10/28/09 6:11PM
As a child, I grew up watching Disney movies, and even now I watch them from time to time with my friends. Before coming to Japan, I had an idea that Disney was popular, but I had no idea at the differences in what is popular in comparison to America. During my first visit to Kiddyland in Hirakata I was baffled by the amount of Disney merchandise in there, and even more shocked by which characters seemed to be popular.
This is the current entrance to Kiddyland in Hirakata. As you can see, it’s just a whole bunch of Whinny the Pooh. But if you see in the bottom right corner, it is not the typical Pooh design. It's an even cuter version! I have never once thought that Mickey, Donald, or Pooh could be so cute, but once I saw the designs in Kiddyland I caved.
But even though you can find so many cute Disney animal characters, it is nearly impossible to find any merchandise of the Princesses. In America, the Princesses are the most popular Disney merchandise around! Not only that, but Stitch is extremely popular in Japan and has a whole aisle dedicated to his own merchandise!
But even though you can find so many cute Disney animal characters, it is nearly impossible to find any merchandise of the Princesses. In America, the Princesses are the most popular Disney merchandise around! Not only that, but Stitch is extremely popular in Japan and has a whole aisle dedicated to his own merchandise!
I was a little taken aback by the popularity of Stitch, and had to ask my Japanese friends, who are fans of Stitch, what the appeal was. They simply said that he was cute, and they proceeded to show me their Stitch pens and pencils. I then asked them about the Disney Princesses, and they really didn't have much to say. In America, most young boys and girls who grow up on Disney tend to relate to the characters, or consider them as a hero or heroine and that stems the popularity, but in Japan it seems it's determined by the cuteness of the design.
Interesting idea for a post. While Disney might be exported to Japan, the way Japanese people think of and interpret Disney characters is different from Americans. In this way, globalization cannot be equated with homogenization. I'd like to read and see more about this topic.
ReplyDeleteI like the point you made about princesses. Very good observation, I didn't think of it before you mentioned, but it is true. Who needs those heroes and princesses when there is so much other cuteness going on!
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