Hello Kitty (1 Viewer)

[Optimus Prime]

So character that looks exactly like a cat and is called Kitty is not a cat
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Hello Kitty creators reveal the beloved character is not a cat.

On 18 July, Sanrio, the Japanese entertainment company that created Hello Kitty, made an astounding revelation for the iconic character’s 50th anniversary. In an appearance on the Today Show, Sanrio director of retail business development Jill Koch said: “Hello Kitty is not a cat.”

“She’s actually a little girl born and raised in the suburbs in London,” Koch added. “She has a mom and dad and a twin sister Minnie, who is also her best friend. She enjoys baking cookies and making new friends.”

“[Hello Kitty] weighs three apples and is five apples tall,” she continued, revealing that Hello Kitty also has a pet cat named Charmmy Kitty at home.

The revelation sparked a myriad of emotions in fans, ranging from denial to shock, and later, confusion.

“Hello Kitty is a cat in my eyes,” one user wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Meanwhile, another added: “Its a girl cat and nothing will ever change my mind.”

Someone else commented: “That’s a full cat with whiskers and fur btw.”

“I have never seen a human being with real life whiskers and cat ears,” another commenter posted. “THAT IS A CAT AND I WONT BE GASLIGHTED LIKE THIS!!!

A fifth joked, “Is the little girl in the room cause I don’t see her.”

Created by Sanrio employee Yuko Shimizu in 1974, Hello Kitty first appeared on a children’s coin purse in 1975, and in the subsequent decades, the character has become a beloved character, globally known for her sweet and wholesome disposition. Not only that, but her creation has also generated Sanrio more than $80 billion to date.

Hello Kitty creators reveal beloved character is not a cat to fan shock

Hello Kitty first appeared on a children’s coin purse in 1975

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Sun Wukong]

They've been saying this for years. Japan gonna Japan.

 

[Nisey55]

Well, I guess this is goodbye Kitty

 

[soupcan dan]

my "hello kitty" house keys outsell every football team except the lions. $6----get in line.

 

[Rickboy]

This sounds more like someone in the marketing dept getting a little full of themselves.
But, that said, she sure did a great job getting people thinking about Hello Kitty.

 

[Optimus Prime]

She wears a big red bow on her cat-shaped head, her face has whiskers, and her name is Hello Kitty. But once again the iconic character’s parent company is saying she’s no feline.

“Hello Kitty is not a cat,” Jill Koch, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Brand Management at Sanrio, told the “Today” show Thursday ahead of the brand’s 50th anniversary celebrations. “She’s actually a little girl born and raised in the suburbs of London. She has a mom and dad and a twin sister Mimmy — who is also her best friend.”

The character has a boyfriend and has her own pet cat, named Charmmy Kitty.

“So if shes a little girl, how come her head is cat shaped?” one commenter wrote on YouTube.

That sentiment was found across social media platforms as fans expressed playful disbelief.

“I can’t believe I’m being gaslit into thinking that’s not a cat. It’s a cat and it’s been a cat all my childhood,” a person wrote on X. On the same thread, someone else wrote, “That’s like saying Peppa Pig is not a pig but a girl.”

On Facebook, users would not accept that Hello Kitty isn’t a feline, even going so far as to call it “blasphemy.”

“You can’t change our minds this late in the game. She’s a cat. Keropi is a frog ... and so on,” one person wrote on Thursday. Then another person said, “I don’t care what anyone says. You’re not stealing my childhood. That’s it the END!”

Despite fans’ surprise, this week was not the first time Hello Kitty was identified as a human child.

Anthropologist and Hello Kitty expert Christine R. Yano told the Los Angeles Times in 2014, “She’s a cartoon character. She is a little girl. … She’s never depicted on all fours. She walks and sits like a two-legged creature.”

Back then, social media users were also stunned. “The world is crumbling before my eyes,” wrote one person.

Hello Kitty’s British, human storyline originates from the mid-1970s, when Sanrio, the Japanese toymaker, promoted her to Japanese women who admired Britain.

According to the company, her real name is Kitty White and she was born on Nov. 1 in the London suburbs. She is a third-grader who enjoys making new friends, traveling and eating cookies.

Unlike many popular characters, Hello Kitty didn’t originate from a television show, movie or comic book. Her image started appearing on products in 1974, and her massive audience has grown since. The company says her trademark character is on about 50,000 products sold across 130 countries.............

MSN

 

[tenordas]

It's a cartoon character. 'Nuff said. "She" isn't real, so "she" isn't a cat or a girl, just a drawing. Why should anyone care?

 

[Sun Wukong]

It's a cartoon character. 'Nuff said. "She" isn't real, so "she" isn't a cat or a girl, just a drawing. Why should anyone care?

Because a company explicitly telling you that a character that is obviously drawn to look like a cat and is named Kitty isn't a cat is forking weird. More to the point, it's not just that they're saying she isn't a cat. It's that they're insisting on claiming she's a little British girl.

It would be like if Warner Bros. suddenly came out and was like "Bugs Bunny isn't actually a rabbit. He's a middle aged teamster from Brooklyn who is divorced and has two kids he sees every other weekend."

Psyop sheet.

 

[tenordas]

Well, I'm saying back to them that I've never met any Brit who looks anything like that...



or is she a furry?

 

[Optimus Prime]

Because a company explicitly telling you that a character that is obviously a drawn to look like a cat and is named Kitty isn't a cat is forking weird. More to the point, it's not just that they're saying she isn't a cat. It's that they're insisting on claiming she's a little British girl.

It would be like if Warner Bros. suddenly came out and was like "Bugs Bunny isn't actually a rabbit. He's a middle aged teamster from Brooklyn who is divorced and has two kids he sees every other weekend."

Psyop sheet.

I think Bugs Bunny is technically a hare

 

[Sun Wukong]

I think Bugs Bunny is technically a hare

They're at least part of the same biological family, unlike cats and British people.

 

[Sailorsaint]

What the heck is going on?!

Actor who played 'Goofy' for 30 years shocks fans by revealing the character isn't a dog

If like me you presumed Mickey Mouse's famous pal Goofy was a talking pooch, then according to his voice actor Bill Farmer, you'd be wrong

www.unilad.com

 

[Paul]

Eh, this has been going on for decades:

Me: “That’s a beautiful woman.”
The Commodores: “she’s a brick house”.
Me: “nah fellas, that there is a woman.”

 

[Nisey55]

Cat, little girl, whatever she calls herself, I can't believe she's been around since 1974.
Getting a little long in the tooth, must be a marketing ploy to get her back on the scene.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Cat, little girl, whatever she calls herself, I can't believe she's been around since 1974.
Getting a little long in the tooth, must be a marketing ploy to get her back on the scene.

When's the last time Hello Kitty was talked about this much?

Much of that talk is "That's stupid!"

But there is talk