I’m not very girly but I have a fondness for Winnie-the-Pooh. That’s it. I said it. There are more embarrassing things in life, right?
When I was a kid in France, I remember Winnie-the-Pooh (or rather “Winnie l’ourson” en français) being popular. I think I even had a vinyl record of tales with Winnie characters that my parents played on the phonograph. Yes, vinyl record. France wasn’t very modern in the 1980s.
I totally forgot about Winnie until I visited China for the first time in 1999. A lot of Asian are fond of 可爱 (pronounces “Kě’ài”, meaning “cute”) merchandises and products, typically featuring Hello Kitty, Tarepanda, Rilakkuma and yes, Winnie-the-Pooh. For a few yuan, I bought Winnie pencils, notebooks, mirrors etc. And I rediscovered my girlie side.
I have a few Winnie stuffed animals and I don’t discriminate—I like Piglet and Tigger just as much.
I love Eeyore … I guess he fits my depressed-pessimistic personality!
I have to Google it, never heard of it!
Edit: oh, Bourriquet! I didn’t know his English name 😆
Hehe, Zhu, it’s amusing that you revealed your “cute” side! I remember being a student in Japan and oh my god, so many people there love Hello Kitty!
French has a fun name for all these Japanese cute things: Japoniaseries. It’s a portemanteau of Japon + Niaiserie (silliness) 🙂 As a linguist, I thought you’d find it cool!
Ah, Pooh. When I was a young boy in the mid 1940s my mother read me all the A. A. Milne stories; Winnie the pooh, House at Pooh Corner, Now We are Six. I really loved them, and as soon as I was able to read myself I read them all again. They were very real to me. None were perfection, they all had their flaws, but they got along with each other anyway. Fortunately I discovered them before Disney trivialized them. The characters I made up in my head were much more interesting. Just when I decided that children would never love to read again along came J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter series.
That’s pretty cool that an “old” character (with all the respect I have for you!) made it through time like that. To be honest, I had no idea it was around in the 1940s!
Oh, and don’t forget Twilight that seems to be popular with teens as well.
A couple of things…
Eeyore is the donkey’s name, and if you pronounce it with a southern UK (RP) accent, i.e. silent “r”, it’s the sound a donkey makes.
I agree with Tulsa Gentleman, though I’m a chunk younger – there are really two sets of people who like/follow Winnie the Pooh: those who grew up with the books and the original drawings by E.H. Shepard, and those who grew up with the Disney animated characters. Most of us who started with the books find the Disnified characters an appalling travesty. 🙁
And did you know Winnie was Canadian – a real bear from Winnipeg? Look it up!
I’ve been to Winnipeg and I bought a Winnie there as a souvenir 😉
I didn’t know the donkey’s name in English for some reason! I looked it up and realize it was just little “bourriquet” 😉