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Dick Bruna - Miffy
Posted: 17 Feb 2017, 18:44
by Rob Houghton
I noticed the Dutch artist Dick Bruna, who created Miffy the Rabbit in the 1950's died today. I don't remember reading any Miffy books as a child, but the illustrations are definitely a part of my childhood - iconic!
Re: Dick Bruna - Miffy
Posted: 17 Feb 2017, 19:25
by Courtenay
Ah, I'm sorry to hear this news. We used to borrow some of the Miffy books from the library when I was little and I always loved the bold style of the pictures and the simple but engaging stories. Actually, the book I remember the most fondly was one from another series by Dick Bruna,
Poppy Pig's Garden, which we owned and which Mum and I liked to read together. Poppy Pig always reminded me a little of Babi, my grandmother (Mum's mother), who was also comfortably plump and kindly and loved gardening!
Here's a
news report and an
obituary for Dick Bruna — I'm sure his creations will continue to delight many, many more children and adults for many years to come. R.I.P.
Re: Dick Bruna - Miffy
Posted: 17 Feb 2017, 21:22
by Anita Bensoussane
RIP Dick Bruna.
My sister and I used to borrow Miffy books from the library too, Courtenay. When my children were little they had a couple of the books. One was Miffy's House and my daughter was fascinated by the minimalistic look of the rooms. I also had a Miffy-themed changing mat for my son when he was a baby.
Re: Dick Bruna - Miffy
Posted: 18 Feb 2017, 16:25
by KEVP
Nowadays people confuse Miffy with Hello Kitty. I am sure there must have been some influence there.
Re: Dick Bruna - Miffy
Posted: 18 Feb 2017, 16:57
by Courtenay
Dick Bruna himself certainly reckoned so:
Miffy creator Dick Bruna: 'Hello Kitty is a copy of Miffy. I don't like that at all'
The only other time in our conversation when Bruna's brow clouds over is when we discuss Hello Kitty, the Japanese cartoon beloved of cute-obsessed schoolgirls and lovers of kitsch throughout the world. 'That,' he says darkly, 'is a copy [of Miffy], I think. I don't like that at all. I always think, "No, don't do that. Try to make something that you think of yourself".' After all, he adds - mood already lifting - 'there's so many nice things.'
(A really interesting article all through, by the way — it's an interview with Bruna from 2008.)
And in 2010, a Dutch court indeed ruled that one of the Hello Kitty characters, Cathy the rabbit, was a breach of copyright because of her similarity to Miffy:
Miffy biffs Cathy in Kitty copycat case
Re: Dick Bruna - Miffy
Posted: 18 Feb 2017, 19:23
by Kate Mary
The Book People are currently selling a collection of 10 Miffy books with a soft toy but the website says the books have a new text by award-winning poet Tony Mitton. Not only Enid's books suffer from updating it seems.
Re: Dick Bruna - Miffy
Posted: 18 Feb 2017, 19:28
by Rob Houghton
I love how everything is advertsied as 'award winning' these days - I think the author of the adult famous fives was described in the same way...wonder if they just won an award at Primary school or something...?
Its sort of similar to 'fake news'...the media - or in this case the publishers - tell the public something and the public accept it like sheep and go and buy it, lol!
Re: Dick Bruna - Miffy
Posted: 18 Feb 2017, 20:40
by Courtenay
Gosh, what on earth was wrong with the original text of the Miffy books?
I doubt they could be made any more appealing and enjoyable for young children (and the not-so-young!) than they already undoubtedly were. All right, the text we have in English (and some 40 other languages) is a translation of the original Dutch, but considering how they've sold for the past 60 years, I can't imagine there could be anything all that wrong with it. Or maybe someone's just trying to make money...
Re: Dick Bruna - Miffy
Posted: 19 Feb 2017, 12:35
by joanne_chan
Dick sure put a lot of fun and light-heartedness in children's lives with Miffy and I do feel quite sad reading of his death.