My Melody to take centre stage in HK$10 million exhibition
Global contest shows pink-hooded character is more popular than world-famous Hello Kitty
My Melody is to feature in a solo HK$10 million exhibition - after beating Hello Kitty to be named the most popular character made by Japanese company Sanrio.
The rabbit with a pink hood, whose creation in 1975 was inspired by the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, got 79,235 votes in the global Sanrio character ranking contest. It beat Hello Kitty, the world-famous cat character said to define "kawaii" or cuteness, by 6,284 votes in August.
With its new-found confidence, the rabbit is going solo at Tuen Mun Town Plaza. The mall has spent HK$10 million on Melody-themed Christmas installations, to be displayed from November 15 to January 4.
There will be an air balloon, a nine-metre Christmas tree made of 500 Melody ornaments and a house. About 50 Melody collectable items will be on display, among them stationery items dated back to the 70s and 80s, vintage gift wrapping paper, pop-up Christmas cards, Christmas ornament balls and a doll's house.
The items have been loaned by Wong Ka-wing, 23, who has about 100 Melody collectables so far. "When I was small, most people liked Hello Kitty. My Melody fans were often the minority. I was surprised by the ranking," she said.
In the collection, she particularly likes a children's story book featuring Melody drawn by Dick Bruna, the Dutch creator of Miffy the rabbit, in the 1980s.