ear so the other people an tell Mimi and Kitty apart.
CATHY
Hello Kitty is a twinkling-eyed cartoonish character which is invented and promoted by a Japanese campany called Sanrio in 1974.
Sanrio is famous for their adorable and cute cartoon characters, which Hello Kitty is one of them along with others such as Keroppi, Melody…etc.
Name: Kitty White
(6 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
with it last year in 2005. The ‘burning passion’ made me determined enough to part a portion of my money to acquire Hello Kitty products every month. Just look at the products that I’m going to post later. They are just soooooo kawaii!!! Once I started, I cannot stop ever since. Hee hee… Even my colleagues are ‘influenced’ and the 3 of us would have regular therapeutic trips to the Hello Kitty store near to our office.