Alice Mak
Twenty years ago, illustrator Alice Mak and her partner (and future husband) Brian Tse gave life to McDull, an adorable cartoon piglet beloved by Hongkongers for his kind spirit and clumsy ways. His poignant stories often reflect the issues faced by many living in the city. As McDull’s fifth movie hits the screens, the soft-spoken illustrator talks to Grace Tsoi about her childhood ambitions and whether she’s selling out her creation.
When I was a kid, no one knew that illustrating could be a profession. There were only three jobs for women: housewives, nurses and teachers. A housewife cannot wear pretty clothes and her job is tiring. I didn’t want to be a nurse either, because it’s brutal to give injections. So I decided that I wanted to be a teacher.
Then I wanted to marry the hawker who sold cheung fun on the streets because cheung fun is my favorite food. Later, I became more politically correct and said I wanted to open my own cheung fan stall—there was a moment of panic and fury when my elder brother told me he wanted to be a member of the hawker control team when he grew up!
My family is quite liberal, and they did not stop me when I told them I wanted to be an illustrator. My older brother is also a designer, and we both studied at Hong Kong Polytechnic. Our home was turned upside down during that time. At one point, our home was pitch-dark because my brother made us switch all the lights off in order to process his film. I fell and hit my mouth.
McDull has changed a lot in 20 years. In the earlier days, McDull and McMug [another character] were still four-legged, and they were not the main characters. Gradually, it became clear that McDull was the most popular. A writer even told me she wanted to marry him.
If you are a mother, you would not want your children to be like McDull. You will want them to be competitive. The curious thing is that many mothers like McDull a lot.