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I bear in mind as younger women, my sister and I’d make a beeline for the Hi there Kitty show when our mom took us to Bullock’s—a favourite division retailer in Scottsdale, Arizona—for a day of procuring. The little white cartoon cat with a mouthless, expressionless face was simply so cute! We cherished shopping for Hi there Kitty stationery, plush toys, and different merchandise. Simply seeing Hi there Kitty made us glad.
Hi there Kitty might be my third sister in a fictional cartoon world. She was “born” in 1974—only a yr after me—and 2024 is Hi there Kitty’s 50th anniversary.
Let’s have fun 5 a long time of Hi there Kitty bringing pleasure to all, and particularly to these of us with an affinity for cats! (Though, Hi there Kitty is just not, ahem, technically a cat; learn on for particulars.)
Hi there Kitty Historical past
Sanrio, a Japanese firm that started in 1960, created Hi there Kitty in late 1974. A yr later, the corporate launched the character along with her signature purple bow to the world with a Hi there Kitty kids’s coin purse, a small merchandise that bought for lower than a greenback.
In response to Sanrio, Hi there Kitty was born within the suburbs of London. She lives along with her dad and mom and her twin sister, Mimmy, who’s Hi there Kitty’s finest buddy, alongside along with her teddy bear named Tiny Chum. She loves baking cookies, touring, studying, socializing, and consuming her mom’s apple pie. Hi there Kitty’s motto is: “You’ll be able to by no means have too many buddies!”
Sanrio’s Hi there Kitty web site is chock stuffed with merchandise—greater than 1,000 Hi there Kitty gadgets! Should you can identify it, you’ll be able to in all probability discover it within the Hi there Kitty model: plush toys, stationery, paper plates, footwear, suitcases, jewellery, and the checklist goes on. You’ll be able to even snag a 2024 Restricted Version 50th Anniversary plush Hi there Kitty earlier than the merchandise sells out.
Listed below are seven fascinating information about Hi there Kitty.
1. Hi there Kitty Is Not a Cat—She’s a Little Lady
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Say what? Since when have women had pointy ears and whiskers? And what in regards to the identify Hi there Kitty? So what offers? I’ve a tough time shopping for this, however Sanrio claims Hi there Kitty is merely a catlike cartoon little lady.
In 2015, when a Hi there Kitty exhibit opened on the Japanese American Nationwide Museum in Los Angeles, curator Christine R. Yano shared with the Los Angeles Occasions that Sanrio clarified the character’s species earlier than the exhibit opened.
“That’s one correction Sanrio made for my script for the present,” Yano stated. “Hi there Kitty is just not a cat. She’s a cartoon character. She is somewhat lady. She is a buddy. However she is just not a cat.”
Yano identified that Hi there Kitty, certainly, isn’t proven strolling on all fours like a cat. However nonetheless—she seems to be like a cat and is known as Hi there Kitty! I’m in settlement with the backlash that got here from followers after this revelation, and I vote for persevering with to view Hi there Kitty as a cat, quite than getting caught on technicalities. For what it’s price, the cartoon little lady’s full identify is Kitty White, and her birthday is November 1, 1974.
2. Hi there Kitty Grew to become Animated within the Nineteen Eighties
Hi there Kitty’s first tv function got here in 1987 with the animated present, Hi there Kitty’s Furry Story Theater. Different exhibits since then embrace the long-running Hi there Kitty and Mates, Hi there Kitty’s Paradise, The Adventures of Hi there Kitty & Mates, and others. These exhibits are cartoons, however in 2005, Hi there Kitty did one thing completely different with Hi there Kitty Stump Village. This program featured claymation variations of Hi there Kitty and her buddies, they usually didn’t converse; a narrator voiceover does the speaking.
3. Hi there Kitty Is the Mascot of Two Amusement Parks
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In the US, Mickey Mouse has Disneyland and Looney Tunes characters are the animated stars of Six Flags theme parks. In Japan, Hi there Kitty is the important thing character representing Sanrio Puroland, an indoor theme park in Tokyo. Over in Hiji, Japan, Harmonyland is the outside Sanrio theme park. In these household enjoyable locations, folks say “Hi there” to Hi there Kitty in every single place!
4. Hi there Kitty Has a Japanese Authorities Function
In 2008, Tetsuzo Fuyushiba—Japan’s tourism minister—introduced a kimono-clad Hi there Kitty a certificates appointing her because the tourism ambassador to welcome guests from China and Hong Kong—the place Hi there Kitty is wildly standard amongst women and younger ladies. Japan has different goodwill tourism ambassadors, together with actress Yoshino Kimura, however all of the others are actual people.
5. Hi there Kitty Has a Purrsonal Life
Sorry, boys and kittens. Hi there Kitty has a boyfriend: Expensive Daniel, also referred to as Daniel Starr. Sanrio launched him in 1999. Daniel’s hobbies embrace enjoying the piano, dancing, and taking footage of animals. And although greater than 20 years have handed since Daniel appeared, fictional baby cartoon characters by no means age, so likelihood is, he nonetheless needs to be knowledgeable cameraman when he grows up. Hi there Kitty additionally has her personal pet cat: Charmmy Kitty.
6. Hi there Kitty Is a Social Media Star
Effectively, in fact, she is. We’d have been restricted to cabinets at malls within the ’80s, however within the fashionable world, Hi there Kitty is throughout our on-line world! She has a TikTok channel, a Fb web page with some 12 million followers, and an Instagram web page with some 4.5 million followers. Hi there Kitty followers can comply with these pages to get common doses of cuteness and pleasure.
7. Hi there Kitty Is Coming to the Huge Display screen
In 2019, New Line introduced an upcoming Hi there Kitty film that may be a hybrid of live-action and animation. Jennifer Coyle and Leo Matsuda will direct the film, and Lindsey Beer wrote the script.
“This isn’t solely a uncommon likelihood to carry a beloved character to life, but in addition to unfold the message of affection, friendship, and inclusivity that Hi there Kitty stands for,” Coyle stated in 2021. “The world so wants her model of pleasure and happiness.”
The newest replace on the challenge got here in November 2024, confirming that the film remains to be in manufacturing at Warner Bros. We Hi there Kitty lovers will likely be ready with the popcorn!
